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Head Teacher's Address 2004
In December of last year we were shocked and saddened by the death of Mrs Sheila Jones our Principal Teacher of Biology. Very few of the staff and pupils were aware of Mrs Jones illness and certainly not of its severity. Sheila sought it that way and asked for no concessions. In the face of often extreme pain Sheila’s dignity, fortitude and above all devotion to her pupils went beyond anything which I have ever encountered. She was not prepared to let the trifling matter of a terminal illness get in the way of the education of her pupils. It is a great pleasure to have you with us this morning Mr Jones. It is important to have you know that Sheila was to have been a significant part in the future of this school – we are much diminished by the passing of Sheila Jones the professional and even more so of Sheila Jones the person. In March of this year as you will all know the school was visited by Her Majesty’s Inspectors of Education whose task it was to evaluate the quality of learning and teaching in Harris and to make comment on how the school had progressed since their previous visit eight years ago. It has been my custom in my address to you over the past six years to look into the future and to share with you my vision for the school. While I intend to follow this pattern again this year, in the light of the final HMI report which was issued last month, I would first like to use this opportunity, after six years of looking into the future, to take stock of the progress which the school has made. The
inspection has been a significant and positive experience for the
school. Its significance lies in the three principle actions
conducted by the inspectors – they evaluated, they accredited and they
endorsed and in doing so they confirmed the path of healthy future
development for Harris. In
their evaluation of the school they measured us against a nationally
recognised set of criteria and by taking a detached view of teaching and
learning in Harris judged us to be either good or very good in almost
every aspect. They also
identified areas in which our performance could be improved and we have
already started to address the issues which they raised. The
inspectors gave their clear accreditation to the work done since their
last visit in improving and developing the school both in terms of the
areas in which development work has been done and the effectiveness of
that work in improving the all round educational experience on offer to
our young people. To exemplify this we need look no further than the comments
made by HMI in relation to the annual look into the future with which I
have presented to you in each of my past six HT addresses. In my first address to you in 1998 I spoke on creating the conditions in which young people can best learn. The inspectors said of us In
1999 I spoke to you on the topic of how the school was managing change
to ensure that we improved the quality of education for the pupils.
The report commented that “The
commitment of the staff provided the school with the capacity and the
will to continue to improve.” In
the first year of the new millennium my topic was learning in the school
of the future. Areas
identified as a key strengths in the school were “The provision and use of Information and Communication Technology in Learning and Teaching”. and even more importantly “The
programme of personal and social education”. At
my fourth prizegiving I outlined the school’s plans for the
development of Education for Citizenship.
The HMI report is littered with highly positive references to our
success in this area. “Senior
pupils made a major contribution to the corporate life of the school
helping younger pupils through peer support and counselling” and “a
wide range of extra curricular activities encourages pupil participation
and development as young citizens”. In
2002 I presented you with the school’s approach to tackling the
National Priorities for Education and in particular our approach to
inclusion. Amongst the many
strengths identified by the inspectors was “Staff
promoted a shared sense of equality and fairness in their dealings with
pupils” and
a key strength of the school was “Provision
made in the resourced location for the inclusion of pupils with autistic
spectrum disorder”. And on the support given to the school by parents which was my topic last summer the observation made was “The
school had encouraged good partnerships with parents”. While I accept the perhaps valid criticism that I have been selective in my choice of extracts I hope that you will accept that the overwhelming tenor of the report shows a school which takes a proactive view of its obligations to Dundee’s young people. We have the proven ability to deliver on our visions of the future. HMI’s evaluation of the school was encouraging for us and their acceditation was supportive. However by far the most important feature of their report for the long term advancement of learning in Harris Academy was its endorsement of the school as an organisation which had embedded in its culture the ability to evaluate its own performance, the courage to identify issues which required to be addressed, the foresight to make plans which would deliver effective improvements and above all had a proven capability of being able to improve. HMIE
did not tell us anything of which we did not already know.
Their issues were already our issues and they had been included
in the three development plan put together in the spring of 2003.
The inspectors are quite happy to leave us to address these
issues over the course of the next two years.
They were quite clear in identifying Harris as a school which
planned for tomorrow but lived for today.
The proof of this lies in the achievements of the young people in
this hall today. So
what of the future – what is my vision to share with you in June 2004.
I can be slightly more precise with you than is perhaps normally
the case in detailing for you the work which will be undertaken over the
next two years to ensure that learning and teaching will enable all of
our young people to meet the challenge of 21st century
society. Our
agenda for improvement is crystal clear with each aspect of it targeted
directly at improving the quality of the educational experience of each
individual pupil in this school.
We
have I believe quite rightly indulged ourselves by taking the plaudits
of a good inspection report. We
are now ready to build on what has been accredited as good practice to
improve the future educational experience on offer to our pupils. The overwhelmingly positive outcomes of the HMIE report are a reflection on the professionalism and dedication of my staff – teaching and non-teaching – and the unflinching support and trust afforded the school by the vast majority of the parents. The goods and the very goods in the report attest to the quality of education which our shared approach has developed for the pupils in this school. In my first prizegiving address I said to you that this was not my school but I hoped that it would become our school. The HMIE report is most definitely our report. Can
I congratulate my pupils for their efforts throughout the year and wish
those of you who leave us today the very best of good fortune in
whatever future you choose. Most
of you for most of the time have been a pleasure to work with and I wish
you well. To the parents can I thank you for the support and encouragement which you have given to the school and to your children. Effective learning is most definitely dependant on effective parenting. To
my staff, teaching and non-teaching, can I express my thanks and
appreciation to you for your effort and professionalism on behalf of the
pupils throughout what has been a difficult and testing year.
Can I wish those of you who leave us today to take up
appointments in other schools the best of good fortune for your future.
To Mr Walker, Mrs McLaren, Mr Flood and Miss Brown who retire
today can I thank you on behalf of too many pupils to mention for your
contribution to their learning over a combined period of 86 years in
Harris Academy. I would
make special mention of Ms Brown at this point who has given 31 years
service to this school. I
wish you a well earned retirement. For those of us who will be returning. School starts at 9.00 on Monday 16 August for staff and Tuesday 17 August for pupils. I wish you all a restful break. I am proud to be Headteacher in Harris Academy.
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