Mr Almas

This week’s blog was written by Mr and Mrs Almas, parents of Elijah (Y 3) and Josiah(EYFS). Mr Almas
spent today in school sharing his passion for playing the drums, with pupils in the Primary school. He
has given us two days each year for the past three or four years, and staff and pupils alike appreciate
the opportunity to meet someone new, experience their expertise and passion and have a go for
themselves. If you have a skill or a passion that you could share, please get in touch and we can talk
about setting up a new experience for our pupils.

Mr Moon

Understanding what you are really looking for is a critical part of selecting a school. As we learned when
we set out on this journey, there is much more to the process than merely expressing an interest in a
school because we heard it was a good one. So, starting at the beginning and understanding what we
were really looking for helped us to filter the options. Coming back to these points also serves as a
crucial reminder along the way.
Here are some of the things that were important us to us –

The Right Priorities

‘Bradford Christian School exists to partner parents in seeking to bring their children up in the ways of
the Lord’.
This mission, is the cornerstone of our decision. We believe that first and foremost the responsibility of
our children’s’ education is ours. In choosing a school we are delegating part of this responsibility, a
large part of it. So ultimately our goal and the schools goal has to be a common one.
Psalm 1 which the school has embraced uses the word ‘planted’. For us as parents this is what we
desire. Children who are firmly planted in their faith in Christ and have deep rooted character and
maturity that will be the foundation for the rest of their lives.

Leadership

Before we chose to send our children to BCS we went to see Mr Moon for that all important new school
chat. We remember coming away with a sense that his door would continue to be open to us
throughout our children’s education. Its clear that he is someone who has navigated many bumps and
hurdles in the last 25 years. This sort of dedication and faith is an inspiration to us and shows us this is
more than just a ‘job’.

Teachers who care

We all know and remember the teachers in our own lives who cared about and believed in us. It’s
something that stays with us. I remember bumping into one of our son’s teachers at a party outside
school. She played and chatted with him for a large part of the evening. It made me realise she didn’t
just love children during ‘school hours’. The insights about the character and gifting of our children that
have been shared over the years have been consistently excellent. The staff clearly value and care about
them both as individuals.

Parental input encouraged

Right from the outset we remember the school encouraging us to get involved. This open door policy
gives us a lot of reassurance. Our eldest son is now in year 3 but since he was in nursery, Tom has
devoted a couple of days each year to his class both teaching drums and helping out. It’s created
precious memories but also allowed us witness the school first hand. It’s been great to see the quality of
teaching and the curriculum.

A focus on a love for learning

Every child differs in their academic abilities so if ‘success’ is only based on achieving the best grades
then its not the whole picture. It’s always been important to us that the school looks to be a spark plug
rather than a fuel pipe. The difference being the spark plug approach is about generating the internal
desire and love of learning in our children. So, regardless of their academic ability the desire to learn will
serve them throughout their life.
There’s got to be some strong medicine to motivate us as parents to continually sacrifice both financially
and in time and energy when there are often easier more convenient options. Coming back to these
points is always an essential reminder and source of encouragement. Hopefully this serves you in
considering what’s important to you.