A letter came home from school in each of my girls book bags today.  Apparently a new national curriculum is being implemented in all primary schools from September this year.  In the school that my girls attend it will only form one part of what they teach, and so the Headteacher has (rather wonderfully) taken the opportunity to ask us parents for our opinions on how their curriculum can be ‘creatively developed’ to ‘ensure a unique learning environment for the children’.

The letter asked two questions:

“What personal qualities would you like your child to take forward into the future from their time at this school?”

and

“What experiences would you like your child to have whilst at our school?”

Firstly, I’m delighted that the girls school is so solution-focused and has such a positive outlook on treating everyone as an individual within the system.  Secondly, what a fantastic chance to introduce ideas that I would love to see implemented in my girls education!

I thought long and hard about it, and came up with the following:

Personal qualities:

• Resilience
• Kindness, compassion and empathy for others
• Creativity and imagination
• Confidence in their abilities
• Belief in themselves
• Perseverance and determination
• Ambition
• Positivity
• Love of learning
• Enthusiasm to take on a challenge
• Gratitude

Experiences:

• Outdoor experiences in nature (ie: beyond the playground!) so they can explore the natural world and all it’s beauty and resources
• More sporting opportunities
• Community, fundraising and volunteering opportunities
• Mindfulness, yoga and relaxation techniques

I try and help the girls learn about and develop all of the qualities I’ve listed above during our time at home together.  It’s not easy, but I’m determined that they grow up being happy with who they are, and I think all of those things (and experiences) will help them with that.  But even with all the will in the world, lets be honest – school is a completely different environment, and continuing the teachings while they are out of my care is the tricky part.  I really hope that my comments get noted and taken on board, and some of my suggestions introduced – I think it will help make a real difference.

Then I started wondering what some of the other parents might put – not in a negative comparison kind of a way, more out of curiosity.  And then I got thinking… what would you put?

So, if you have children (or even if you don’t!) what personal qualities would you like them (in reality or hypothetically) to develop?  And what experiences would you like them to have?  I’d love to get your feedback on this, so please do leave a comment below with your ideas and suggestions.

Thank you 🙂

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