On Thursday evening it was wonderful to welcome governors to the termly forum meeting, live and in person at 5PS, the first time this has happened in two years. One of the agenda items was the update and implementation of the Education Strategy, where Christine Gilbert and I were able to keep governors posted on next steps and also outline some of the priorities for the short term. A reminder to Heads, that we have an Education Strategy launch next Friday 18th March at 5PS, from 10-12pm (lunch included), where we are workshopping four of five themes, as we start drafting the plan and involving groups of schools in the implementation stage. Please try and prioritise this event next week and we look forward to seeing you there.

A key theme running through the Education Strategy is Excellence and Equity, where the compatibility of excellence and equity as twin goals is threaded through the four foundations. The premise of this strategy is that excellence and equity must go hand in hand. I have actually been reflecting on the working definition of excellence and what does it mean for us (personally) and the way we work. What does it actually mean to be world class or excellent? It depends also on the lens we are looking through to make this judgement, verdict or declaration; schools and Local Authorities are judged against a framework, which then categorises that organisation. From a parent and carers’ perspective, what does excellence mean for them, the experience that they have with the school, Camden Learning or the Council, it could be based on a simple transaction, experience or against their own rubric.

Actually, there is not that much research out there on excellence, however, in my humble view, excellence is not just a categorisation or simply an award, it is being restless, each day, in the pursuit of excellence. Where you see excellence whether in schools, organisations or people, there is an unyielding ambition to exceed expectations, overcome barriers and restless impatience. It also comes down to culture and ethos, what does a high performing organisation, leader or teacher do to make or contribute to a great culture, that cultivates excellence? It is what we do every day to stay in front, that has to be sustainable and have depth, is it perfection or quality that we are striving for? This is a great discussion to have with staff and teams-see where it goes. Have an excellent weekend.

Jon Abbey

Managing Director of Camden Learning