Throughout my schooling, I maintained a ‘love of learning’. Looking back, I may not always have been particularly good at it – I knew that there were other children who achieved more academically than me but this didn’t dampen the fact that I had a passion for learning and finding out new things. Upon reflection, a career in teaching and learning and one working in school with children has been my vocation. Learning continues to excite me and supporting and facilitating others to learn is something that motivates and really interests me.

I believe that the curriculum should be the heartbeat to a school and one that reflects the passions and interests of the children. As headteacher, I am also a leader of learning and teaching at Park Hill. I expect to see the staff and the children persevere with learning – I believe that it is essential that there is a confidence to make mistakes through trying new things.

Whilst leading a very busy school, I recognise that opportunities to teach are becoming rare but undoubtedly I am at my happiest when I am working in the classroom and surrounding myself with whatever is going on. I aim to be in all of the classrooms at some point everyday.

Outside of school, I try to keep fit and relish a game of squash. Football is another of my interests and the football team that I support is Leicester City – the Premier League Champions of 2015 – 2016 – a testament to all that with great team work and passion, you can achieve anything!

I have been at the school for 11 years which just shows what a fantastic place it is. I love working here because of our wonderful children, who never fail to make me smile, supportive parents and dedicated colleagues.

Park Hill is my fourth school in a twenty six year career and whilst here I have had many responsibilities and challenges that have kept me busy. I’ve even grown to love data.

Within education, I very much favour a child-centred approach, which encompasses the development of the whole child through a range of learning experiences, both academic/non-academic, and every decision that I make in school has the children at the heart of it. I believe that school should be a fun, exciting place where pupils can learn in a safe environment and be willing to take risks when trying out new ways of learning. My purpose, through team work at Park Hill, is to play a part in developing happy, caring, thoughtful human beings who will feel confident about their abilities and recognise their importance in the world when leaving. All of our pupils are given an equal opportunity to be successful and have strategies to cope with any obstacles that may arise as they grow and learn in society today.
When I’m not at school, I’m looking after my two teenagers and doing all the things that mums do.

In my spare time, I love to watch Birmingham City Football Club – someone has to – and I’ve just discovered Clubbercise which takes me back to my youth. Holidays abroad, sunshine, live music, singing in a Rock Choir and reading are my other passions when I’m not at school.