Senior Leadership Team

Mrs Cathy Brokenshire

Headteacher

Designated Safeguarding Lead

Online Safety Lead

Curriculum and Assessment Lead

Trust Wider Curriculum Lead

RE Lead

Matilda by Roald Dahl is a true favourite of mine. I was a huge fan of Roald Dahl as a child and remember it being published and buying my own copy. Just like Matilda, I would often be lost in a book and I continue to read every day! I love that no matter how difficult life is at times for Matilda, she is always positive, kind and brave in every way. The way Matilda uses her superpowers and pranks to outwit Miss Trunchball made me laugh! As a teacher and head teacher, I would definitely see myself as more of a Miss Honey!

Mrs Rachael Nash

Deputy Headteacher

Year 5 Class Teacher

Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead

Teaching and Learning Lead

Attendance Lead

English Lead 

Languages Lead

One of my favourite books is Holes by Louis Sachar. I simply love the plot and the way that it is three stories all told at the same time, with years separating them. When all the connections are made at the end and the writer reveals how the stories and characters overlap, it still amazes me every time!  I love the main character, Stanley. I feel like he is an unlikely hero, but never the less he triumphs in the end. It is a story of hope, friendship and pig stealing descendants. It will make you laugh and cry in equal measures.

Mrs Jo Waters

SENDCo

Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead

Designated Teacher for Looked After Children and PLAC

TIS Lead Practitioner

My favourite children's book, at the moment, is The Fox in the Dark by Alison Green.

I love this book because it is so much fun to read aloud: there are lots of great sound effects, you can use different voices for all the animals, it has a rhyming pattern and repetition for the children to join in with! My son loves foxes and other wild animals, so he loved this story.

There is also a really funny part, that makes us giggle every time we read it, but you'll have to read it yourself to find out!

Miss Lizzie Stokes

Reception Class Teacher

EYFS Lead

PSHE and RHSE Subject Lead

Mental Health Lead

Trust Lead Practitioner (EYFS)

One Snowy Night by Nick Butterworth is my favourite story.

Reading this story makes me feel happy and safe. Percy is a kind character, who cares for all of the creatures in the park no matter what mischief they are making!

I can't believe this story always makes me laugh, even though I've read it hundreds of times!

Teachers

Mrs Becca Bateson

Reception Class Teacher

Maths Lead 

Geography Lead

Eco Council Lead

My favourite book is Anne of Green Gables by L M Montgomery. It is about an orphan who is adopted by a sister and brother who live on a farm, called Green Gables. She turns their lives upside down through her adventures, mishaps and imagination. I think the main reason I love it so much is that when I was eleven and first read it, I really wished I could live Anne's life or be her best friend. It all seemed so fun, free and exciting! 

Mrs Michelle Lawford

Year 1 Class Teacher

Early Reading Lead

History Lead

My favourite book is The Snail and the Whale by Julia Donaldson. It’s about a tiny snail who wants to go on great adventures, so he rides on a whale’s tale and sees magnificent places around the world! I love how the snail is so adventurous and that he gets to travel and explore different places. He even ends up saving the whale! It truly is a magical book filled with exciting adventures, and it even makes you think about how humans affect sea life and how to help them. It truly is an awesome book and makes you want to explore faraway places, although perhaps not on a whale’s tale! 

Mrs Sarah Parekh

Year 2 Class Teacher 

Design Technology Lead

Music Lead

Computing Lead

Advantage Project Lead

My favourite children's book at the moment is Odd Dog Out by Rob Biddulph. It is wonderfully written and illustrated and the way it rhymes makes it great to read out loud.  This is also a favourite bedtime story in my house.  I think the message of being confident to be yourself is a really important one and I love the journey that Odd Dog Out goes on to discover this.

Miss Morgen Kent

Year 3 Class Teacher

PE Lead

My favourite children’s books are the Famous Five series by Enid Blyton. Enid Blyton is one of my favourite children’s authors because of the way she can transport you to another world – like in The Faraway Tree books. I love the Famous Five books because they are exciting and each have an intriguing mystery which the children, and Timothy the dog, have to solve. I enjoy reading about how the children worked together to find clues and solve the mysteries. I also like that they are lots of books in the series, so you have plenty to read!

Mr Ben Murdock

I have always loved reading because I feel that a book can take you to any place or time and fire the imagination in ways no other medium can. My favourite book when I was a child was Fantastic Mr Fox by Roald Dahl. I loved how Dahl took me into the world of the cunning and daring fox and how terrible the farmers were. I must have read it ten times! The illustrations by Quentin Blake are engaging and funny, too, which makes the book a great reading experience.  

Mr Dave Bradbeer

Year 4 Class Teacher

I remember reading Tom's Midnight Garden by Philippa Pearce and feeling that I had been transported into the book, wherever I might have been in real life. It is the first book that I could not wait to pick up again, to read the next part and find out what was about to happen.

