Headteacher's Message

Dear Parent/Carer

I had hoped to write this letter to introduce myself before now but, as I am sure you can imagine, the poor weather has been a rather unwelcome distraction. It has made for an interesting start, particularly when the television cameras started coming in to witness our efforts to keep going. I can honestly say life has not been dull.

You are probably aware that I took over as Headteacher in January, taking over from Mrs Williamson who acted up for one term. I want to start by publicly thanking her for the excellent job she did and for helping my start run as smoothly as I could have hoped for. Mrs Williamson will continue to make a huge contribution to the school, as will the very impressive Senior Leadership Team already in place. I also want to thank John Fowler for his support and recognise the wonderful work he has done over many years at Shelley. I know I am taking over a good, well-run school and I can focus on improving standards further, rather than worry about any weaknesses.

There is no doubt Shelley College is a very good school but I believe it can be even better. I have started to introduce myself to students in assemblies and my key message has been we will not compromise on success. I want to see busy, productive students, who are not content to achieve anything other than their absolute best. Our chief focus, of course, will be academic achievement but I do want to help students thrive in a whole host of areas, to help develop well-rounded and successful young adults. Most of all, I want to ensure the excellent care and attention every student receives continues to be a priority. I know from meeting a few parents already that these aims will receive widespread support.

We are fortunate to have so many well qualified and talented teachers at Shelley. I have visited a number of lessons now and there is much to be proud about. A key part of my role will be to help staff concentrate on their teaching and we will aim to make every lesson an outstanding experience for the students. I know I will have the full backing of everyone in the school.

Thank you for your support during the recent spell of bad weather. It is never easy deciding whether to close the school and it is further complicated by Shelley’s elevated position and extensive catchment area. We try to open the school as far as we possibly can, provided we are not creating unreasonable risks for students, staff and yourselves. The feedback I have received from parents suggests we have made the right decisions so far, and I appreciate your understanding. I really must pay tribute to those parents and staff who pulled out all the stops to ensure the public examinations ran so smoothly. I know there were many heroic efforts made to beat the icy conditions. Please continue to check the website or listen to Radio Leeds if the weather takes another turn for the worse.

The support staff deserve special praise for their determination to keep the school going over the last two weeks. Whether it be clearing paths, providing food, answering telephones or supporting individual students, there has been a huge team effort to keep the school running safely and efficiently. I am very grateful for their hard work and know an excellent team is in place.

The students are a genuine strength of the College. I have been very impressed with their mature and thoughtful behaviour. This can only happen because of your support and I want to say how much I am looking forward to building on this strength of good will in the years to come.  I know good communication is essential for this partnership to work well. We are investing in new technology to support this and will be launching the Parental Gateway soon. This will give you access to important information about your son or daughter’s progress. We will also look at making greater use of e-mail and texting to keep you informed of key events.

We will shortly be undertaking a review of the school development plan, perhaps re-visiting the stated aims of the college and I hope a number of you may help. I will be interested to hear more parents’ views about the college and how we might improve further. Please watch this space if you would like to get involved.

Thank you, once again, for making me feel so welcome. I am looking forward to meeting many more of you at forthcoming events and working with you to provide the best possible education for your sons and daughters. Given the recent disruption, I thought it was worthwhile clarifying some important dates for this term and a list is provided below.

Yours sincerely

Mr J P McNally
Headteacher