Contributions to newsletters often begin with a phrase along the lines of “time has flown since the last edition”, and that sentiment is certainly one that I feel as two months have passed since joining the Foundation. Although lockdown has sadly prevented me coming into schools, I have been enjoying the opportunity to meet remotely a whole range of people from within and outside our group of schools: school leaders, governors, trustees, a local MP, members of the Regional Schools Commissioner’s Office, local Academy Trust CEOs and members of the Greater Birmingham Chamber of Commerce. These meetings are helping me to gain an understanding of what the Foundation and its schools mean to those who work directly with us, and how we are seen by others in the city.
One of the most enjoyable and thought-provoking activities that I have engaged in was a meeting of the Student Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Committee, made up of student representatives from across our schools, supported by school and Foundation Office staff, and chaired by one of our Headteachers, Qamar Riaz from King Edward VI Handsworth Wood Girls’ Academy. As someone who was teaching in the classroom up until two years ago and values the opportunity to interact with students, it was a welcome opportunity for me to connect with our young people and to understand their views about a vital topic. I was struck by their commitment and the articulate manner in which they expressed their thoughts on these matters. While I was able to share with them my view that things have moved on a lot from my own experience of growing up in a mixed-race family in 1980s Essex, I acknowledged that there is still much work to be done in this regard and that I am looking forward to working with them to address these issues.
I am sorry that circumstances mean that I am not able to meet as many of you as I would like. I am thinking about producing some short videos by way of introduction, and to answer questions you might have for me, in the meantime. These might cover subjects like the vision and aims for our schools, teaching and learning, working together, wellbeing, and career progression within the Foundation. I want to cover the topics and questions that interest you and help introduce myself in that way. Send in your questions for me – you can do so anonymously or not as you prefer – and I will answer as many as I can. I look forward to responding to these questions and to working with you all over the coming years.
I am sure that the pressing issue on everyone’s minds is the return to school on 8th March. Amid all of the challenging practicalities of lateral flow testing, masks etc, and the stark change that it will be to have full schools after so long, I know that we will all be excited to see each other again in person, to regain that face-to-face contact, and to see how the children and young people we look after have coped with the past months. Schools are strange, quiet places without students, with echoing corridors and empty chairs. I cannot wait to be in them and among you all, mask and distance notwithstanding, to continue to get to know the individuals who make up our Foundation.
One of the most enjoyable and thought-provoking activities that I have engaged in was a meeting of the Student Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Committee, made up of student representatives from across our schools, supported by school and Foundation Office staff, and chaired by one of our Headteachers, Qamar Riaz from King Edward VI Handsworth Wood Girls’ Academy. As someone who was teaching in the classroom up until two years ago and values the opportunity to interact with students, it was a welcome opportunity for me to connect with our young people and to understand their views about a vital topic. I was struck by their commitment and the articulate manner in which they expressed their thoughts on these matters. While I was able to share with them my view that things have moved on a lot from my own experience of growing up in a mixed-race family in 1980s Essex, I acknowledged that there is still much work to be done in this regard and that I am looking forward to working with them to address these issues.
I am sorry that circumstances mean that I am not able to meet as many of you as I would like. I am thinking about producing some short videos by way of introduction, and to answer questions you might have for me, in the meantime. These might cover subjects like the vision and aims for our schools, teaching and learning, working together, wellbeing, and career progression within the Foundation. I want to cover the topics and questions that interest you and help introduce myself in that way. Send in your questions for me – you can do so anonymously or not as you prefer – and I will answer as many as I can. I look forward to responding to these questions and to working with you all over the coming years.
I am sure that the pressing issue on everyone’s minds is the return to school on 8th March. Amid all of the challenging practicalities of lateral flow testing, masks etc, and the stark change that it will be to have full schools after so long, I know that we will all be excited to see each other again in person, to regain that face-to-face contact, and to see how the children and young people we look after have coped with the past months. Schools are strange, quiet places without students, with echoing corridors and empty chairs. I cannot wait to be in them and among you all, mask and distance notwithstanding, to continue to get to know the individuals who make up our Foundation. 
