Page 101 - She's One Crazy Lady!

coming on board, and we opened our doors to invite
them in and talk to us; something they hadn’t been encouraged to do for a very long time. Numbers
were slowly rising too and the school’s standing in
the community was also on the up; the community
welcomed and respected such change. I always
remember a ‘difficult’ parent coming to see me to say
how relieved she was that her child was now better
behaved at home, and happier. Quote: “The sulks
have gone!” She said her child now wanted to come
to school and was enjoying it; she thanked us for
providing a more structured and interesting education,
saying she didn’t want her child to experience what
had gone on before. This was such a breakthrough
and a tonic to us all for the Highfield’s Estate was
a close-knit community and word soon got round
that life at the school was changing – for the better.
I was loving it and, although we were all working
long hours, the team spirit was amazing – we had so
much drive and introduced completely different styles
of teaching and after school activity clubs as well as
introducing behaviour codes that were agreed with
a school council of children, chosen by the children
to represent and feed back to their year groups. It
was also very encouraging to be rewarded with better
reports from Ofsted and to have extra, additional
support from the LEA. It was a happy place to be – for everybody.
However, Des’ time at Highfields was coming to an end; he was needed elsewhere in the county to do a similar job in another school. I was relieved of my teaching duties and became Acting Headteacher, but still under the guidance of Des. A corner had been turned. The position of a substantive Head for the school was advertised and I knew I had to go for it, knowing that the all-round support from all the Staff and Governors was there and that any more change could possibly be detrimental. Having spent the last year studying for the NPQH certificate (National Professional Qualification for Headship) I was delighted to achieve the qualification and felt ready.
In no way could it be taken for granted that I would get the job and I, of course, had to go through all the correct procedures of filling in an application form, putting together my CV and writing my supporting letter of application, hoping that I would get an interview and, if successful, be confident I could meet the needs of the job description and the school itself.
In March 2001 (17th – a significant date for the future), I was invited to attend for interview which seemed quite strange, already working in the school. It was time to dress for the occasion and I donned a smart suit and heeled shoes; clothes I had not worn whilst there, simply because
“I was loving it and, although we were all working long hours, the team spirit was amazing.
”
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