Service Director: Learning
A day in the life Helen Whiter: Service Director: Learning
I arrive at the office at 7.45 to have a quick check on new emails before my first meeting of the day. Guy, Head of Standards and Effectiveness 11-19, pops in to discuss a concern about a secondary school and we agree a strategy.
The first meeting is with Gill, our new Head of Early Years and Childcare. In particular we discuss how we can increase our general support for teachers in Reception in order to improve the Foundation Stage outcomes and target support to those schools where there have been significant declines in results.
This is followed by a three hour Learning Directorate Management Team. The agenda covers: proposals for savings, feedback from the Learning Directorate Conference (focus on leadership - good attendance and very positive feedback), an update on results with commentary and planned actions, final arrangements for the setting up of our 'New Directions in Learning' group, proposals for a 'Learning outside the classroom project' and updates from each of the Heads of Service.
After a brief break to get an update from Fay, my PA, I have the monthly 1:1 meeting with Frankie, the lead officer for Cambridgeshire Culture. This is our strategy to ensure that all children experience a range of cultural activities. Frankie gives me an update on what has been happening since our last meeting and I am particularly pleased that more secondary schools will be signing up to the cultural guarantee, which commits them to providing an entitlement to a range of activities for students in their schools.
I then chair a meeting of teacher union county secretaries. We have a wide ranging agenda which covers issues raised by them and updates and presentations from the Local Authority. These are always lively meetings!
I then have a short meeting with colleagues to discuss progress on 14-19 developments. This includes work within the Learning Directorate, in particular diploma rollout and our developing quality assurance work, but also the arrangements for the transfer of LSC responsibilities, which sits within the Strategy and Commissioning Directorate.
Directors then have a meeting with Gordon, Executive Director, which is a regular informal opportunity to share updates and raise issues. Much of the time is spent discussing our strategies for making the savings required for the coming financial years. We are keen to ensure that managers are included in developing proposals.
Throughout the day, between meetings, I check for any urgent emails, but at the end of the day I spend about an hour and a half responding to emails, checking and sorting post and signing paperwork eg references, letters congratulating schools on Ofsted reports.
I then walk home - only 10 minutes, but at least some fresh air. After my evening meal, I check through all the paperwork for the following day: preparing for a meeting with a school in special measures and for two six-monthly reviews of appraisals with Heads of Service. I also draft what I am going to say at the end of the cross-Directorate conference to be held later that week and draft an agenda for a meeting the following week.
