School staff honoured in national teaching awards

Staff in our Sigma Trust schools are celebrating after they were recognised in the Pearson National Teaching Awards.

Jon Bland, Executive Headteacher at The Stanway School, and Ella Humphris, an English teacher at St Helena School, both won silver in the prestigious national awards.

Jon was nominated in the ‘Secondary School Headteacher of the Year’ category and Ella in the ‘Outstanding New Teacher of the Year’ award with both now shortlisted for gold awards which will be announced later this year.

Ella said: "Receiving this award means the world to me, and I feel so honoured to have even been considered, let alone win.

“I definitely would not have been able to achieve this without the support of my colleagues and the students at St Helena School, who encourage and inspire me every day.

“It is an absolute privilege to be a teacher and I am incredibly grateful for this recognition."

The Stanway School was also awarded a Pearson Bronze Award in the Making a Difference - Secondary School of the Year category.

Both schools also had a number of staff celebrated in the awards, which were announced on the same day as the national Thank a Teacher Day.

The other St Helena School staff members were Monica Rhys-Hand (Bronze Award for Lifetime Achievement), Kaylen Castle (Outstanding Achievement for Transformation of IT), Maxine Baxter (Outstanding Achievement for Unsung Hero), Briana Lelliott (Certificate of Achievement for Teaching Assistant of the Year) and Amy Cross (Bronze Award for Teacher of the Year in a Secondary School).

The Stanway School also honoured their award winners at a ceremony, as well as other staff members who were recognised for their work around the school values.

They were Ellie Bull, Melyssa Armstrong and Megan Long (all Certificate of Achievement for Outstanding New Teacher of the Year), Rebecca Deighton (Highly Commended Status for Outstanding New Teacher of the Year), Carly Eves (nomination for Teacher of the Year in a Secondary School), James Halford Pollard (nomination for Teacher of the Year in a Secondary School), Sarah Jane Jaggard (Certificate of Achivement for SEND and Inclusive Practice), Sarah Cosham (Highly Commended Status for Unsung Hero), Laura Sargeant (Highly Commended Status for Unsung Hero), Anthony James (Highly Commended Status for Unsung Hero), John Hiskey (Highly Commended Status for Unsung Hero),

In addition, Becky Reilly (Considerate), Lisa Jones (Determined), Jackie Bull (Proud), Jon Russell (Respectful) and Doriana Balan (Responsible) and Louise Doherty (Responsible) also picked up school awards.