Blogs

  • A day in the life of a SBM in song (Queen songs to be precise)
    31st Oct 2020

    There are times when the only thing that takes you through a madcap day is the album collection in your mind. For those days, there’s always Queen: (Timings are approximate, who’s really had a day that runs this much to a timetable?) 7.30am “Don’t stop me now”. This is my hour – a cup of tea, catch up on all the emails received since Midnight and a chance to plan my day. So, don’t stop me, don’t talk to me, don’t interrupt me and don’t sabotage me with all your urgent requests!
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  • 25 years later - how did I end up back at school?
    2nd Jul 2020

    It all started at the tender age of 5 in Mrs Liepins’ Class at Pineapple School (yes, really), recognised as one of the poorest / roughest schools in the country. After my formative primary years, I made the jump to a grammar school and to the horror and shame of the teachers, I didn’t go to university but went straight to work as a trainee retail manager at Rackhams Department Store. I lasted a year in retail then a year in a French company, importing steel and then started on the bottom rung as an account manager in a translation company. For the next decade I learned so much about business – sales, procurement, managing teams, budget setting and monitoring, all whilst travelling the world in the name of work (a time of unlimited expense accounts and no children).
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  • Is there a place for dogs in schools?
    19th Jun 2020

    I admit it – I love dogs! Dogs of all shapes and sizes! Well, actually that’s not true – at the risk of offence, you can keep your Chihuahuas! To me, a dog makes a home complete and more than ever, during lockdown, my dog Murphy has kept me company, amused and exercised.
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  • Free School Meals - should schools be feeding the nation’s children?
    7th Jun 2020

    I am a huge proponent of free school meals and actively encourage all parents, who think they may be eligible, to apply. We have come a long way since my primary school days of removing the stigma of being one of “those” children, who had to stand in a different queue to be able to eat a (questionably) good, nutritious, hot meal. Even in later years, students have had to hand over vouchers, which carry a very visible marker of their family’s finances, or schools have name-based systems, where students vocalise their poverty status at the canteen till, which can all lead to students not receiving the healthy meals to which they are entitled. We have moved on to a certain extent with confidentiality around FSM improving with the advent of electronic and card-based systems, but it’s still not enough.
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