101 words

Monday, snow ... school open. Journey home tough ~ Gravesend whiteout. Gillingham clearer. Bully Simon into clearing path, he'll be pleased come morning. Tuesday call during commute, school closed to children – site unsafe, staff in. WTF?!? Ice everywhere. Wednesday children in school stuck inside – miserable. S vomits into beads during session. Asleep at 7:30 on the sofa so awake early – need new job. Thursday semblance of normalcy. Friday thank god – lunchtime stopping an escaping child, theme tune to Escape to Victory inside my head. Lock up – know how to turn off alarm if called out … unfortunately! Outside it’s snowing – NOOOOOOOOOO!

I don't need a bookmark thanks!

Currently re-reading and re-loving Pawn of Prophecy, book 1 of The Belgariad. I might be a while or alternatively, I might just read instead of working ;o)

What a week

It's been such a busy week ... no time to blog ... no time for much of anything but work, sleep and the daily commute. There's been a strange smell in the nursery - we checked lots of bottoms and all agreed that little bums SHOULDN'T be able to make that kind of smell!! Poof! There's been windy weather whipping children into a frenzy and there's been playing in boxes. And that was just the fun bits, on top of that, well, there's been meetings and training and teachers off sick and "multi agency attendance panels" followed by me shouting through letter boxes! No really, I was. Well ... I don't want them going to court anymore than she wants to go to court.

And to top it off I've got a cold and I'm all snotty SOOOOOOOOO I may just go back to bed if you don't mind!

What a week!

Yay Tuesday is a memory! You asked how it went and how major it was, well we have to write/fill in a Raising Attainment Plan* every September when the academic year begins to say how we're going to improve. Then 3 times a year the Local Education Authority sends an inspector** in to check progress against the targets on it. Thankfully we couldn't be sacked if it had gone badly BUT the frequency of his visits would have increased and he would have asked to see other things e.g. teaching observations and spoken to pupils/parents. As it is he has said we are making GOOD progress.

It's just the pressure/headless chicken mode that everyone goes into because a) they know he's coming and it's important and b) the leadership team will be tied up all morning with him and therefore they'll have to deal with problems themselves. I had one teaching assistant in tears 20 minutes before he was due to arrive and I'm like "WTF can I do about this now?" I didn't say that out loud honest!

The good news is that he wont be back until April BUT he will be back.

The rest of the week didn't particularly improve much - windy weather, full moon ... neither of which are particularly good for children "on the spectrum" ~ and we've got plenty of them trust me. On Thursday afternoon the head went to a meeting, the deputy head was on a training course, leaving **SCARY GULP** me in charge. I know - IN CHARGE. And boy oh boy didn't things kick off. I have one child who wrecked the internal exclusion room, a child who attacked a classmate on the playground and a child who was left after school when parents didn't show up and was finally collected by the Duty Social Workers team at 5.15!

God I needed a glass of wine last night! :o( Onwards and upwards!!

*as we are a school that does not have brilliant results ... thanks to years> of poor teaching, misuse of funding etc. - thankfully this is being changed> by a new headteacher or I wouldn't be here!!
** Euphemistically known as a "partner" - there's a load of bollocks for you eh?

Blah!

We have our Raising Attainment Plan - cRAP - review this morning. Our School Improvement Partner - Hitler from the LEA - will crawl up our arses all over our data peering at it through a magnifying glass. He'll carry out his inquisition question, poke and prod.

I'll be back when the ordeal is over and I'm feeling more human.

A Year’s End Meme

Teuchter over in the middle of it all has come up with her very own meme. It's a Year's End Meme so here's the four statements that I have to write about. Right let's get going!

The best things that happened in 2008 …
The worst things that happened in 2008 …
The standout highlights of 2008 …
My ambitions and hopes for 2009 …

The best things that happened in 2008 ... right, well it's not been a bad year, but the very best thing has to be the fantastic week I had in Rosas in May with my parents. We talked and laughed and toured and ate! And then talked some more - it was a real coming together of our relationship ~ we hadn't spent quality time together like that since the previous Summer and times like that always remind me how well I get on with my Mum and Dad. Yes they're my parents but I really like them as people.

I also have to give a memorable mention to a weekend in Wales, when I got to have coffee with Liz - thank you Facebook - AND dinner in Twickenham with an occupational therapist, her Coldstream Guards bandsman husband and two gay men ;o)

The worst things that happened in 2008 ... well it has to be the day of Nana's funeral - she died on Boxing Day 2007. We got a phone call in France just after lunch, my parents left for Wales 2 hours later. Simon and I stayed on for a couple of days and then made our way back to Kent. Because of the time of year things were very slow - the funeral wasn't until January 11th or somewhere around there. It was a horrible day - tears all round but lots of laughter and good memories too! But of course they don't stand out at the time!

