Thursday 7 July 2011

Special Free School Paperwork Submitted, Now Back to Building Relationships

Having now had 3 weeks without the frantic activity associated with the writing of the proposal (which was of course in addition to the day job), I have now had the luxury of some time for reflection.   It has allowed me to identify what it is that I really love about working on important new projects and working on this one in particular.  For me it is definitely building and in some cases renewing of relationships with like-minded people.  I am reminded of a quote from the inspirational Margaret Mead who said:

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has.”

What gave me the motivation to keep working on the proposal, when I had my doubts about whether or not we would be able to meet the requirements and especially the deadlines, was the encouragement I received from parents, team members, former colleagues, teachers, headteachers and many others.  Without their support, I would not have been able to continue to hold the vision clearly in my mind and find the resources from within myself and from within our talented team, to adequately express that vision in a compelling way within our proposal.

I am now continuing with the consultation and find that I derive enormous satisfaction and inspiration from the responses that I receive.  Paper work and meticulous planning is, I know essential, but must not detract from, nor get in the way of, building strong and productive relationships with key partners and stakeholders.

This small yet growing group of thoughtful and committed people helps to keep me motivated and aware of the many possibilities of positive change that we believe this Special Free School will bring to children and their families.  It also serves as a useful distraction whilst we are waiting to hear about whether our proposal has made it through into the next round. 

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