Miss Becca Rollason

Year 6 Class Teacher

Science Lead

Art Lead

Staff Local Monitoring Committee Member

I love reading and how you can be transported to different worlds. Ross Mackenzie does this brilliantly in his novel The Nowhere Emporium. I was captivated from the beginning of this book: plot twists, cliffhangers, danger and suspense planted throughout. The twisting maze of corridors that lead to rooms containing oceans, jungles and various other impossible things like the cruel, sinister villain on their tails who will stop at nothing until Mr Silver is dead and the emporium falls apart. Do Ellie and Daniel succeed in saving the emporium? Read the book to find out!

Administration and Library

Mrs Julie Crawford

School Secretary                                                                                                                      

Enid Blyton was my absolute favourite author as a child and I think I had every book she had ever written. The Faraway Tree books were always my favourite as a young girl. I loved the wonderful characters that lived in the tree such as Moonface, Saucepan Man, Dame Washalot and Watzisname! I always tried to picture what all their little houses in the tree looked like. In every chapter, a ‘magical’ land would arrive at the top of the tree, which the children would visit and have amazing adventures. Truly magical!

Mrs Kylie Purshouse

My favourite children’s book is We’re going on a bear hunt by Michael Rosen and Helen Oxenbury. This story reminds me of all the walks and adventures I go on with my own family and who knows, one day we may come across a bear? This book is a favourite bedtime story in my house. It’s a fun book to do all the actions and sounds as we read it together. 

Mrs Shirley Truscott

Animalcolm is the first book I have read by David Baddiel and it will not be the last!

The story revolves around a boy called Malcolm and he just does not like animals! Imagine his horror when his school trip is a visit to a farm!

No more spoilers, but if you want to laugh aloud (which I did), this book is just for you!

Learning Support Assistants

Mrs Tanya Edmunds

Nursery Manager 

Staff Local Monitoring Committee Member

Autism Champion                                                                                                                   

My favourite book is The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle. I would love to be like the little caterpillar as I love food and I would get to eat lots of different foods, especially chocolate cake! It would be great to turn into a beautiful butterfly and be able to fly wherever I wanted!

Mrs Dana Tippett

EYFS Teaching Assistant

The Wonky Donkey by Craig Smith is a new favourite book of mine. One of my children got it for Christmas and we have read it many times. It has brought lots of laughter at bedtimes and I enjoy the way it rhymes. It is a bit of a tongue twister and it makes me giggle when I read it.

Mrs Julie Henderson

One of my favourites books is Harry Potter. The detail in the writing by JK Rowling is truly amazing and her imagination is beautiful. The books are about much more than witches, wizards and magic. The book teaches the values of friendship, trust and love. My daughter now has her own box-set to read and enjoys reading a few chapters most evenings before she goes to sleep!

Mrs Kimberley Casper

My favourite book is Tiddler by Julia Donaldson and illustrated by Axel Scheffler. This is my favourite children's book as I love how Tiddler uses his imagination to create wonderful stories for his friends. This book shows children that no matter how young and small they are, they are able to create big magical adventures of their own!

Miss Tash Caust

EYFS Teaching Assistant and HLTA

My favourite children's book, The Tale of Peter Rabbit written and illustrated by Beatrix Potter, follows mischievous and disobedient young Peter Rabbit as he gets into sticky situations, and is chased around the garden by Mr. McGregor. The moral of the story is that you should always listen to your parents. This book is a true childhood favourite of mine as it brings back so many wonderful memories of receiving the book on my 6th birthday from my Nan and grandad, to then sharing and reading it at bedtimes with my three younger brothers and for many bedtimes after.

Miss Leanne Barbery

The Little Mouse, the Red Ripe Strawberry and the Big Hungry Bear by Don and Audrey Wood is one of my favourites books to read to my children. With a simple and engaging story, its narrative it straight forward but filled with suspense and anticipation as to what is going happen including if and when the bear is going to show up. It’s a beautifully illustrated book which children can easily recognise the emotions portrayed.  I like how we don’t see the bear as sometimes we can’t see things that we are afraid of. In the end, the mouse shares the strawberry and it’s good to share.

Mrs Elaine O'Mahony

My favourite children’s book is The Animals of Farthing Wood by Colin Dann it is about an unlikely group of animals who band together and embark on an intrepid journey across the countryside to a nature reserve. I enjoy this book as it encompasses many things I love, including nature, wildlife and adventure. The author brings the animals to life and gives them personalities which are endearing and the storyline grips you by presenting obstacles the animals face on their great journey.

Mrs Karen Hancock 

Year 1 Teaching Assistant and HLTA

My favourite book is The Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson. I really enjoy the storyline with the mouse and how he outwits the Gruffalo! I love all the characters in it, but the mouse is definitely my favourite! It was also both of my sons' favourite book to have read to them at bedtime.

