Selected from thousands of nominations, eight Welsh educators have been honoured out of 102 Pearson National Teaching Silver Award winners for their commitment to changing the lives of the children they work with every day.
Canolfan Elfed Inclusion Centre at Queen Elizabeth High School, The Lockdown Hero Award for Learner and Community Support, has a highly skilled and dedicated staff that provide a Person-Centred approach so that pupils and their parents/carers can be an integral part in planning their learning and school experiences. Pupils have an individualised programme of study that provides specialist teaching and access to mainstream teaching where appropriate. This allows pupils to benefit from the advantages of specialist and mainstream provision whilst working towards achieving their future aspirations.
Stacey Harris, The Award for Teacher of the Year in a Primary School, is a uniquely talented teacher, colleague and leader who provides inspiration to her class and peers every single day through her brilliant mix of skill, passion and inexhaustible enthusiasm. She seamlessly translates the excitement and power of her class teaching environment into a tangible vision for learning across the entire Federation, and works tirelessly with our children, colleagues, and community alike to ignite the sparks of lifelong learning and creativity.
Victoria Carey, The Award for Teacher of the Year in a Secondary School, is an excellent practitioner who is relentless in supporting pupils in her care. Her dedication is infectious amongst the young people of our school and she has created a love of English with our pupils; she has unlocked their potential and raised pupil aspirations in a very challenging inner city school. She is a natural leader with incredibly high expectations but who does everything she can to make those expectations a reality. Victoria also cares greatly about everyone within the school, and launched an initiative which allows teachers and pupils to provide thoughtful gifts and carry out acts of kindness for others.
Joseph Gill, The Award for Outstanding New Teacher of the Year, has enabled vulnerable pupils to continue learning despite the pandemic. He has also created and led an integration programme so that children with little or no English, many of whom having experienced trauma in their own countries, can be supported before entering mainstream education. He brings learning to life, bringing in tools, construction equipment and gardening utensils in a bid to keep pupils engaged. He also uses his break and lunch times to encourage pupils to play sport, purposefully encouraging different ethnic backgrounds to interact and collaborate.
Hannah Lewis, The Award for Outstanding New Teacher of the Year, is a vibrant, enthusiastic and committed teacher who motivates positive learning attitudes from all those around her – pupils, staff, parents and governors. She is innovative and creative and has the ability to engage others. This exuberant approach is infectious and has a huge impact on the whole school community. STEM is a passion of Hannah's and she uses this to promote an enthusiasm and passion for science and technology, particularly amongst girls. In addition to being a highly effective teacher, Hannah is a valuable member of the team, sharing her expertise, knowledge and skills to enable others to develop professionally.
Abigail Chase, The Award for Teacher of the Year in a Secondary School, is a passionate teacher who is dedicated to development and innovation within the classroom. Abigail tailors her lessons to meet the individual needs of all learners not only engaging them in high quality, creative teaching and learning but also raising their self-esteem and confidence. With nine years’ experience in the classroom, Abigail is the school’s ‘Research Champion’ and leads a team of Leaders of Skills to analyse current practices and bring about positive change in the classroom. Abigail is an advocate for blended learning and led on professional learning for staff during lockdown. With her leadership, staff were able to confidently move from in-class teaching to online.
David Jenkins, The Award for Headteacher of the Year, is an inspirational headteacher who ensures the needs of the entire school community are at the forefront of any decision. He is highly respected by everyone who works with the school, and his leadership is key to Ysgol Ty Coch’s motto of ‘More than just a school’. His passion, commitment, and dedication to education has been vital to creating a school environment which is highly nurturing and ensures that every child, young adult, and staff member has access to incredible opportunities.
Jonathan Rogers, The Award for FE Lecturer of the Year, is well respected in the music world, Jonathan utilises his links with organisations – such as the Swansea Philharmonic Choir (where, as Conductor, he set up a scholarship scheme to provide opportunities for students to perform large choral works with orchestras) and the Dunvant Male Choir (who provide a host of opportunities for young performers) - to inspire the next generation of musicians. A true advocate of community engagement and enrichment, during the pandemic Jonathan has worked tirelessly to ensure that students can still access practical opportunities at a time when the world of live performance has been hugely impacted.
The winners have now been shortlisted to win a Gold Award in their category, in a programme which will be broadcast on the BBC. This is a great opportunity to celebrate the exceptional school staff who have worked wonders during an incredibly challenging time for educators across the country.
The Silver Award winners are being honoured as part of the wider celebrations for ‘Thank a Teacher Day’, a national campaign to honour and recognise school staff for their incredible work. The celebrations follow new data which shows how the previous year’s lockdowns have significantly changed how families across the country view the role of teachers.
New research from Parentkind and The Teaching Awards Trust highlights that three in four parents and carers have a newfound respect for the teaching profession following their experiences of remote learning during lockdown. 74.9% of survey respondents agreed or strongly agreed that they had more respect for the work that teachers do following their family’s experiences of remote learning.
The last year has seen a wealth of stories of teachers making care visits to vulnerable families, coming up with innovative ways of remote teaching, keeping their pupils settled by regularly checking in and even using their school sites for Covid-19 testing when classes did return to school. There has never been a better time to appreciate them and the vital work they do.
The Pearson National Teaching Awards is an annual celebration of excellence in education, founded in 1998 by Lord Puttnam to recognise the life-changing impact an inspirational teacher can have on the lives of the young people they work with. This year marks its 22nd year of celebrating, award-winning teachers, teaching assistants, headteachers and lecturers across the UK.
Sir Michael Morpurgo, celebrated author and former Children’s Laureate, and President of the Teaching Awards Trust, said:
“Thank a Teacher Day gives us all a chance – children, families, all of us – to pay tribute to those wonderful educators who change more lives than they will ever know. Today we say thank you to the teachers who have helped our young people navigate these most difficult of times, and who will continue to inspire countless young minds over the coming years.”
Sharon Hague, Senior Vice President of Schools at Pearson UK, said:
“After a year like no other we want to take today to say thank you to all the incredible school staff who have kept children and young people learning despite unprecedented challenges. We hope the celebrations today show how much you are appreciated, and that your hard work has not gone unnoticed nor unrecognised.”
