Dear All,

In a week that has seen the first invasion of the US Capitol since British forces almost razed Washington to the ground in 1814, it would appear that parts of the Conservative government are attempting to do the same to the relationship teachers have with the Department of Education. We spent the Christmas break planning for two weeks of remote learning with subsequent deadlines for work submission as well as terminal examinations; within a day we had to change this to full remote learning for all. We did this seamlessly with the focus on children. We should be proud of what we are and what we do.

‘Sequaciousness’ is a 17^th Century word meaning slavishly following another, no matter where it leads. Whilst this could be applied to the actions of some of Trump’s supporters, I want to assure you that this is not the case in ESW with regard to the DfE.  We need to continue to do all we can to enable us all to provide the absolute best possible experience and education that we can for pupils, whilst ensuring safety.

Thank you for all you have done during what has been another extraordinary week.  I have put a very few comments below, taken from the very many that school leaders have received over the last few days over a number of schools, which reflect just how much what you are doing is appreciated by our children.    

Have a great weekend, when it comes,

Best wishes, Matthew

• I just wanted to drop you a message to say thank you for this week.  I can’t imagine what hours you have worked to get the school working over the last few days.

• Whilst this is not a situation any of us want to be in I feel very fortunate to be at x, and am hugely impressed by what you and the team have achieved this week to keep learning going for the children.  I also think the communication has been excellent.

• I heard from a teacher that he was really happy at the way the school was delivering lessons and that ‘attendance’ was excellent. Well done ESW!

• I thank you for all you are doing for the young people. Life is not easy for them at the moment and to provide the structure you have is fabulous. Thank you

• Wow! Thankyou for all the support you are giving to X!

For the cartoon below, I will leave you to decide which boat Gavin is in and which contains those working in schools…