#Pyjamagate
#pyjamagate…. #pyjamageddon… the last few days of my headship life were definitely not covered by my teacher training, my NPQH, or indeed Masters of Education in Leadership. What it has taught me, which will be an excellent real-life example for our ICT curriculum at school, is the power of social media and how small the world is in which we live.
As I left work on Monday after a typically busy day (which did include a small and, what I thought to be, innocuous letter to parents requesting them not to wear pyjamas on the school run) I had no concept of what lay ahead for our little community.
The story is one of Facebook, shares, Twitter, local and national radio and television followed by Philip and Holly and NBC America! Supplementary calls from Ireland, Japan, South Africa, Finland, Canada, Australia and Denmark quickly followed as well as what appeared to be the world’s journalists outside our front entrance. I think I began to understand the enormity of it all when my brother texted me to say that he’d been offered money by a paparazzi photographer for a photograph of me at home in my pyjamas…. Yes really… me, a Head Teacher of little or no consequence or value to the paparazzi.
To set the scene over the past months the frequency of parents wearing nightwear on the school run and within school meetings had shown a rapid increase. When the time came for our fabulous Christmas performances I noticed that a significant number of parents attended wearing some sort of pyjama.
Now I am a Head Teacher who is passionate about the school and our fabulous estate and I am determined to work with my staff and parents to raise standards, optimism and resilience and to prove that no matter where you are born, you can reach your full potential whatever that may be. Our children are stunning individuals and whatever action I take is always centred in the children we serve.
So the letter… I thought long and hard over the Christmas break whether or not I should send a letter and finally decided to do so. Now this letter was not a middle-class, snooty, do-as-i-do communication as it has been reported on some media sources, it was a gentle and polite request that parents may wish to start dressing in day ware to bring their children to school. The rationale behind it was this: An excellent routine for children enhances brain development and also provides security and boundaries for children. This means that children have safe parameters in which they are ready to learn. I feel that in parents supporting such a routine as dressing and showing a readiness for the day ahead can help this.
I completely understand that events can occur which can completely upset a whole morning routine, meaning there is no time to dress; however – should this be a regular occurrence then is it fair to say that plans can be made to mitigate this?
I must reinforce that Skerne Park Estate is a fabulous community full of hard-working and proud people, and the letter was not a criticism of parenting or specific people, it was a plea to help our children further still in their journey towards absolute brilliance!
So I’ve been asked… after all of the craziness of the last few days, if I could go back in time would I avoid sending such a letter again. My answer is this…. absolutely not. I am here for one reason and one reason only and that is to ensure we give our children the very best life chances we can. Sometimes that means I have to stick my head above the parapet and leave myself open to criticism and a few low blows. That’s what school leaders do, they overcome barriers, change paradigms and do their utmost to inspire the pioneers of tomorrow. As a leader you need to be a voice, not an echo.
Kate Chisholm, Head Teacher, Skerne Park Academy, Darlington