Two and a half hours to travel thirty miles to school on Tuesday. All of this for about an inch of snow! I don't blame KCC for not gritting each road - it's just incredibly frustrating when I needed to be in work early.
I had a meeting with a representative from a company called Arbor on Tuesday. The meeting was with my Leadership Teams from both Oakfield and Temple Hill. We were looking at a new Management Information System that has come on the market. I can hear the yawns across the Internet - but seriously, this piece of software will help us to keep parents fully informed about what is going on with their child's learning.
Not only does it have the usual features of a management system that schools need (emergency contact details etc.) but it also connects with parents to let them know, completely up to date, what their child's attendance is like, how well they are doing in certain subjects, how this compares to groups of children in our schools and in the UK. It also outlines what is going on in their school day. Long gone may be the conversations we have all had with our children:
PARENT: "What did you do at school today?"
CHILD: "Nothing...!"
This system will be trialed in both schools across the next few terms, and you may be asked to help us out, with trialling the parent portal - which gives you up to date information about your child.
We are working hard to ensure our new websites are ready for launch shortly. Having trialled the new designs, I can definitely say that they are looking good - and you will all be able to have access to much more information about the school through the new sites. Of particular interest may be the new virtual tours of the schools, as well as up to date policies etc.
You will also find a link on both sites to Kent Fostering.
Fostering in Kent is a great services that looks after thousands of Looked After Children - not only originally from Kent, but from other counties and boroughs of London too. Myself and my better half are foster carers, and have been for the last three years. If anyone is interested in fostering, feel free to follow the link on the websites, or come and talk to me about it. It is so rewarding to look after a child who needs extra support and security. We love it so much - and two of the boys that we currently foster, w hope to finish the adoption process with very soon! I'll keep you all posted.
Hopefully, the weather will change in the next few weeks - ready for a bright, dry and considerably warmer Easter holiday!
GR
