Beyond Busy

This week has been spent at a flat out run ... well not actually at a flat out run but work has been at 90 miles an hour - no let up. We are expecting the OFSTED phone call - after which a team of inspectors will come in and inspect us. Look at the teaching, provison, attainment, progress, policies, behaviour, planning etc etc etc. As a member of the senior leadership team I know that I am going to be expected to answer questions for the inspectors - but at the moment I'm finding the constant need to be thinking about those answers wearing. I understand the reasoning behind it ... I don't want to be scrabbling around at the last minute, there'll be other things to do then*; it's just that I am fed up with it right now.

Teachers in the main part of the school have had Parent's Evening - you know the kind of thing "come in and talk about your child's progress/lack of progress" and eventhough we don't have these sessions in the nursery, I stayed in school to support an NQT on her first round of these fun sessions - this resulted in my eventually getting home at 8.15 last night. Show me a teacher who likes Parent's Evening and I'll show you a lost soul in need of Prozac or a brain transplant. Knackered. And then my body still wants me to wake up at 4.30am because 50 things are running around/through my head.

I'm sure that there are people out there who think that teaching is a nine to five quarter past three job, with weekends off and uber-long summer holidays. I don't have to justify myself to them - I wouldn't give up teaching for the world and I know what it's really like. Anyway, enough of the bitching and moaning about work, I need to do something to redress the work-life-balance problem I am suddenly up to my neck in.

So, this weekend I am going to take some time. For me. For us. Chilling. Yes, this weekend (as long as the weather plays ball), Simon and I will be mainly playing in the garden, putting the whole lot to bed. Cutting back - yes, I agree, it's probably the wrong time of year - mulching**, emptying hanging baskets, de-weeding, pruning the vine and tidying up.

Though why Simon is dressed like Old McDonald beats me and have you any idea how bad I would look in dungarees? I shall of course be holding a glass of shiraz rather than a bucket but I promise to dig a bit too :o)

* As soon as we get the phone call, we'll have to start trawling evidence to match the criteria on the prelimenary report that they'll send.
** I have no idea what mulching actually is, I just know that Alan does a lot of it on How to be a gardener.

p.s. Thanks to Mar for the unspoken heads-up about the pretty little picture in the middle! You can make yourself one here if you so wish!