Whilst I am immensely proud of what WE all do here at BPS (more of that later), the title of this blog isn’t in fact a personal statement, but a challenge set to the children this week as we considered again our learner power of ‘Pride’ in all its forms.

We asked the children to think specifically about their behaviour, the choices that they must make every day and whether these would be something they were proud of. We reminded them that we don’t always get things right and that these moments present learning opportunities and play a vital role in helping us shape and improve our choice making. A simple example of this would be choosing to act or respond the same way repeatedly after being aware that this was not the right choice. How can we change that? Why do we sometimes do that? How else could we articulate how we are feeling? As you know by now, at BPS we know all behaviour is a language!

It is thought that children must make around 3500 choices every day and it therefore stands to reason that the averages of getting these all right must be quite low.  It is why we have a clear step system here at school, that provides children with an opportunity to try again, pause and re-set. We call it “Chance, Choice, Change” – it encourages reflection and the space and time to re-group.  Creating a culture where it is ok to make mistakes is key and our children feel safe doing so here.

As part of our subject review process, we have sought the thoughts and opinions of the children at every stage and hearing them describe how they feel encouraged to take risks and knowing it is OK to fail has been very heartening. They already see the value of this and know it is how we learn.  I stole with pride the words of Albus Dumbledore, who reminds us that it is “The choices we make that truly define us” in the hope it would work some magic on us all…

Another group who should feel very proud of what they have achieved is the BPSA Ball committee who arranged a wonderful event last Friday, enjoyed by many parents from across the school. It was lovely to see everyone enjoying themselves and I have already made contact with the entertainer to come and train staff to develop their mind reading abilities. A priceless skill to have in the classroom, the home or the office for that matter!

Thank you to our class representatives for all they do. We had another very positive meeting today and it is so encouraging to hear the level of support across the community. We once again encourage anyone with any questions to contact us, whatever the question may be. Even if they are about “my rumored retirement”, which I was pleased to be able to clarify as a myth!

Wishing you a lovely bank holiday weekend.