Mrs Tear's Thoughts of the Week

This week I have been enjoying having a moment to reflect during webinars with leaders in education - one thought that resonated with me was the importance of ‘noticing’ and ‘impact’. These were recommended by the leader of the Independent Schools Inspectorate as watchwords for our profession.

Noticing is in essence a key to all we do as educators – to see, academically and pastorally, where our pupils are and to respond. At Badminton our close community enables us to understand the individuals within it and so swiftly notice what is going on for them and how they are interacting with their education. It is a real joy to know our pupils this way and see the impact our education has and, ultimately, the great outcomes they achieve. In  the recent week I can share examples such as the feedback about the needs of those who still need to be remote which included being able to hear classmates as well as teachers in online discussion; the new microphones installed in classrooms are allowing more fluent dialogue between all our pupils, both in and out of School. Alternatively seeing how our pupils embrace these qualities; the Head Girls confidently briefed the rest of the School in assembly via the medium of Teams about their roles and reflected on the skills they have developed during their tenure.

I must mention also how good the Junior School is at noticing our girls' wellbeing. Through their Form Times and Study Skills sessions they listen to the girls’ needs and work with them to ensure they are happy and content. Since returning to School they have noticed that the girls needed a little self-care and so are using the 'self-care bingo card' from the Wellbeing Team to encourage pupils to step away from a screen and look after themselves in other ways. They are also noticing any who need support with different character strengths, whether for advice or support. Overall, the seamless way in which the majority of our pupils at all ages and stages have slipped back into the School routine is due in no small part to the School community, as a whole, pulling together and ‘noticing’ when a friend, a pupil or a colleague may need a little extra support.

Finally, I must reflect that ‘impact’ is something that people often think about as measuring in terms of exam outcomes and academic progress. For me the best impact I have perceived in recent days is the laughter and energy emanating from pupils around campus. I appreciate, due to all the current risk assessments in place, that parents cannot easily share and see activities on site and so I was glad to bump into a parent the other evening and hear how the happiness and enjoyment of being back close to friends and on campus was really evident in her daughters when they came home after a day back at School!