Can you tell us a bit about your background and what led you to a career in education?
As a child I loved school! Loved to read, draw, create project books – that kind of thing! My mum worked as a Reception class TA in the school my bother and I attended, so I spent a lot of time in that classroom after school watching her and the class teacher preparing for the next day, setting out activities, putting up displays – that kind of thing. As I entered my teenage years, I started helping out, and did lots of ad hoc work experience, I babysat a lot of children, which increased my interest in child development. I went off to university to do my four-year BA course and had some incredibly diverse teaching practice experiences in places like Doncaster and Grimsby. I graduated, got a job and got married in the summer of 1998 and began my teaching career that September. I have worked in both state and independent sectors, which led my move to Eton End in the September of 2017.
What’s one book, film, or piece of music that has had a big impact on you?
I absolutely love books, film and music, but I think it’s probably the theatre and reading plays as a student, first at A Level, then at university that has had a lasting impact on me. I was lucky enough to be taught by Geoff Readman, an incredible Drama lecturer at Bishop Grosseteste College in Lincoln. My first year was all about the history of theatre; Greeks, Romans, Italians, the history of pantomime, the use of mask and music. There was something about the Greeks in particular – the interference of the gods, the tragedy and sometimes the humour that really stuck with me. So much so that last Easter I directed a production of Antigone for the Windsor Theatre Guild and gave the story a very 90s twist – think Tony Blair, grunge and tabloid headlines. It was a wonderful experience and my first time directing in a professional theatre.
If you could have dinner with any three people, past or present, who would they be and why?
The first would be my paternal grandfather, Dennis. I never met him as he passed away just around the time my parents got married. From what I know of him – he was larger than life, he loved a party and left a huge hole in the family when he died. I had a wonderful relationship with all my other grandparents and really feel like I missed out on something special. I would ask him all kinds of questions about his time serving in the second world war, how he found teaching when he left the army and what my dad was like as a little boy! The second would be a wonderful woman who I first met when I was 9 when my family moved to Cuckfield, Barbara Grey (now Davies). She was my brother’s infant teacher; we went to a very small village school and she was a wonderful presence in our childhood. Imagine my surprise years later when I moved into my fourth year of University at BG to find that she was my Tutor! I would love to catch up with her and tell her all about my career and how I still refer to some of the pearls of wisdom she gave me 30 odd years ago! The third would be someone like Dame Maggie Smith. What an incredible career she had from her early days on the stage to her first films in the 1960s, all the way to her Harry Potter and Downton Abbey days. I would love to know who her favourite co-stars were, which was her favourite play to be in and which characters she related to the most. I loved her in ‘The Lady in the Van’!
How do you like to spend your time outside of school? Any hobbies or interests?
I love to potter in the garden – the Easter holidays is when I wake up my little garden and get all the pots ready for the summer! My husband and I enjoy a good boxset and usually have one on the go most of the time, we also love films and after watching the BAFTAs we made a list of the films we need to catch up on! I love meeting up with my friends; there are three in particular that I try and text, speak to or meet up with as often as our busy lives allow – we’re all senior leaders in schools! And I love to spend time with my husband and our three grown up daughters and their partners – sometimes our house is bursting at the seams, sometimes it’s just the two of us now!
What’s one piece of advice that has always stuck with you, and who gave it to you?
My dad always used to say “Don’t let ‘em get you down” and I’d like to think I apply this to all areas of my life – when my children were small and exhausting; a tricky class of children; an even trickier cohort of parents or people who don’t appear to be on ‘my side’. I try to be a ‘glass half full’ type of person even when times are challenging, or things aren’t quite going to plan. The other piece of advice I stick to daily is ‘in a world where you can be anything, be kind’. As a form tutor, I had this as a poster on my classroom door and engrained it into my pupils…the importance of being kind must never be overlooked. You never know what someone else is going through and a little kindness can go a long way.
You began as interim head and after success in the role, you are now officially the head at Eton End, how have you found your first couple of months as head teacher at Eton End?
It has been a rollercoaster and the steepest learning curve of all time! I have maybe had an easier time as a new head as I knew the school, the staff, the children and the parents before I began the new role. But we were also joining the ILG and we were at the start of the transition process. The support I have received from the ILG has been fantastic; I have a great mentor, Jo Smith, and many of the ILG SLT text or email regularly to make sure I’m still hanging in there ok! It was a real honour to host the ILG Head’s Day last term and a great opportunity for me to put faces to names and start to get to know who people are and where they’re from. I am also extremely grateful for the wonderful team of staff at Eton End who have been behind me all the way with words of encouragement and offers of help. I genuinely feel so lucky to be the Head of Eton End at this incredibly exciting time and so thankful that I am doing a job I love. As my lovely mentor Jo said to me at one of our fist meetings ‘you know what you don’t know’ and I’m proud of that…I know what I don’t know, but I’m ready to learn and do my very best for Eton End.
What has surprised you the most about Eton End since starting?
So my Eton End story started in 2017 when my family relocated to Eton. I interviewed for a class teacher job with the then Head, Sarah Stokes. I didn’t get the position, I was expensive coming from an SLT role at my previous school and they were looking for a rugby teacher – not something in my skillset unfortunately! Sarah kept my details on file and said she would be in touch if anything else came along. I didn’t think anything else of it, until she called with the offer of a TA role. I took it as I needed a job. Within a month or so, the person who got the job I wanted left and the job became mine. Two years later, Sophie Banks made me her Deputy Head and then this January I became the Head. So, I suppose the thing that has surprised me the most is where I find myself today – leading the school I have loved working in for seven years!
Now that you’ve had a bit of time to settle in, what do you think makes Eton End stand out from other schools you’ve worked at?
There is definitely something in the air at Eton End. There is a feeling you get as you walk through the door, I felt it all those years ago when I first came to look around. Prospective parents often mention it too – it feels like a place where you want to spend time. People are friendly, the children are happy and our grounds are welcoming. We may not be the largest Prep school in the area; we may not have a theatre or an astro pitch or a fancy sports hall but we have an incredibly strong community and that can be seen in the morning and afternoon on the gate, at events throughout the year and in the support families show the school at all times.
The school motto is ‘I am, I can, I ought, I will.’ What does that mean to you, and how have you seen it in action at Eton End?
When I first started at Eton End, I didn’t think too much about the motto, it was just something that had always been there. But then we started to think about how we could relate the motto to what we do each and every day. Our school values are closely linked to the motto and for each ‘I’ statement we have developed a series of affirmations that the children can say and aspire to such as ‘I am happy. I can be independent. I ought to show respect. I will show empathy and humility’. We have a school song that we sing at the beginning and end of every term that reflects this motto and it is truly embedded into all we do.
And finally, what excites you most about the future of Eton End?
Oh, I am so excited about Eton End’s future! We are thrilled to be a part of the ILG and we have great plans starting with opening The Nest, our Nursery, 51 weeks of the year straight after Easter. We also plan to open a baby room in September. I have a wonderful team of staff who work hard and feel the same as I do – that Eton End is a special place that we can’t wait to see grow and flourish.