Celebrating an OUTSTANDING Ofsted at The Rowans in Chatham

Together with my colleague Councillor Kelly Tolhurst we visited The Rowans today to congratulate them on their recent OUTSTANDING Ofsted.

Greeted by the Head Teacher Caron Johnson we were given a tour of the School and had the opportunity of talking to both pupils and staff.

There are 52 pupils at the School all that we met with today were obviously learning and happy in their environment.

Congratulations to the Head Teacher and all of the Staff on this Outstanding achievement.

Photograph above shows us with the Head Teacher.

A fantastic Medway Ethnic Minority Forum “Community Fair”

Along with my colleagues Councillors Kelly Tolhurst and Jane Chitty, I visited the Medway Ethnic Minority Forum Community Fair at

Fort Pitt Grammar School yesterday.

Some wonderful stalls with a multi cultural mix of different foods, Arts and Craft.

It was great to see people from the local community visiting the fair, taking advantage of the offers on the stalls and of course appreciating the dance

and music on offer as well.

Some wonderful singers (photographed below) and above with my colleagues Kelly and Jane and of course the President of the Medway Hindu Community Association and Chair of the Medway Ethnic Minority Forum, Priti Joshi. Also in the photograph are members of the Forum.

Kelly and Mike, Ready for Action!

My Cabinet colleague Kelly Tolhurst and I had the pleasure of visiting 3 PWRR (Princess of Wales Royal Regiment) at their Fort Clarence base yesterday.

I was there as a member of the Kent and Medway Military Covenant Partnership and my colleague Kelly was there as the Ward Member for the area and of course my Cabinet colleague as Portfolio Holder for Educational Improvement.

We had the opportunity of meeting both the Reservists and also a group of potential recruits who were there for a presentation on the fantastic opportunities that being a Reservist offers.

Afterward we were able to visit the Drill Hall to view some of the equipment that Reservists are trained with and the photograph above shows Kelly and I with some of the equipments.

It was a really interesting evening and we extend our thanks and support for all at 3 PWRR Regiment.

Note – There were no bullets in the rifle!

A great visit to Sir Joseph Williamsons Mathematical School

Continuing my tour of Medway Secondary Schools with the Deputy Lieutenant to present them with their copy of “Unconquered“, I visited Sir Joseph Williamson’s Mathematical School in Rochester today in the company of Deputy Lieutenant Russell Race and my Cabinet colleague and Ward Councillor Kelly Tolhurst.

Usually we present to the School Council, around 12 -15 pupils but we were delighted to find that when we were welcomed by the Head Teacher Mr Hodges that we were in fact going to present to the Lower School Assembly, some 500 pupils.

The pupils were fantastic and it was a real pleasure to be able to present the book to the Head Teacher with whom we are photographed above.

Our Medway School Improvement Strategy is presented to Cabinet today

I was extremely pleased to support my colleague Councillor Kelly Tolhurst in presenting our new School Improvement Strategy to our Medway Cabinet Colleagues today.

Here is what I said in support :

Thank you Leader,

I fully endorse what my colleague Cllr Tolhurst has said.

The importance of this document cannot be underestimated, although we have had School Improvement plans in the past, through consultation with schools, members will note some differences from previous plans in the past.

It isn’t just council, as colleagues know, we do in fact have very little influence over our schools, whilst we can cajole and challenge, it is in fact the head teachers, the teaching professionals and governors who are responsible for the pupils achievements and progression in individual schools, be they LEA or Academy. For that reason, the work Cllr Tolhurst has done in boosting governor numbers cannot be underestimated.

We are not blind to the fact that we need urgently to drive up standards in the Primary sector and although this strategy encompasses all schools, our primary thrust is our Primaries and in particular key stage 2.

We need to not only raise the aspiration of our children but also that of parents we need to market the notion of adults as well needing more learning. If adults want to learn then so too will their children. We are not content for schools to be used as free day care and we support completely parents working with teachers for the best outcome of their childrens learning.

The advantages are enourmous for the whole community. with the Paramount development coming along just up the road in Greenhithe, where, I believe, you will need to be multi lingual to sell ice cream. It is for this reason that I would urge all schools to offer opportunities to learn second languages, such as mandarin. It cannot be emphasised enough, that I believe this will be a crucial skill in giving children the best start in what is now a rapidly changing world.

We need to ensure that our children are trained and equipped for jobs that we don’t even know exist yet. It is essential that we encourage more adults to get involved as volunteers in our schools to assist in learning and in particular with reading. I understand from OFSTED, that local authority support, for Temple Mill School, has been praised, for in just a few months, improving reading.

What is evident, is that this strategy will support us as the local authority and the community to support the hard working teachers, parents and governors who are championing our children’s education here in Medway. I am sure that members will join me in overwhelmingly supporting this recommendation.

I would urge colleagues to support the recommendation as outlined by Cllr Tolhurst.

 Picture by courtesy of Medway Matters

A warm welcome for Mike and Kelly at All Faiths Children’s Academy in Strood

Together with my colleague Councillor Kelly Tolhurst we visited All Faiths Children’s Academy yesterday for their Hera meets Juno day. The whole Academy was celebrated a Greek and Roman day with children(and teachers)  all dressed in Roman and Greek clothing and presenting interesting displays, dances and performance.

Kelly and I had some super guides for the afternoon and we are pictured above with them.

Thank you to Mrs Taylor and all of the team at All Faiths Children’s Academy for a super day.