Big world out there

When you work in one establishment within an authority then of course you feel part of a bigger whole. You are part of various working groups and groupings of colleagues. You are involved in sharing good practice, attend a variety of meetings, feel part of an authority, sharing values etc. But what is increasingly striking me as I now visit lots of establishments, is just what an enormous variety of services are offered by education. I’m seeing tiny babies, infants, primary, secondary and am just amazed by the number of establishments and people who are involved in helping the children grow and learn. It isn’t until now as I visit so many places that the whole begins to fit into place for me – Andrew Brown made a comment to the effect that I’d meet lots of people who are interested in education and making a difference. That’s certainly true and the language of education is one we all speak together no matter what sector.

The other thing that is really coming home to roost is that over and above the learning of the children in our care, there is an enormous amount of lifelong learning going on with all those involved in establishment communities. Not just small learning – but practitioners engaging in major self reflection and change. There are lots of green shoots all over the place where we are increasingly getting even better at sharing good practice with each other across establishments and sectors. Michael Fullan said we’d be dangerous (in a good way) when we shared in this way!I think this bodes well for the future of the curriculum for excellence and for the future of what we offer our children in terms of their learning.