Week 22: A quote that inspires you

"A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new."
Albert Einstein

I'm a big believer in giving things a try.

http://qtbl.es/dTbpRI

I have lots of quotes at my Quotables page.

Week 21: Something you learned this week

I learned that McDonalds have filmed adverts in Tarporley - a little village not far from me.
You can view the adverts here:
http://primarydeputy.posterous.com/mcdonalds-arizona-nacho-grande-tv-ad-filmed-i

Week 20: Your favourite TV show

My favourite show of all time is Lost which had me obsessed from start to finish.




My favourite show right now is The Apprentice!

Week 19: A description of your best lesson this week

One of my favourite lessons this week was one of the easiest ones to teach. In maths we've working with decimals and fractions. In particular we've been looking equivalent fractions and into adding decimals. The children love playing games in Maths, so that's what we did - we went on to www.interactive-resources.co.uk (our school has an account).

I had selected particular games for the children to play and that's what they did. With the challenge and competition of taking part in a game, that children became more confident and speedier. By the end of the lesson they could add decimals quickly, and were much better add finding equivalent fractions.

Games can really make a difference!

Monthly Review: April 2012

Holiday in County Durham
We had a brilliant holiday in County Durham. We had never been up that way and so we booked a caravan for just a few days. Highlights were visiting Durham, Gateshead, walking along the Tyne and visiting the Angel of the North.

First Birthday
We celebrated our little girl's first birthday this month. She has been a little poorly lately, and it was great to see her returning to full health too.

Interviewing for Jobs
I read over 100 job application forms and letters before interviewing eight candidates for jobs in Foundation, KS1 and KS2. I love the interviewing process. I was blown away by the standard of some of the letters this time - shortlisting was very difficult.

Using a fire extinguisher
We had some health and safety training all about fire safety. We were able to have a go at using a fire extinguisher. Of course this is not something to mess around with, but who hasn't always wanted to 'have a go'!

Week 18: Something you would like to learn to do

There are two things that I'd love to learn to do:


I'd love to be able to design websites. I've never got around to learning how.


Also, I'd love to be able to DIY. I hate the fact that I'm hopeless with even the simplest home improvement task.

Heads Together: Building a Vision

A few things I learned about building a vision on my Heads Together course.

A School Development Plan (SDP) should be based on:

• School Self-Evaluation (SEF)
• Your vision
• Continuous reflection
• Ofsted
• Local and national development

The vision for your school should be a statement. There should be a tag line which sums up your values succinctly. Everyone should know this tag line.

Every September, talk about the vision. Is everything still on track? What are the non-negotiables? What will be seen in every classroom?

When planning your SDP, write the success criteria. This should be time specific. Write the operations and actions that need to happen.

Share the successes with all stakeholders.

When do you set your SDP? Schools set theirs at different times. It's good practice to set the plan in September, but review it when the RaiseOnline report for the school comes out.

Three year plans are good for financial planning, but are not always good for curriculum targets. So choose time scales carefully.

Choose a small number of developments (around 5) but do they very well.

Week 17: Your career plan

I've always wanted to be a teacher - even before I went to school apparently I used to teach things to my little brothers. My work experiences and education experiences have always been geared towards becoming a teacher. It is actually a slight regret of mine that I didn't try something else first. Just to try it!

I graduated as a teacher in 2001. In 2006 I was given the position of Acting Deputy Head Teacher during the final year before our school amalgamated with another school. Once our schools amalgamated in 2007 I was given the job of Deputy Head Teacher and that's where I've been ever since.

I completed my Leadership Pathways in 2010 and intend to apply for the NPQH later this year.

I would love to be a Head Teacher and I feel that next year might be the year to start looking.

Watch this space!

Types of Sentences

My Fitness Goal

I've been recovering from a knee injury for the last year. The most frustrating thing is that I've not felt up to doing much exercise since then. I'm left with a torn anterior cruciate ligament and feeling very out of shape.


I've used Runkeeper to record my walking over the last year. But now I'm using it to set myself a target of running 100 miles by the end of October. I've run my first mile today. I'm going to push myself to improve my fitness.