The standout highlights of 2008 ... Strangely there's a work one of these! I say strange because it should be leisure/family times that are the "standout highlights" ... I have one of those too! Right, in July we had an OFSTED inspection. It was a horrifically stressful week - we had a phone call on the Monday, they arrived on Wednesday morning and by 4pm on Friday (after a 66 hour working week by that point!) I was a sobbing, snotty mess in the middle of a table in the nursery. Thank goodness it was over! Thank goodness it went well. Thank fuck they're not coming back!!!!

My other standout highlight was my summer, yes the weather was lovely and I thoroughly enjoyed being in France and showing my GBF around the local area BUT it was also wonderful because I got to meet Bev. My Mum's cousin Roy and his wife Margaret came to stay - there's lots of garden Chez le laquet to camp in - along with Margaret and Roy came their grand-daughters and their Mum ... my cousin Bev. I know we're cousins BUT we'd never met before ... but it was wonderful, we clicked straight away - hell, we even look alike!! A new friend. But one who's going to last. Always on the end of a phone - I feel like I've known her forever.

My ambitions and hopes for 2009 ... all the usual suspects I imagine - a continued decline in my weight. An increase in my life-work-balance. And finally continued good health, happiness and love for me and mine AND of course, for you and yours.

Oh and if the lottery fairy wants to look my and get the divine Hugh to deliver the ticket ... well I won't complain ;o)

Yes! It's just an excuse to drool!!

This week I will mostly be ...

Monday - day off, thankyou Bank Holiday organiser man
Tuesday - school starts, lunchtime meeting to update/re-write school self-evaluation form, parent's evening consultations until 6.15 ... best friend comes to dinner (bright point!)
Wednesday - school, playground duty before school, reflection duty (detention) at lunchtime, parent's evening consultation appointments until 5.50, Governing Body meeting until 8.30, home to die
Thursday - school, parent's consultation appointments until 7pm (?????) 7-bloody-pm ... don't give me the flaming "oh I don't get home from London until then" shite-sob story!
Friday - mobile farm visit for 132 3-5 year olds, meeting before the school's improvement partner (read as v important Education Authority big-wig) comes to "inspect" us next week, followed by 2 more parent consultation appointments **UPDATE** ... will try to squeeze in dinner out with spouse.
Saturday and Sunday - sleep and remain too tired to converse with darling very unhappy spouse who thought he was marrying someone who had a job that included short working days, long holidays, a huge salary and no stress.

Oh yes, go into teaching if you too are looking for that short working days+long holidays+huge salary+no stress combo - NOT!

How January was for me

Yay! Whoop!

Sorry, not quite loud enough!

YAY! WHOOP!

Last day of school - happy doesn't even begin to describe it this term ;o)

Isn't it Friday yet?

**Warning, rant ahead, feel free to walk away now if you truly cannot be arsed**

This being the boss is bloody exhausting.

But the thing that is tiring me out more than anything is the waiting. We're waiting for bloody-buggering Ofsted to call.

It used to be that you got a letter and then 6 weeks later they arrived at the door. You had all that time to get ready; to plan your lessons, to make sure that your books were marked to within an inch of their lives, to tidy, tart-up displays etc etc and it was hell. Because it was 6 weeks of 15 hour working days. Then they were in school for 3 (or in the case of a large school 4) days. They watched everyone teach. They converged on all assemblies and lunchtime clubs. They were omnipresent! And then, they fed back and were gone.

Things are slightly different now; thanks to the joy that is self evaluation, they phone school, email a pre inspection commentary (based on said self evaluation) and arrive 48 working hours later. They then spend two days asking you to prove what you wrote in your self-evaluation form. "Ah Mrs L, you said that Miss S in the nursery is a good teacher - can you ask her to show us a good lesson please?" So instead of 6 weeks of 15 hour days, I am on constant 15 hour days. The 15 hour days don't stop, they keep on coming. Now I am getting used to this - on the other hand, my husband is bloody furious about it. I understand why. He doesn't see me. Not even on a Saturday or Sunday. I am constantly here banging away at the PC, churning out lesson plans, data, performance management reviews, action plans, evaluations etc. etc.

So, we're waiting for the phone call. They didn't ring yesterday, so *counts on fingers*... they can't come this week. But they could ring today and come on Monday. And I have SO MUCH TO DO!

Know where I can buy a life anyone?

Awake

I don't quite know what's happening but my sleep pattern seems to be pretty much fucked. All topsy-turvy and back to front - it 3:47am and I've already been awake over an hour and I'm not really sure what to do about it! I've considered going to see the doctor; but what can he do? Offer me sleeping pills ... is that a road I really want to go down? What I need instead is some way of working out why this is happening and what's causing it.

I'm sure that it's work. Or rather the lack of work-life balance that I am currently suffering. Too many jobs to do, to many "plates to keep spinning", back to that thing of too many people wanting their little bit of me, their ounce pound of flesh. And lets not even get into how this is going to affect home life and marital harmony!

I made a decision to try NaBloPoMo this year - there's no way I could consider writing a whole novel in a month but posting once a day for the dreary month of November - probably not such a difficult process. From this angle and awake at this time, the end of the month looks a long way away!

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!