It’s that time of year when the end-of-term reports and, this year, profiles go out. This always provokes some retrospection for staff and children. Sometimes you forget what the class was like at the beginning of the year and it is good to look back and remind yourself. Not only do the children change physically, but they mature emotionally and of course make progress in their learning. It is easy for teachers to lose track of how much progress has taken place as they are generally so engrossed in the day-to-day all-consuming hurly-burly that is a busy classroom. Even looking back through a jotter or folio of work can evoke surprise and hopefully delight at how much has been achieved. When you undertake this with children, they are often surprised at, and justifiably proud of their attainment.
I have been talking to staff about the end-of-term reporting and the profiles and the general feeling from them on the positive side is that:

• much more information is being offered about each child

• the children have been more involved in and responsible for their learning

•  next steps are regularly shared in a detailed way.

They have also said that:

•  the profiles have involved a fair amount of work over the year

•  parents will have to take the time to read through the whole profile to see the complete picture of their child’s learning.

As before we invite your comments, as the profiles are very much a working-in-progress and we have already identified areas we think we can improve on for next year.
I have read all of the end-of-term reviews and discussed them with staff and I have also read the Wow! moments which the children chose after looking back over their year. These have been diverse and enlightening! Many of the older children chose Kingswood- either the activities or being away with their friends. Some of the younger ones highlighted a skill that they had mastered- learning a table or learning to read. For some there was evident satisfaction on achieving a personal goal or meeting a challenge- giving a talk to the whole class or singing in a competition.
Personally, I have had many Wow! moments in the last year- occasionally I think I could do with a few less! Sometimes I am “wowed” by the responsibility- interviewing for staff, for example, and hoping to make the right decisions for all involved; sometimes it is the delight on a child’s face when they realise they can; often it is the effort put in by staff to offer the best service they can; and continually I am wowed by the amount of trust parents have in us to look after their children.
You can see that I have been having a retrospective and perhaps nostalgic look back over this session. Next week- which may well be the last blog for a short while, I will share with you our thoughts for next year- just to whet your appetite!
Have a good week- two to go,
Lindy Lynn.