As our older children begin their final half term at primary school, we have also seen a literal leaving of the nest experience at school recently.
Earlier in the term one of the five-year-old pupils brought her outdoor wellies in from our boot store and said to her class teacher ‘there’s a nest in my boot’. And there it was – a robin’s nest complete with eggs. Carefully returned to the boot store and watched from a distance, it became the centre of school life for a while. A few weeks later three of the eggs hatched and one of the chicks survived and fledged.
For all the importance of high academic attainment and rapid progress we must not lose sight of these fantastic awe and wonder moments for our children, experiences that touch them and may remain with them for many years, long after they have forgotten how many level 4s they achieved!
Tony Priest
