Kate, who is a Vice Principal and Year 6 teacher at Peckover Primary School, has been in the profession for ten years. She applied for the role as, having struggled with English and story writing as a child, she can empathise with students who may need extra encouragement or additional strategies to help them succeed.

She said: ‘At school I never found English easy; that is why I believe so much in drama to help stimulate ideas before children launch into creative writing. I can put myself in the children’s shoes as I know how difficult I used to find it. Reading and writing were a chore so it was a long time before I actually enjoyed books myself.

‘As I have taught I developed a love for English but how can you expect a child to write about something if they have never experienced it for themselves? How can they understand the emotions, the sights and the sounds? I am a real believer in providing the children with these experiences in real life.

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She starts her new role, for two days a week, from September and is looking forward to meeting colleagues and visiting different schools: ‘The first thing is to actually go and see what is happening out there. At Peckover we already have quite an impact on children’s writing so we may be able to offer encouragement and support but I haven’t had the opportunity to see what the other primaries are currently doing.

‘That is the exciting part, to go and see what English looks like across the Trust and cherry pick the good things that are going on so that we can share them as examples of good practice. I have already met Year 6 colleagues as part of our writing moderation and always come away with ideas that complement our existing work, so this role will be an extension of that process. It is about raising the profile of English in our primary schools and ultimately raising the outcomes for children across the Trust. We have some amazing teachers throughout the Trust so it is about identifying and recognizing them and the skills they can show off and share. There are exciting times ahead!