Can you tell us where you hail from, where you trained and what your qualifications are?

I was born and brought up in South Devon and always knew that I wanted to work with children from about the age of 11 when I started helping at the local holiday playscheme in my village. I came up to Brighton to do my B.Ed degree.

After I qualified I was luckily to get a job at St Pancras Catholic school in Lewes and taught there for 16 years. The staff become my family (so much so that when I got married there was a big staff exodus at 3pm on a Friday as it was being held in Devon and everyone was invited!)

I loved teaching early years and KS1 there and was very proud of setting up a successful cooking club where we taught children how to cook full meals and joined in a national whole school cookathon - hard work but very satisfying.

I left the school to support my parents through illness but then got much satisfaction from joining a supply agency for several years. This gave me chance to see lots of great practice in many different schools and make lots of new friends. I have recently worked at a Catholic school in Worthing, where I have had responsibility for setting up and running a Fairtrade tuckshop and raising the profile of Fairtrade within the curriculum, as well as helping to embed a creative, curiosity based curriculum.

What do you consider important when developing a stimulating learning environment that encourages children to be independent learners?

When designing a stimulating learning environment, particularly for early years, it needs to be inviting, calm, and promote curiosity and exploration. We are surrounded by such a beautiful environment here at Sompting (I will always feel blessed seeing the sea from my classroom!) that we need to bring the natural world inside too. It important to provide children with experiences and materials that feed their curiosity, allow them to use their imagination, develop thinking skills and collaborate and problem solve together as they find new ways of doing things.

What do you do when you’re not in the classroom?

When I am not in the classroom I enjoy spending time with family. I am lucky to have a brother in Iceland and it has been amazing to visit him there and experience his beautiful country and traditions, especially when we went one Christmas. That was fascinating (my favourite memory is being in a hot lake at night where it was -19 outside and my hair froze!). I also love walking with my daughter, especially by the sea - my calm place!

Why have you chosen to work in the independent sector now and what are you looking forward to?

This is my first experience of working in the private sector and I am really looking forward to having the freedom to follow the needs and interests of the children rather than seeking to follow a set curriculum. The fantastic setting here offers an amazing curriculum of its own and I am looking forward to exploring this with PP2.

Tell us what drew you to become a teacher and what it is you enjoy most about teaching the age group you are focusing on

I have known I wanted to work with children since the age of 11. I love the creativity of working with Early Years and KS1 and seeing them flourish so rapidly at this age. Relationships are fundamental to young children and helping children to develop their emotional intelligence, independence and their own self value from a young age are really important to me, especially having had a lot of experience in supporting mental health issues with older children. Every day is so different in Early Years but so important to them and I love being part of their journey - I truly cannot imagine a more rewarding job or doing anything else!

What is the sense of the school you get and its vision and values?

My welcome here at Sompting Abbotts has been amazing – everyone is so friendly and welcoming and I felt part of the family straight away. The children are always polite and look so smart in their uniform – they clearly take great pride in their school and this shines out. I have never worked in such stunning an environment and this is a real privilege.

Tell us something we don't know about you or that might surprise us!

Something about me – I can fly a plane! I learnt to fly here at Shoreham airport when I was in my 20’s. It was one of the most exhilarating and scary things I have ever done.