Unsung Hero Award

Three nominees have been shortlisted for this award. They are:

• The Fundraising Ladies (Pat Reid, Tricia Askew, Michelle Bayliss)
• Lynda Morgan
• Nikki Clark

Read more about them below. Then to vote for who you think out of the three nominees should win, please click here and include your name and contact details and the person(s) you want to win no later than Friday 2nd July 2010.

The Fundraising Ladies
(Pat Reid, Tricia Askew & Michelle Bayliss)

Since 2006, these 3 Lunchtime Supervisors have worked tirelessly to organise a vast number of fund-raising activities for the children of Danesholme Junior School and their families. They started off with the aim of supporting our new build project and were so successful they raised enough funds to furnish our new Library which opened in April 2008. Since then they have gone from strength to strength and have now raised over £8,500 for the school. All the money raised is used to directly benefit the children of the school.

These wonderful ladies give up their free time and often their homes and garages to do all the legwork involved in planning, organising and running about a dozen events each year. This includes all the advertising, looking for sponsorship and donations, manning the events and counting all the money. All we have to do is bank it!!!

Events that they organise and run include Christmas and Easter tombolas, Mothers Day, Fathers’ Day and Christmas gift wraps, selling ice-creams after school when the weather is hot(!), drinks and refreshments on sports days, Competitions and Quizzes and the ever popular Lucky Tubs.

This nomination is to say a heartfelt Thank You to all 3 of them for their fantastic support. We want them to know how grateful we are for all their efforts. These fundraising events have now become part of our school life and it is great to see all the children excitedly queuing in their break times to buy a small gift for a family member or have a go at winning a prize. Long may it continue!

Lynda Morgan

Lynda Morgan is a wonderful Head Teacher and a very special person. She is currently Headteacher at Maplefields School. Maplefields School Corby and The Orchard School Kettering merged in April 2007 and Lynda Morgan became Head Teacher of both sites. It was a very difficult time as The Orchard School had been in Special Measures and had also had several changes of Head Teacher over the previous few years.

Maplefields School in Corby had received “Outstanding” in an Ofsted report prior to amalgamation and then in a recent Ofsted in December 2009 the whole school received “Outstanding”. The staff were all delighted, especially the staff on the Kettering site because they felt that Lynda Morgan had helped them to achieve that success. Previously Lynda has successfully led Exeter Junior School, Corby and Cranford School as Headteacher.

Lynda has positive relationships with the pupils who all have a Statement of Special Educational Need and works well with parents, carers and staff as well. She always listens to pupils when they have a problem, remains calm and treats them all as individuals. She has a calming influence on the pupils and remains cool under pressure. Nothing is ever too much bother for her. She is very approachable for staff and parents if they have a problem and also shares in any successes they may achieve.

She encourages staff to train and has supported two members of staff through their teacher training to become qualified teachers. She would not ask anyone to do anything that she is not prepared to do herself and treats everyone as an equal. She also has a way of motivating staff to achieve more for the good of the pupils, always reminding us that everything we do has to have a positive impact on them.

Maplefields Kettering has become a much more effective school and a nicer place to be under Lynda Morgan’s guidance, for both pupils and staff alike.

Nikki Clark

This wonderful lady deserves to be recognised for her total devotion to the students in her care. Unstintingly she always puts the needs of the children first. She creates a stimulating environment where they are engaged in their learning, where they thrive and prosper. Recently she worked to attract funding so students with a variety of needs and disabilities can enjoy gardening and growing their own food. Nikki creates a learning environment where the children are not indulged but where they are challenged.

Nikki’s enterprise skills are second to none ,she can often be found after school making cakes which are sold to raise money for her many class trips including sailing and trekking

Nikki‘s can do attitude inspires her students . To Nikki the glass is always half full and this positive outlook definitely rubs off on her class.

Nikki is a much respected member of the special needs faculty and is such a kind considerate, dedicated person. This award would be a wonderful way of recognising her achievements. Nikki does everything she is involved in to the absolute best of her ability and much of her success is down to the fact that so much of her own time is spent after school, which allows students access to after school activities.

Nikki never talks about all the extra time she puts in which also includes a summer school to allow students with special needs to participate in a variety of fun activities where they can socialise with each other.