I was tidying my desk drawers recently, (an unusual occurrence as my staff will tell you), and came across a luminous pink cardboard star of the kind that is used to price goods in a shop. It was rather tattered and had my name on it. I was about to throw it into the recycling bin when I realised that this was the badge that I had worn on the opening day of the school in September 2001, when every member of staff needed a badge to be identified and every child was given a badge on which to write their name, as we were all coming together with no prior knowledge of each other to become founder members of a newly created school. It was a surreal experience at the time. I watched the building grow breeze block by metal girder as I acquired the necessary resources, including 10,000 toilet rolls as I unwittingly put a few extra noughts on the order form! The governing body and I interviewed, deliberated and appointed staff. I had been able to create and expound my vision for the school, but at that stage I could only project it and hopefully convince and enlist parents, pupils, staff and the wider community to support us and take me at my word. I realised I needed everyone to accept this vision and trust us to deliver it with and through them and try to anticipate every eventuality along the way. We had no road to follow; we had to build our own, testing it as we went along. At that time Local Authorities were concerned about protecting small schools, and despite being very supportive, there was no planning in place for developing large ones.We had so much fun in the early days getting to know each other, creating opportunities to do things as a whole school and to create and consolidate our own identity reflecting not just the vision, but the aspirations of the community we serve. It was challenging too, we’ve had to work hard to prove ourselves and earn the trust of others ..]]>
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