Penistone Grammar School

I have been leading, teaching and coaching in Education and Sport for over 20 years and value the importance of people, learning and culture in enabling organisations and teams to be high performing and achieve excellence.   

As Vice Principal, I lead Penistone Grammar School with the Principal to ensure that our organisation is a thriving, safe, happy and positive environment for students and staff to achieve. My main strategic responsibility is Quality of Education, which centres around Curriculum, Teaching and Assessment.   

I have been a strategic leader and PE teacher at the school since 2015 and I am an ex-student (1991-1996), so I am fully invested in serving the community that has served me so well. 

I take great pride in serving as Associate Vice Principal at Penistone Grammar School, overseeing a diverse portfolio that spans various fields. Whilst I am involved with multiple areas, my primary strategic responsibilities encompass:

• Inclusion (covering SEND, pastoral, and HeartSpace)

• Whole school attendance

• Whole school behaviour and attitudes

• Transition

• Designated Safeguarding Lead

With a wealth of experience as a practitioner and school leader across three different authorities, I have had the privilege of guiding, teaching, and supporting students from age two to eighteen. Recognising the significance of a student's educational journey, I bring a deep understanding to my role.

My career trajectory initially aimed towards medicine, with extensive experience in hospitals shadowing GPs. However, a pivotal moment occurred while leading a children's dance class—my former passion. Experiencing that profound ‘wow’ moment as a teacher, witnessing a child grasp a difficult concept, crystallized my desire to work in education.

Beginning as a primary teacher in a small yet dynamic rural primary school, I progressed to lead a key stage in a large inner-city primary. This journey led me to become Deputy Head and Safeguarding Lead in a sizable urban primary academy. Seeking further development, I specialised in secondary English teaching, landing a role as a teacher of English with additional responsibility for leading on safeguarding and LAC (Looked After Children) in an inner-city secondary school; following this I joined Penistone Grammar School.

My heart has found a home at Penistone, and I am dedicated to leading and teaching with integrity. I am the chair of BMBC’s inclusion panel, and I am currently continuing my own educational journey by completing the National Professional Qualification for Headship.

Among my proudest achievements at Penistone was the creation of our esteemed, 'exceptional' HeartSpace. Starting with seven students and three staff, it has grown to accommodate over fifty students and around thirty staff. The local authority's substantial investment last year underscores the impact and success of this initiative, a testament to positive changes during my leadership.

In my personal life, I am a proud mother and wife. Family holds paramount importance. Despite my professional commitments, I maintain a passion for dance and literature. In our house we love to dance, especially with our little boy on our feet – even though Mr Crook will readily admit that dance is not one of his strengths! 

As an avid reader, my heart belongs to the classics, with Wuthering Heights ranking as my favourite. Old movies and music, particularly Freddie Mercury, Frankie Valli, Elton John, and Frank Sinatra, are what brings me joy.

Fun fact: my grandfather served as the mayor of Barnsley. I am proud of my heritage and my family’s commitment to our wider community.

I am proud to be Associate Vice Principal for Personal Development at Penistone Grammar School. My role involves overseeing the cultural, spiritual and personal development of our students, ensuring they become well rounded individuals both inside and outside the classroom. This involves mentor time, assemblies, British Values, trips and visits, careers, enrichment and extra-curricular, charity and mental health. 

I am a proud advocate of mental health and work outside of school with an organisation called Minds Ahead. In particular I am keen to promote male mental health, with suicide being the biggest killer of men under 45. I am also incredibly proud that we have raised over £55,000 for Sheffield Children’s Hospital, an organisation which has helped so many of our students. I line manage PE, RCS and VPA and am very proud of the sporting and drama/music which we offer to our students. I have worked at Penistone for nearly 14 years, and couldn’t be prouder of our students.

My current role is to the lead the GCSE strategy, helping to ensure that all our students reach their full potential. This involves supporting and guiding students through Years 10 and Year 11 to ensure that they achieve the GCSE results they deserve and working with the fantastic careers department to help them move on to the next step of the educational journey, whether this is A levels, T-levels, apprenticeships of employment with training.

My role as a PE teacher is still one that I thoroughly enjoy after over 30 years at PGS, although the body is starting to creek! Sport has always been a passion of mine and one of the highlights of my job is taking school teams on fixtures, and over the years we have helped to produce some amazing sportsmen and sportswomen.

Away from school sport is a major part of my life as I am a taxi service for four boys who all play sport and if I have any time left you will normally find me watching sport or reading books on the subject, particularly autobiographies.

Originally from London I came to South Yorkshire to study Physics at Sheffield University. Following my teacher training I have taught in several schools across South Yorkshire and Derbyshire. I arrived at Penistone in 2012 just after it had moved across to ‘the new building’, arriving as Head of Science. I was fortunate enough to lead an amazing team of colleagues and together we learned a huge amount about developing aspirational and challenging curricula, leading to our students being incredibly successful within the Science subjects and being able to continue into their next stage of learning with confidence. 

