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Don Ledingham

Tuesday 08 August 2006

Met with Karen Robertson, our ICT Development Officer, to discuss our plans for the coming session. Karen has an excellent grasp of the big picture and allies this with an acute eye for detail - particularly in budgets. It seems that every time Karen meets me she leaves the room with a barrowload of work and today was no exception - I'm sure she will soon start to avoid me. Karen will no doubt update her version of events on her own weblog.

I then met a member of staff from one of our schools who is employed as a counsellor. These are relatively new positions in schools and it struck me that we need to clarify the role such people play in our school support systems - as things stand they have developed in a pretty ad hoc manner - yet can perform a very important function.

Met Raymy Boyle, our Integration Team Manager, Raymy updated me on the attendance review report - it semed to us that this is an area we could really make a point of focus for integrated working in the coming term - I know Sheila Ainslie is keen that we take this course of action.

Jim Stevens of the Scottish Executive, came into the office to meet with myself, Alan Blackie and Alan Ross to discuss our Integrated Children's Services Plan. In the course of a very worthwhile meeting it became clear to me that we need to use the Quality Improvement Framework for Integrated Children's Services as the key document to guide our planning process and that we should link this with rigorous self-evaluation - something akin to the Child at the Centre document I'd been working on prior to the holiday.

Followed this with a Directorate meeting then just managed to catch a a strategic meeting being held with Ewan McIntosh, Karen Robertson, David Gilmour and Ian Graham. It was great to sit on the sidelines and see things taking off - it put me in mind of the the release element of the child rearing metaphor. Nothing gives me more pleasure than seeing that things are developing a life of their own and don't need my direct involvement.

Exam results came out today for pupils - both my sons got their envelope and did well (certainly better than their dad ever did!!) I'm very proud.

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