Head’s blog
This week we had planned for an exciting trip to take place; a visit to Didcot Railway Centre to complement our school topic ‘On the Move’, with its focus on transportation.
The weather forecast of 100% chance of rain and winds of 42 MPH loomed over the day and sadly proved to be correct. We therefore made the decision to cancel the trip due to the risks posed by the weather conditions on the motorway and indeed at the centre itself, which is entirely outdoors and very exposed.
When plans change teachers have to act quickly because three classes of disappointed children arriving at school is a situation that needs to be turned around. We needed to make sure the children still had an exciting day full of memorable and meaningful experiences. The Year One team were amazing and pulled together resources and plans to have a junk modelling project day – with the purpose of designing and making their own train in groups! The children responded to this with great excitement and worked with enthusiasm and energy to complete this task, applying plenty of listening and team work skills. I was hugely impressed, not only the adaptability and creativity of the staff, but also of the children. The day was not going to be ruined by a change of plan – the children quickly accepted the situation and threw themselves into a new challenge.
The attached photographs capture the focus and effort within the process, the pride at the results and quality of their creations! It just goes to show that when things do not go according to plan, they can be turned into positive experiences. The opportunity to model this flexibility of thought and attitude to the children was hugely valuable.
Never let a learning opportunity slip away!