Through this time I was appointed a Specialist Leader in Education and was lucky enough to work with many schools in Barnsley, Huddersfield, Sheffield and even Birmingham! 

From this foundation, my main role within the Senior Leadership Team has been to continue to support our Curriculum Strategy; to ensure that all our students study a broad and balanced curriculum and have access to courses that give everyone the best life chances possible when they leave us at the age of 18 or even 16 years old. 

I am extremely proud to serve as Assistant Principal at Penistone Grammar School, overseeing all things Post 16. I feel honoured to work with such amazing students and truly believe that I have the best job in the school.  The main areas of my portfolio include:

• Post 16 Progress and Attainment

• Post 16 Attitudes, Behaviour and Effort

• Post 16 Pastoral Wellbeing and Support

• Post 16 Careers and Destinations

• Post 16 Attendance

• Post 16 Recruitment, Retention and Transition

• Post 16 Enrichment

• Post 16 Personal Development

I am honoured to serve as the Assistant Principal for Teaching and Learning at Penistone Grammar School. My journey into education was sparked by the inspiring guidance of my own Geography teacher Mrs Sweeny! 

In my current role, I am entrusted with a diverse portfolio of responsibilities and improvement priorities. As the overseer of our Continuous Professional Development (CPD) Programme for teaching and associate staff, I lead a dedicated team of Teaching and Learning coaches, focusing on enhancing the quality of teaching through evidence-informed practices. 

A moment of profound satisfaction in my career has been receiving thank-you emails from past students whom I've taught. Knowing that I've inspired individuals to pursue careers as vulcanologists and glaciologists is a testament to the transformative power of education. 

My approach to education is anchored in a belief in continuous professional development. As the lead on the Early Career Framework, I actively contribute to the development of Early Career Teachers, fostering a culture of growth and excellence. The KS3 Curriculum development, particularly the creation of Essential Knowledge sheets and the Home Learning strategy, underscores my commitment to providing a rich and holistic learning experience for students. 

Upholding the core values of our school is paramount to my role. I facilitate sessions that empower teachers to discuss, share, review, and evaluate their teaching practices, fostering a collaborative and reflective environment. 

My dedication to educational leadership extends beyond the school gates. As previously designated Specialist Leader of Education (SLE), I have supported individuals and teams in similar positions across the Local Authority, collaborating with partnership schools to improve outcomes. 

Looking ahead, my goal is to continue supporting teaching and associate staff and by doing so directly and indirectly enhance the life chances of young people. On a personal note, I find balance and rejuvenation in the challenges of ultramarathon running, a passion that mirrors my commitment to pushing boundaries and achieving excellence. 

I am one of the newest members of SLT in the role of Assistant Principal. My portfolio is diverse and includes many areas however my main areas of strategic responsibility are:

• KS3 Student Progress

• Pupil Premium

Having worked in various school within different socio demographics has equipped me with the experience for school leadership. Over my career I have undertaken the roles of a Lead Teacher of Teaching and Learning, Curriculum Strategic Lead for Computing and most recently Associate Senior Leader leading our School Direct teacher training programme; Penistone Area Partnership alongside whole school teaching and learning. I was also Staff Governor for 4 years.

I have always had a fascination with computers, taking them apart and rebuilding them to make them perform better and learning about how they work. I choose a career with computers because technology is forever changing and the introduction of AI excites me as a practioner and how it can benefit edcuation. Having landed my first role in the industry I found myself chained to my desk wanting to do more so I choose a career in teaching to share my passion for Computing, inspiring future generations.

My career started in an 11-16 secondary school as a teacher of IT, before taking responsibility for Media within the school. I then progressed to a Lead Teacher in an 11-18 multi academy trust school developing my leadership skills in Teaching and Learning. I then was appointed as Curriculum Strategic Lead of Computing at PGS before taking up the role of Associate Senior Leader (ASL) shortly after. After 4 years as an ASL I progressed into my current role of Assistant Principal. One of my proudest moments at PGS is developing and growing the Computing department from 2 to 4 members of staff with a knowledge rich KS3 curriculum which leads into our vibrant KS4 and KS5 options with students going to study Computer Science at Cambridge.

In my personal life, I am married with my partner also working at PGS. We have a jackapoo called Aflie who might be 12 years old but has the energy of a puppy. I am into my fitness running a school HIIT class and love to run, even when it rains! I enjoy a good film and book to unwind after a busy week.

Interesting Fact: I spent my university placement living in Florence, Italy.

As the only non-teaching member of the Senior Leadership Team, I focus on the strategic budget and operations of the school.

I also oversee the following areas:

• Human Resources

• Catering

• Extended Services

• Governance and Compliance

• Health and Safety

• Finance

• Marketing

• Communication / Stakeholder Engagement

• Facilities Management

• Administration

Previous to Penistone Grammar School I spent almost 20 years in Retail Operations for a national retailer, responsible for 30 stores across the UK with a very similar portfolio to my current role.

I have two children who also attend Penistone Grammar School, and feel very privileged to be working here amongst an amazing team of both teaching and non-teaching staff, all supporting our fabulous students to achieve their potential