Mrs Shelley Kinton

My favourite book is Fantastic Mr Fox by Roald Dahl.  As a child I read it time and time again, each time I was gripped reading how the clever Mr Fox (along with his community) outwitted the farmers.  I love the author’s humorous descriptions of the characters.  I have enjoyed sharing this book with my own children too!

Miss Hayley Andrew

My favourite children's book is We're going on a Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen and Helen Oxenbury. I enjoy the children's reactions to this story. This book encourages learning in all different ways as it supports in sensory and role play. It sparks imagination and conversation and is a firm favourite to get us all singing along together. 

Mrs Becky Hawken

Year 3 Teaching Assistant and HLTA

My favourite children's book is Giraffes Can't Dance by Giles Andrea. I have always loved this book, because not only Giraffes are my favourite animal, but also this book just embraces our differences. Growing up I was always the tallest in my class. Like Gerald, I sometimes felt awkward when doing certain activities. This book teaches children that everyone is different, but we must embrace that and help each other build confidence and self-esteem. No matter how difficult situations get, never give up on your dreams.

Mrs Amanda Rickard

Year 4 Teaching Assistant and HLTA

Breakfast Club

Lunchtime Lead

My favourite book is the series of Secret Seven by Enid Blyton. The Secret Seven are a group of children who hold regular meetings and organize things to do, whether it's helping the community in some way, solving mysteries that turn up, or just having fun playing in the woods. They have a secret password, a badge, and a secret headquarters in a garden shed! I enjoyed reading how they solved all the mysteries that they went on. It takes our value of great ‘teamwork’ to solve the clues!

Mrs Tracey Julian

Year 5 Teaching Assistant and HLTA

My favourite book of all time is The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle. I have loved it since I was a small child, when it was read to me in school. I have read it to my children when they were small and now also my grandchildren who are both starting to love it too!

Mrs Emma Bishop

One of my favourite books is Wolf Brother by Michelle Paver. I first read this ‘gem’ of a book when I was 11 and was instantly hooked! The first in a six-part series entitled Chronicles of Ancient Darkness, Wolf brother perfectly blends a prehistoric setting with fantasy. Clans, hunting, demons, and a young boy with powers he does not know, it is an action-packed adventure about orphaned Torak and his wolf companion overcoming the evil spirits that are conjured to invade their forest. I love Paver’s attention to detail in this story which really brings the world to life!

Mrs Rickie Smith

Cover Teaching Assistant 

My favourite book has to be the children's classic The Little Grey Men by Denys Watkins-Pitchford (who published under the pseudonym 'B.B'). Following the adventures of the last three gnomes in Britain, this tale is such a beautifully vivid celebration of the natural world. I loved learning how resourceful the gnomes were; they are entirely self-sufficient, living in harmony with the wildlife around them, sustainably foraging everything they need from the land. I find it interesting to see how much our vocabulary has changed in the eighty years since this charming story was penned. I would highly recommend this read for any budding naturalists out there! 

Miss Robyn Yorke

The Nest Lead

Learning Champion

TIS Practitioner

Bereavement Counsellor 

The Little Mermaid, by Walt Disney was my all-time favourite as a child. As a little girl, I had a huge love for mermaids and I still do today. I remember having the full set of Disney classics read to me as a child and I still have them today. I read them to my children, but this one is top of my childhood book favourites. I love how independent and kind Ariel is and how she just wants true happiness. I like to think this is what we teach children every day.

Mrs Jenna Loveridge

The Nest Lead

Autism Champion

My favourite books as a child were Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events. They are filled with intelligent, clever individuals and contained mystery after mystery. The fact that so few of those mysteries were resolved within the scope of the book, peaked my interest and sent me diving into investigations of my own. I loved the mystery and suspense. Most of all, I loved the characters. These books show we should never underestimate children! 

Mrs Debbie Rowe

Reading Champion 

Class Teaching Assistant

My favourite books are The Faraway Tree Stories by Enid Blyton.  I loved reading these stories when I was younger and then read them to my daughters. I love the characters and the adventures they get up to in each of the lands they visit. After each chapter, I couldn't wait to read the next chapter to see what antics the characters got up to next!  My favourite character was Saucepan Man when he muddled up his words!  I have enjoyed sharing the book with Year 2 children over the last few years.

Mrs Emma Squire

One of my favourite children's books is The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe by CS Lewis. I love the idea of finding a whole new world in the back of a wardrobe! In Narnia, they meet talking animals, a witch, a lion, lots of snow, there’s magic and so much more. The children learn lots about themselves and each other, including being brave and making the right choices, about loyalty and gain friendship with all the different animals they meet. If I were one of the characters, I would probably be Lucy, who is sweet and kind but also very brave and adventurous.

Lunchtime Team

External Providers

Mrs T Triggs

Forest School                                                 

Mr B Hawken

Choir 

Mr L Oxenham

Guitar Teacher