I am incredibly proud to lead The North School.

Having been a member of The North School community for over 15 years, I have an in-depth understanding and commitment to the school ethos of ‘putting achievement first’.

I strongly believe that it is our goal to develop kind, adaptable and resilient young people, who are able to experience an enriching life and feel confident to be the best version of themselves. This goal applies to all young people, regardless of their ability, past experiences and previous learning. We all have different talents and it is the school’s role to nourish individuality and independence

Working with the whole school community is exciting and rewarding and I am committed to supporting our students and their families. The school community, which is created, by students, staff, parents and carers is fundamental in the development of our young people. By working together we ensure students leave school with the right skills and qualifications, and as rounded individuals and independent learners as a result of the opportunities they receive. 

I am privileged to work alongside and have the support of experienced and highly motivated teams of teachers, governors and support staff, I hope to be able to continue improving opportunities and outcomes for our young people.

At the North School, we are ‘Putting Achievement First’.

We want to raise students’ aspirations to enable them to achieve the best outcomes that they can. We set the students’ targets and track and monitor their progress through regular assessment and reporting.  I collaborate with the Subject Leaders and the Learning leaders to organise intervention where necessary. We build students’ confidence for exams by introducing them to revision and independent study skills early and gradually increase their exposure to a formal exam setting.  This helps them to develop the resilience they need for life skills in the future.

pamela.allon@swale.at

My role in school is to ensure that all students receive an education that is effective and appropriate to meet their individual needs.

I head up a team of specialist staff who work by giving students individualised programmes of interventions and help them to develop strategies to allow them to develop the resilience they will need throughout their time at school and beyond.

I am also the senior designated safeguarding lead in school ensuring that students feel safe and know who to go to when they need help and guidance. My team includes Mr Eede, Mrs Baksh and Miss Williams. Together we work closely with outside agencies to develop relationships so that students and their families are well supported. 

catherine.clipstone@swale.at

My primary role is to lead and manage the pastoral teams to provide a positive, secure and happy environment for the students where each student can thrive and flourish.

I work closely with the Senior Pastoral Leaders and Learning Leaders to ensure outstanding levels of pastoral care which remove the barriers to learning resulting in all students being able to work towards “Putting Achievement First”.  I also have oversight of whole school behaviour and attendance and work closely with the attendance team to put in appropriate interventions to ensure high standards of pupil attendance which is essential for students to achieve.  Finally, I lead the Year 6 transition programme which ensures that every new student that joins us in the new academic year settles quickly and becomes a confident, hardworking and resilient learner.

stefan.eede@swale.at

Making exceptional progress in the Sixth Form and ensuring students achieve high quality, personalised destinations when they leave us is one of our main priorities within the Sixth Form.

My role is to ensure students aspire to achieve their targets and beyond, maximise their study time and develop the skills they need to succeed in their lives.  I work closely with our Sixth Form learning leader and pastoral team to ensure this.  The transition from Year 11 to the sixth form is huge and it is important that we support the students by preparing them in advance.  We monitor their progress and report this at regular intervals in the year.  We pride ourselves on the quality and level of pastoral care our students receive with dedicated non-teaching staff that are here at all times throughout the day. As well as their academic progress, their attendance and attitude towards study and additional enrichment activities is monitored as this is carefully planned to maximise opportunities for students to gain the softer employability skills alongside strong academic grades. 

siobhan.matthews@swale.at

My role is to ensure that the curriculum we offer for science is adapted to our students and helps them understand the world they live in as well as the challenges their generation will have to answer.

I also guarantee the continuous development of my team so that they can deliver lessons to the highest standards in order to allow students to achieve their potential.  Involved with the teaching and learning team, I am delivering training sessions to staff across the Swale Academies Trust and I am an expert in collaborative learning and Kagan techniques. My role as a Swale Academies Trust Network lead allows me to collaborate closely with my colleagues from the other Swale Academies Trust schools so that we can take the best strategies from each schools and put them together as an efficient blueprint to science teaching in the Swale Academies Trust.

celine.spreadborough@swale.at

My role is to ensure that students discover a love of learning mathematics and throughout their journey at the North School become competent, confident mathematicians.

I am passionate about equipping my team with the skills required to deliver consistently engaging lessons that students enjoy and from which they can develop. We develop students’ skills over time, whilst employing highly individual gap analysis to ensure that they always understand their strengths and areas for improvement – an approach that benefits them greatly come examination time.

I look forward to working with each and every student, equipping them with the mathematical skills required to be successful in the working world, but also to help them fulfil, and often raise, their ambitions in mathematics.

daniel.munday@swale.at

My role as Head of English is to develop students’ understanding of the written world around them, through English students learn, not only the key skills associated with reading, writing and oracy, but that they learn about the history and culture of society.

We aim to provide a rich and broad knowledge canvas that enables students to succeed in their qualifications and their adult lives.  We are always proud of our students for their achievements and believe that the positive relationships formed in English help them to have clear aspirations for themselves.

The English department is highly research driven and I aim to ensure that the education students receive is taught through up to date methods and through high quality resources. I am a Specialist Leader of Education for English and this allows me to coach our staff effectively and to guide our team of teachers to strive for their best.

deborah.moore@swale.at

My role is to assist with the leadership and management of the pastoral teams as well as linking the Learning Leader team to provide a successful environment where students can improve progress and outcomes, it is paramount to my role to ensure any barriers to learning are removed to ensure a successful atmosphere.

It is important to provide an environment where students know how to put ‘achievement first’, in my role I assist this by working closely with the pastoral and learning leader team by raising students’ aspirations and outcomes through increased engagement and excellent conduct.

I also collaborate with the Subject Leaders and the pastoral team to organise interventions where necessary and ensure students feel support to achieve their potential.

I have been a part of the school for the last 9 years, and I am driven to ensure that students aspire to raise standards and outcomes. I have had experience as a subject leader and senior learning leader, this allows me to execute my enthusiasm for driving student development.

In order to develop the aspirations of our students, within my role it is important to align students expectations with our own, in time raising achievement across all subjects, this is something I am passionate about.

jessica.cutts@swale.at

I support the work tracking student outcomes, attainment and achievements. My particular focus is monitoring and aiming to maximise the progress that students make throughout their time at The North School. 

As a team, we strive to ensure that the process of monitoring and sharing student data is both positive and meaningful for students, parents and teachers. We take pride in an informative reporting system that is used to ensure that all students, particularly our vulnerable groups, have access to appropriate provisions that include well-pitched, high-quality teaching and targeted interventions. Regularly tracking the students' progress facilitates early identification and intervention for those students progressing at a slower rate and allows us to celebrate the successes of the students who are exceeding expectations.

elizabeth.keeler@swale.at