Welcome from our Head Teacher - Mr Sharp

I am honoured to be the Head Teacher of such a wonderful school and to be given the opportunity to lead it in the next chapter of its long history. It is extremely humbling to be part of the All Saints family, a family which reaches as far back as the days of Oliver Cromwell in the middle of the 17th century. Our school has served the children and families of Newton Heath for over 350 years, during some incredibly challenging periods and though times of great change, and it is this service to the needs of our children that remains the core of what we do today - day in, day out.

One of the many strengths of our school is the caring and inclusive ethos, and the values at the centre of everything we do. As a Church of England School so closely linked with All Saints Church, the Christian values shared by other faiths and beliefs, of love, honesty, perseverance and compassion are the foundation of what we do and why we do it. These are values that I believe in passionately and try to live by personally and professionally.

Jesus’s words reflect the real challenge for us all in trying to maintain balance in our lives. Taking pride in what we do, but not being too proud and putting ourselves above others. Loving ourselves, but not at the expense of loving others. Celebrating our achievements, but also recognising areas for growth.

We intentionally have high (and hopefully reasonable) expectations of the children with regards to their behaviour towards others and their attitude to learning. It is with high expectations that we show the children that we believe in them and their abilities, hopefully making them more self-confident as a result. To maintain these high expectations and standards we must always strive to be good role models ourselves, provide challenge, to question, nurture, praise, celebrate, as well as reflecting on the mistakes that we all make and embrace them as an opportunity to learn. As a parent of two children myself, I certainly feel that I am regularly presented with many opportunities to reflect on myself and my mistakes.

Our vision for education is a simple but challenging one and is based on our values as well as the experiences we have had working at our school for many years. It is that we should aim for the children to be:

Initially this might seem simple and easy to achieve. However, I would say that these aims are the hardest to achieve, maintain and develop in childhood and to sustain as an adult. Personally I find keeping healthy, happy and confident more challenging as an adult than I do reading, writing, completing calculations, drawing etc. ‘Primary aims’ for ‘primary children’ we believe: prepare children for future learning, help develop positive relationships through life, expand their understanding of the world and enable them to have the choices we want them to have when they grow up. That is why our vision is the basis of everything we do in our school.

• Why do we come to school?

• Why is it important to learn new skills and knowledge?

• Why is it important to build positive relationships?

• Why is it important to get a job?

Eventually, when you keep asking yourself these questions, I think you get back to these aims. I feel incredibly fortunate to lead in a school where these aims have been nurtured, valued and strengthened over a long period of time.

These broad aims are supported by the more specific ones below.

We are a committed, dedicated and caring team at All Saints, not only in school, but also through our church and governing body. We know that children only get one chance in education, and we are passionate about giving all of our children the very best start. Relationships at every level are very positive, and everything we do is for the needs of the children, whatever they might be.

We believe that our children need, and deserve, a broad and rich curriculum, that not only gives them the skills they need for their future education, but importantly the understanding of how to care for themselves and to have loving and productive relationships in all aspects of life. Through our caring approach, assemblies, Religious Education and close links with All Saints church, we support children with their spiritual and moral development, whilst encouraging an understanding of the wider world and a respect for its rich diversity.

It is a very big challenge indeed to achieve all our aims purely through time spent in school. As children spend only about 20% of the year in school and 80% with their families, the better the working relationship is between school and families, the better the outcomes will be for the children. The better every child does in their education, the more choices they will have when they are older, and therefore have a better chance of happiness. It is a harsh reality that once children leave education, they enter a competitive world, and we want to do all we can to prepare them. If we provide support, challenge, encouragement and high expectations in school and at home, the children will thrive. We know it isn’t easy, and we try to provide as much information and support as we can, to give families the confidence they need to support their children at home.

I want to build a close, open and constructive relationship with all families so that we regularly hear your views, as well as explaining why we are taking certain approaches in school. Due to the large number of people within the All Saints family, I can’t promise that there will always be complete agreement, but if everyone remembers that each person cares very deeply about the welfare of the children, listens politely, keeps calm and respects other views, then we can continue to move the school forward.

I appreciate you taking the time to read this and if there is anything at all you want to ask or tell me, no matter how big or small, then please get in touch with me at head@allsaintsnh-pri.manchester.sch.uk.

Thank you for your support in the past and for that to come.

Mr John Sharp

Head Teacher

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