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The Rev’d Brenda Tipping MA is Honorary Priest-in-Charge of both parishes
The Vicarage, Hamilton Close, South Mymms, Herts EN6 3PG
Fax/minicom: 01707-643 142 E-mail: brendatipping@fsmail.net
Text Brenda on 07780-535 035,
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Brenda is always happy to receive requests for prayer, or for a listening ear, whether on an occasional or a regular basis. It would be helpful, where possible, if contacts about non-urgent matters could avoid Wednesdays and Thursdays - but of course contact her at any time when necessary. And she would be grateful to be told about illnesses or other emergencies affecting people living in the parishes.
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February letter 2010 from Rev’d Brenda Tipping
Just as we thought everything would get back to normal life after the Christmas festivities, life was turned upside down again by the weather. Hopefully everything is back to normal now, for a little while at least. However the pattern of my life has just had another disruption in the form of Ofsted. As anyone involved in any way in education will know, Ofsted is the body that inspects schools and children’s services on behalf of the Government. Towards the end of 2009 St Giles School was inspected, and because it’s a church school it was inspected a few weeks later by the church.
This time it’s a secondary school for deaf children, which I’ve been a governor of for several years, that’s being put under the microscope and I’ve been summoned to meet with the inspectors to be questioned about the care of the children. I have every confidence in the head teacher and her staff, and I’m no stranger to inspections, as a social work manager my team were regularly scrutinised. Nevertheless there is something very disturbing about people from outside, but with considerable authority suddenly arriving to carefully examine what you’ve been up to.
You may be surprised to learn that the church is regularly inspected too, the building is of course inspected, but so is all our documentation, to ensure that we are fulfilling our legal responsibilities and make sure that I’m doing my job properly. I’m sure that being inspected regularly is, in many ways, a very good thing, it ensures that we conform to the standards expected of us, that we are doing our best for those whom we’re responsible for. I do wonder though how we’d cope if we knew we were never going to be checked up on. Would our own personal integrity be sufficient to ensure that we would always do our best? Would our love and care and sense of responsibility for our community keep us in check? I’d like to think that it would, but in the meantime I guess I’d better check that I have all my facts right before facing Ofsted, again!
Rev’d Brenda.
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