Skip to main content

Twelve Days of Christmas - school edition

On this Christmas day 2024 I wanted to share with you my the life of a head teacher in the form of a not-so-traditional carol. Have a great day everyone!

On the first day of Christmas, my school it gave to me,
A lot of anxiety.

On the second day of Christmas, my school it gave to me,
Two angry mums and a lot of anxiety.

On the third day of Christmas, my school it gave to me,
Three snow days, two angry mums and a lot of anxiety.

On the fourth day of Christmas, my school it gave to me,
Four different SENCOs, three snow days, 
Two angry mums and a lot of anxiety.

On the fifth day of Christmas, my school it gave to me,
Five wasp stings, four different SENCOs, three snow days, 
Two angry mums and a lot of anxiety. 

On the sixth day of Christmas, my school it gave to me,
Six stressful SATs tests, five wasp stings, four different SENCOs, 
Three snow days, two angry mums and a lot of anxiety.

On the seventh day of Christmas, my school it gave to me, 
Seven lunch providers, six stressful SATs tests, five wasp stings, 
Four different SENCOs, three snow days, two angry mums 
And a lot of anxiety.

On the eighth day of Christmas, my school it gave to me,
Eight budgets falling, seven lunch providers, six stressful SATs tests, 
Five wasp stings, four different SENCOs, three snow days, 
Two angry mums and a lot of anxiety.

On the ninth day of Christmas, my school it gave to me,
Nine grumpy teachers, eight budgets falling, 
Seven lunch providers, six stressful SATs tests, 
Five wasp stings, four different SENCOs, three snow days, 
Two angry mums and a lot of anxiety.

On the tenth day of Christmas, my school it gave to me,
Ten teams meetings, nine grumpy teachers, eight budgets falling, 
Seven lunch providers, six stressful SATs tests, 
Five wasp stings, four different SENCOs, three snow days, 
Two angry mums and a lot of anxiety.

On the eleventh day of Christmas, my school it gave to me,
Eleven playground duties, ten teams meetings, 
Nine grumpy teachers, eight budgets falling, 
Seven lunch providers, six stressful SATs tests, 
Five wasp stings, four different SENCOs, three snow days, 
Two angry mums and a lot of anxiety.

On the twelfth day of Christmas, my school it gave to me,
Twelve risk assessments, eleven playground duties, 
Ten teams meetings, nine grumpy teachers, eight budgets falling, 
Seven lunch providers, six stressful SATs tests, 
Five wasp stings, four different SENCOs, three snow days, 
Two angry mums and a lot of anxiety.



Comments

Popular posts from this blog

What is 'teacher mode'?

The inspiration for today's post came recently during a walk around the town in which I live. I have spent the past two decades residing in what could loosely be described as a small but popular resort town, the type that only has a low-cost supermarkets in its centre. I was entering one of these recently when I came across a family who were clearly having an off-season break, probably in one of our many holiday-focused establishments. They didn’t actually say as much, but their 'city ways' certainly screamed this to all the locals present. The parents were obviously keen to pay for their purchases, but the children had not finished looking at sweets, so they did not follow them towards the till. As a result, the clearly annoyed mum turned and yelled to the children to get a move, using that old trick of using first and middle names as an indication of how serious they are about what they are asking. I don’t remember the name of the boy, but the girl was definitely called ‘...

Leadership Lessons - school relationships

The following post is taken from the manuscript for my still unpublished book. The book is designed as a manual for the new head teacher and the section I am including below is one where I describe the particularities and challenges involved in building positive relationships with different staff groups. I hope that you find it an interesting read and that some of it strikes a chord with your own experiences.

Why are schools obsessed with improving attendance?

I am fully aware that this post might be a bit controversial, but please read it in its entirety before judging me. It seems to me that the obsession that schools have with improving attendance at the moment is misguided at best and self serving at worst. Whilst regular attendance is of course what are looking for, I don't understand why are we spending so much time and energy trying to get attendance to 'above average' levels when that effort would be much better spent elsewhere. For a child, 94% attendance means missing about 8 days school over the course of the year. Younger children in particular are often ill and although the expectation on teachers is super high now we haven't quite got to the point where we are expected to provide a medical service. Sending letters and threatening families if attendance drops below 90% is not what we should be doing and the hard line on holidays in term time is a case of using a sledgehammer to crack a nut.  Surely there is room ...