CEO Thought for the Week

Happy Friday Everyone!

I hope you are all well and looking forward to the weekend. 

Yesterday, I had the privilege of attending the Diocese Conference with a number of our Church schools and it was a great day of positive messages whilst at the same time acknowledging the challenging climate in which we all work. I found myself during the day reflecting on our Trust strapline of "Ready to Learn; Prepared to Flourish" as the conference was around the theme of "Flourishing for All".

Now many of you will have heard me speak about what "Ready to Learn; Prepared to Flourish" means for us and as a Church Trust you will know that the biblical quote from Ephesians 4:16  underpins it but in this email  I want to focus on that strapline and hopefully give it some additional context.

The phrase "Ready to Learn" might make you think immediately about pupils and how their learning behaviours are crucial to successful lessons, it may also make you think about resources and everyone having what they need to be "ready". We have also talked in the past about how for some children it's the welcome at the door, the slice of toast in a morning or the emotional support to bring them to a place where they can feel "Ready to Learn". All absolutely true! However, "Ready to Learn" applies to all of the adults as well as the children. Within Infinity it represents a commitment to being open, honest, transparent, reflective and evaluative of all we do because without those things we can't be "ready" for anything new or to improve. It means having humility, leaving ego at the door and having a genuine passion for developing ourselves and those around us. Being "Ready to Learn" is about character and the way in which we go about our days as professionals. It is a constant question we need to ask ourselves each day. Am I in the right mindset and showing the right attributes to be "Ready to Learn" and therefore be part of my own and the schools improvement journey?

Being "Prepared to Flourish" can once again lead us to think about all that we are providing for children to support them in their education journey and to help them develop as positive, considerate members of society. And all that is again true but "Prepared to Flourish" relates to us as adults and the relationships we have with our children, our families and our colleagues. "Flourishing" is not a personal endeavour, we cannot "flourish" in isolation. Flourishing is a team game and it is only by support, encouragement and lifting up others that we all in turn allow each other to flourish. Being "prepared" for this is again about putting to one side our thoughts of self and focussing on others. Are we able to put others first, can we give of ourselves and expect nothing in return (at least not immediately), can we spot a need and fill it and can we strive to bring equity for those who cannot achieve it for themselves. Within Infinity we want everyone to flourish but in order to achieve that it will take everyone committing to the same endeavour. I will leave you with a quote from yesterday's conference that really resonated with me!

"Flourishing can only happen when each and every child (person) is treated with dignity. For they are of unique and inherent worth, each created in the image of God and for whom Jesus gave his life. Therefore they are- to be loved unconditionally, enabled ambitiously, supported compassionately and championed relentlessly."

Have a great weekend everyone and as this will be last CEO email this term please enjoy a wonderful Easter break when it arrives. Thanks for being awesome!

Best Wishes

Gavin