“To pursue bright spots is to ask the question ‘What’s working, and how can we do more of it?’ Sounds simple, doesn’t it? Yet, in the real world, this obvious question is almost never asked. Instead, the question we ask is more problem focused: ‘What’s broken, and how do we fix it?’”
–Chip Heath & Dan Heath, Switch: How to Change Things When Change is Hard
At Stockley Academy we have a great deal of good practice so I am on a mission to find the ‘Bright Spots’ and celebrate success. Below are some examples from last half term:
I just wanted to say congratulations and well done to Humanities for organising 2 fab events last half term.
The mock elections provided a fabulous opportunity for the students to engage with politics. The polling booths made the experience incredibly real. The election manifesto PowerPoint probably helped some swing voters to make a final decision later that day….! Thank you to Jack and Ellen for capturing the atmosphere so well in their very entertaining Stockley News Report.
VE Day provided a fantastic atmosphere and it was an amazing and emotional experience hearing Churchill over the tannoy. Indeed it was very poignant and provided a stimulant for the students to investigate further into their own history. Huge thanks to Cucina staff who really went the extra mile in support. I was also impressed by the work that James Bate put into creating the power-points for form times to inform students and staff of the 2 events.
Overall a fab couple of days with really well organised events by the hums team and great support by all members of staff.
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A couple of weeks ago whilst on Duty Patrol I noticed that Sherish had her yr 11 class in total silence heads down working away. But the most interesting thing was the fact that each student had a little bag in front of them. I was intrigued. I actually walked passed a number of times to find the best time to walk in where I wouldn’t spoil the ambience of the room:
Later Sherish gave me details of what was in the goodie bags. The contents were: 3 highlighters, black pen, pencil, post-it notes, a bar of chocolate, a little good luck message for each student, laminated card breaking down each question in the exam, few past papers, and a revision booklet.
This pack enables students to work independently on revising for their English exam. The students clearly appreciated the effort Sherish went to and as a result of that were clearly motivated and focussed in the lesson.
This is a great example of a Bright Spot and nice to see. If you have got something you would like me to shine a light on, then let me know.
MalCPD 
Reblogged this on stockleyacademy.
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What a lovely way of sharing the ‘bright spots’. There is so much that goes on in our schools that we often miss some amazing things and this is a superb way of sharing positive messages about the positive things that happen daily. I know that students, teachers, support and technical staff all work very hard in many different ways to make school a positive experience and this approach enables us to acknowledge and say thank you to them. Thanks for sharing this idea in a blog as it has inspired me to keep an eye out for the often missed things that go on in school and to share them as ‘Bright Spots’ Diolch yn fawr.
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Thank you for your comments. I had quite few emails from staff who said it really made them smile. We’ve just had OfSTED so I am going to have to write another one this week on how all staff pulled together.
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Hope all went well. It really is a great way of showing staff and students they are valued. Looking forward to the next one.
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Reblogged this on BlogBJMock – Y Byd a'r Betws and commented:
Sharing good practice in ‘Bright Spot’ blogging. Diolch.
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