Trust is...

As a class teacher, I was always acutely aware that when parents delivered their children to my classroom door, they were bestowing upon me an unfathomable level of trust. They were literally handing me their most precious possession.

Never before have parents had to trust a school in the way you are trusting us now; DESS remembers this in everything we do, every day. We are more aware than ever at the new levels of trust that can be seen and felt across the school.

We all benefit from trusting others and being trusted; great strength is gained from secure, trusting relationship. When children feel safe and trust that their needs will be provided for, they are able to learn, are willing to try new things and take risks, are more confident problem solvers, will react better to stress and can be more resilient. Children who trust, have stronger intra and inter-personal relationships, which aids them throughout their entire lives. The relationships we have at DESS are testament to the high levels of trust we have across our whole community.

In our line of work, we get to hear the innocent wisdom of children, who can often succinctly summarize complex topics. For those of you who aren’t lucky enough to work with children I wanted to share some of that wisdom. I asked a few members of Year 3 and 4, “What is trust?” and here were their answers:

“Trust is…

…when you know you can believe in someone.” Joshua

…when you believe that someone will be honest and do what you have asked.” Khyrah

…something that means you can believe someone.” Naisha

…when you know that person ** will be honest with you always.” Arhan

…you can tell someone a secret.” Alizeh

…when you believe in someone or something.” Zakariyya

…knowing it is someone you can believe in and won’t let you down.” Christopher

…somebody you can believe in and you know they will do the right thing.” Aryan

…when someone tells you something you believe them, that is trusting them.” Aliyah

To all our parents, on behalf of everyone at DESS I want to say thank you. Thank you for believing in us to protect your children as best we can, to be honest, to listen when you need to talk and for relying on us in this great moment of need.

I hope you enjoy this week’s newsletter and continue to trust us as we navigate through these stormy seas together.

Rebecca Eldred

Assistant Headteacher