Who's Who

Senior Leadership Team

Mrs Cathy Brokenshire

Headteacher

Designated Safeguarding Lead

Designated Teacher for Children in Care

Online Safety Lead

Curriculum and Assessment Lead

Maths 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 6 Class Teacher

Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead

Teaching and Learning Lead

English Lead

One of my favourite books, EVER, 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

TIS Lead Practitioner

Phonics Lead

Trust Lead Practitioner (SEND - Communication and Interaction)

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

Staff Wellbeing Champion

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 Chrissy Khan

Year 1 Class Teacher

History Lead

School Council

My favourite book is The Snail and the Whale by Julia Donaldson. I love the way the story rhymes and how it gets across to me that no matter how small, we are all equally important. I love the snail’s aspiration for adventure, his desire to see the world and his unlikely bravery. I love how the whale shows kindness by taking the snail along on his journey.

Miss Kim Csehi 

Year 2 Class Teacher

PE Lead

PE and Sports Premium Lead

Educational Visits Co-ordinator

My favourite book is Mrs Armitage on Wheels by Quentin Blake who is the author and illustrator. I used to read this book to my daughter when she was little. We loved laughing at the different ways Mrs Armitage would try to modify her bike! She was never content with how it looked and was always adding more and more until finally… CRASH BANG WALLOP! It falls to pieces! Mrs Armitage was  clever and curious. We think she may have been a scientist or a designer! I have kept this story safe, as we have happy memories from reading it together.    

Mrs Rebecca Bateson

Year 2 Class Teacher

Geography Lead

Eco Council

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! 

Mr Lee Vincent

Year 3 Class Teacher

Computing Lead

Growing up I always found reading hard. I was very picky, but I knew if I could find something funny, I would enjoy it. My favourite book now is Gangsta Granny by David Walliams as it has everything I enjoy in a book. It is a story that I share with my son and we read a chapter every night before he goes to bed. We both find ourselves laughing throughout the book and it has never failed to put a smile on our faces!

Mr David 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.

Mrs Hannah Pickford

Year 4 and Year 6 Class Teacher

Religious Education Lead

My favourite book is The Detective Dog by Julia Donaldson. It is about a dog called Nell who accompanies her owner Peter to school to hear the children read. One Monday, school smells wrong. The books have vanished! A thief's been at work. I began reading this story to my little girls at the beginning of the lockdown. It soon became a family favourite and we all know it off by heart. Besides the brilliant story and wonderful illustrations, I  love the way Julia Donaldson's stories are written like a ​rhythmic poem and sound even better read and shared aloud.

Mrs Jackie Warren

Year 5 Class Teacher

Science Lead

Music Lead

The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett was my favourite book as a child. I must have read it over and over again. The book is about Mary who is orphaned and goes to live with her uncle Archibald Craven at Misselthwaite Manor. With nothing else to do, Mary wanders about the manor's gardens and learns that there is a garden that is kept locked behind a door. Mary becomes determined to find the garden and open it. I always wanted to have my own secret garden and I am sure that it was this book that has inspired my love of gardening today.

Administration, Pastoral and Site Staff

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 Wendy Calvesbert

Parent Support Advisor

Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead           

TIS Practitioner

War Horse by Michael Morpurgo is one of the best books I have read. It is about a horse, Joey, who is bought by the Army from a farm in the First World War. The writing of this story is superb and I was with Joey in his thoughts and feelings, especially when he was witnessing the devastation on the Western Front. War Horse shows the strength of character of the horse and highlights the important role that horses played in the First World War.

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!

Mr Tony Burgess

Site Supervisor

Learning Support Assistants

Mrs Tanya Edmunds

Nursery Manager                                                                                                                      

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

Nursery 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.

Miss Charlotte Newell

Nursery Apprentice

Stickman by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler is my favourite book because I enjoy reading this book with my nephew. He loves the book, especially Stickman!  In the book, I love how Stickman never gives up trying to get back to his family, even though it gets hard and he gets further away. I also love how Stickman always stays true to his self and never forgets who he is, “I’m Stickman, I’m Stickman, that’s me!” I especially enjoy how the book rhymes all the way through. The ending is lovely (with a little help from Santa), but I won’t spoil it!

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.

Mrs Tally Bird

Reception Teaching Assistant

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

Reception Teaching Assistant and HLTA

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 me 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.

Mrs Karen Hancock 

Year 1 Teaching Assistant and HLTA

KS1 RWI Intervention

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.

SEND Teaching Assistant

Mrs Becky Hawken

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 Debbie Rowe

Year 2 Teaching Assistant

Reading Champion - Accelerated Reader

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 Amanda Rickard

Year 3 Teaching Assistant and HLTA

Intervention 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 Helen Belcher

Year 4 Teaching Assistant

Intervention Lead

George’s Marvellous Medicine by Roald Dahl was the very first book I bought myself. I remember going into the local book shop with my pocket money and spending ages choosing which story to take home. I was fascinated by the idea of a small boy going up against his mean-spirited Grandma and trying to get his own back on her. I loved George deciding he has finally had enough of his 'grizzly old grunion of a grandma', to the hilarious consequences of not only her having the medicine, but the farm animals too. Who would have thought that leaving the flea powder and anti-freeze out of the recipe would have had such disastrous results?

Ms Donna Fisher

Year 4 Teaching Assistant

Mrs Tracey Julian

Year 5 Teaching Assistant and HLTA

Intervention Lead

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 Sharon Davey

SEND Teaching Assistant

TIS Practitioner

Autism Champion

One of my all-time favourite books is Skellig by British author David Almond. It is about a young boy, called Michael, who becomes lonely and uncertain about his world when his family move to a new house and his little sister becomes very ill. Whilst he is rummaging in an old shed at the bottom of the garden, he finds a strange magical creature named Skellig, who needs his help. Although I love the fantasy and magic of Skellig, most of all I love the hope and ultimate joy that shines through the author's words throughout the story. I hope you read it and step into the world of Skellig and enjoy it as much as I do!

Mrs Theresa Dick

Year 6 Teaching Assistant and HLTA

Art and Design Lead

Design and Technology Lead

Dazzle Day Lead

Bear Snores On by Karma Wilson was one of my favourite ‘go to’ bedtime stories when my grandchildren were little and guaranteed to settle them for sleep! As well as a captivating storyline, the illustrations by Jane Chapman are amazing. The book is about a whole host of different animals and birds who find their way out of the cold and into Bear's cave to warm up whilst he is asleep. Even after the tea has been brewed and the corn has been popped, Bear just snores on!

Mr Dan Roach

Year 6 Teaching Assistant

Sports and PE HLTA

As a child, I loved, 'getting lost' in a Roald Dahl book. My all-time favourite was The Twits. I loved the humour within the story and thought that Roald Dahl's inventive vocabulary was superb. The Twits played some funny, but often malicious, pranks on each other and being a young, mischievous lad myself once, I must admit I liked to play a joke or two on my friends. Similarly to Mr. Twit, I have a beard but I hope that the children here would quickly inform me if I had a cornflake, spaghetti sauce or a mouldy piece of cheese embedded within it!

Lunchtime Team

External Providers

Mrs T Triggs

Forest School                                                 

Mr B Hawken

Music Teacher

Mr L Oxenham

Guitar Teacher