Why I decided to commit to a 140 mile round trip every day to work in a school that I love; in a community like no other.

Towards the back end of the previous academic year, I found the mentality and drive I had for my work beginning to fade. My declining well-being was beginning to seep into my professional world and I knew something drastic had to happen to get me back on track. So, at the beginning of this academic year I made the decision to move back to Liverpool to reestablish my support network and focus on my well-being. While this was a difficult decision, it was very much a necessary one. Even though I am someone who advocates for the positive action around mental health awareness, I often shy away from discussing and exploring my own mental health needs, preferring to focus on supporting others. Frankly, it was time for that to change. It was time for me to focus on what I needed and wanted, starting with a sharper focus on what made me genuinely happy which, without being cheesy, was my school – more specifically the staff and students I have privilege of working with.

It was for this reason, when thinking about moving back home, that I found the possibility of having to leave my school so distressing. Whilst I understand that there are plenty of other schools out there, non quite fit in with my values and beliefs about education like Leeds West Academy does. But it’s something more than that, it’s also a place where I feel like my contributions are valued and I can genuinely make a difference. It’s the place where my professional development has been given the opportunity and space to grow…

I began to reflect on the power of a good (and i’m not talking Ofsted ‘good’) school… a school that knows and supports its staff and students is crucial in building a culture that people can thrive in, not stagnate in.

One of the unexpected barriers I faced when committing to a 140 mile round commute was the negative and somewhat detrimental comments about how ‘onerous’ and ‘ridiculous’ my journey would be – I cannot begin to count the number of people who have called me ‘crazy’ and told me to find somewhere closer to home. Frankly, it is comments like this that floored me early on, because I began to believe them and it took some time to unpick these myths and refocus on the positives of my daily journey – the ability to deflate after a long day, meaning that I reclaimed my personal space and my home finally became a place for family and friends, rather than an office away from school.

Yet, regardless of those few, unintentionally damaging, throw-away comments I am in awe of the kindness and support I have received from the community which we serve. Not only have students taken a genuine interest in my journey to and from school and are conscientious when attending after school sessions with me to make sure “it’s worth [me] staying”, but they are showing a level of kindness and care that I did not expect. One student, after seeing me at a particularly low point, handed me the following card:

Now, I think it’s important to note that this student is part of our Internal Alternative cohort and has previously had a lack of positive relationships within the school. Yet, he went out of his way to write this, off his own back, because he “hated seeing [me] upset” which brings me back to this idea of building a culture in the school that lets the community thrive and secure meaningful relationships. It was reflecting on the above situation that I seriously started to consider the implications and power of language that we often flippantly use. More specifically, how that language is used to communicate with staff and students on a regular basis and how often the slightest change in vocabulary choice has the power to be obliterating or empowering – a topic I will be exploring in more depth as part of my leadership role.

So, where do I finish this post? I have completed 9 weeks of my new commute and honestly, it doesn’t even phase me, not even the regular Friday night three hour traffic, because at the end of the day I know I am exactly where I want to be.

But before I finish up, I thought the best way to round of this post would be to end on potentially the most ‘important’ aspect of the entire move… the return of the Purple Bin. A symbol of being a true scouser.