This week started with a visit to a local primary school, where the data for our project was collected. It was lovely to speak to the headteacher of Orchard Meadows Primary School, and gain some insight into the socioeconomic context surrounding the school. I particularly enjoyed touring the school and meeting some of the students. 

A main goal for our team this week has been reading through the recent white paper 'Every Child Achieving and Thriving'. Since its a lengthy document, we decided to assign each team member a different section to summarise and share insights.

It has been interesting to reflect on the white paper after witnessing the real-life, everyday operations of a primary school in a particularly underprivileged area. While the white paper calls for many vital reformations across the education system, at times it appears unrealistic in its goals – particularly for schools with high proportions of students on Free School Meals (FSM), and students with Special Educational Needs (SEN). When conducting our data analysis and writing our report, it'll be important to consider how our research can be meaningfully applied within already strained contexts. 

Another key task has been Stakeholder Mapping. A meeting with our supervisor, Kristen, helped us to clarify how to categorise each stakeholder in terms of how central they are to our research question. 

In preparation for a busy Friday spent at Iffley Road Sports Centre for Powerhouse Games, and in Blackbird Leys, this weekly reflection comes at a slightly earlier time than usual. I'm looking forward to more opportunities to bond with my fellow Laidlaw Scholars and start with the data analysis portion of the project.