Hear from our Staff
Nargis Ghani, Year 2 Teacher
Ms Ghani has been a teacher at Sudbury Primary School for 6 years and was attracted to a career in teaching after witnessing its transformative power and profound impact that teachers can have on pupils’ lives, helping shape their knowledge, skills, and character when she herself attended the school as a child.
She credits the excellent teamwork environment in which teachers work collaboratively to provide opportunities to engage within the school community as one of the reasons Sudbury is so unique. Through the school’s college system, children and staff come together as one big family to organise various events that simultaneously motivates everyone. In addition, Ms Ghani believes that pupils enjoy their learning and develop skills that they need to achieve success in transitioning to the different academic years whilst instilling the five values of Respect, Responsibility, Honesty, Kindness, and Courage that are upheld from the beginning of Nursery to the end of Year 6. Providing children with interactive and entertaining methods of teaching that motivate them to engage fully in their learning has also been a great inspiration.
Ms Ghani has this to say about her time at the school:
Sudbury understands that every child is an individual with unique strengths, abilities, and challenges. I have developed a breadth of learning, starting from a Teaching Assistant to a Higher-Level Teaching Assistant, an unqualified teacher to now a qualified teacher. This has allowed for me to develop my skills and understanding of how children learn best considering their range of learning abilities. It has given me the opportunity to instil the love of learning and build relationships that children remember after moving on from Sudbury. I hope to progress onto different roles within the school and continue to be part of a team committed to empowering pupils and continue fostering a love for learning.
Jack O’Toole, Assistant Headteacher – Phase 1 Leader
Mr O’Toole’s role at Sudbury Primary School is to support the teachers, children, parents and wider school community within the Early Years Foundation Stage. The role is unique because the school promotes and encourages learning through play. He is very passionate about developing communication and language skills with our youngest learners through innovative and creative play.
The young people are at the forefront of everything we do, and Mr O’Toole firmly believes that the pupils are given the very best start to their school life at Sudbury. He confirms that as soon as the children arrive at school, they are welcomed into well-resourced classrooms with wonderful learning experiences, with caring teachers and supportive leaders who all work together to give the children the very best education.
Mr O’Toole commented:
I am a relatively new member of staff and am currently completing the National Professional Qualification for Senior Leadership with the aspirations to develop as a senior leader (learning lots from the very supportive Senior Leadership Team) before, later taking on more whole school projects. Thinking back to my 10-year-old self, I now know that the reason I am now a teacher is because I too want to inspire and support the next generation who may be doctors, entrepreneurs, emergency service workers, hairdressers, athletes, plumbers, engineers, footballers or even teachers. Maybe one day, I may be a Headteacher but for now, I am very happy to be here at Sudbury. Also, we are very lucky to have a wonderful catering team at Sudbury - the lunches are delicious!
Nimra Shaikh, Teaching Assistant
Ms Shaikh is a teaching assistant within the school’s specialist provision called the Rainbow Room, designed to help pupils with complex needs. We tailor the curriculum to suit the needs of individual children by offering them sensory circuits, Speech and Language interventions as well as the Attention Autism programme. She helps children in the Rainbow Room engage in various sensory activities that aid them with their cognitive, physical, emotional, and social development.
Ms Shaikh thinks that the uniqueness of Sudbury is that as well as being a friendly and welcoming school it’s rich in its diversity. With a school population of over 900 pupils who come from different countries, backgrounds, and ethnicities, everyone comes together to work as one community to celebrate their differences, with the school values helping to underpin this. She can see that pupils love coming to school as evident from the happy faces every morning. The school is a welcoming, friendly, and inclusive place where children feel a sense of belonging and know that they are valued. The school follows a child-centred approach in everything they do and the entire school community works together as a team to achieve this. Her belief is that children at Sudbury are provided with meaningful opportunities to share their opinions, views, and experiences and enjoy a wide curriculum that gives them opportunities to shine.
Ms Shaikh commented:
One of the many reasons I enjoy my work at Sudbury are my colleagues. Everyone is kind, friendly and always willing to help and support each other when needed. This again brings me back to the school values we all share. Being new to the country with no family around, Sudbury has given me a place to belong and friends I will always cherish. My passion is to continue to work with children who have special needs as it has been the most satisfying aspect of my work. The school has provided me with the required training that has helped me understand my role, improve my skills and support my pupils better. I hope to continue to enhance my skills and knowledge to continue to support children with SEND.
Shradha Josh, Reception Teacher
Ms Josh has been working at Sudbury for a year as an Early Career Teacher. Following her graduation, she travelled to Thailand to teach English as a foreign language, where she had the opportunity to work first-hand with children from differing backgrounds. This experience really motivated her to pursue a career in teaching.
She explains that what makes Sudbury special are the values that are deeply rooted in every staff member throughout the school which is reflected in their teaching and that the staff respectfully engage and support one another. Teamwork is embedded in all staff throughout the school.
Ms Josh comments as follows on her career at the school:
Sudbury is very diverse and multicultural, which allows children to express and share their thoughts with their peers and teachers. Children enjoy coming to school because they feel safe with their teachers in the classroom. They have the opportunity to experience a fun and creative approach to learning. All cultures are celebrated which brings a great sense of pride to the children as well a sense of belonging. I enjoy working at Sudbury because there is a very friendly and positive environment created throughout the school for staff and children. Parents work collaboratively with the teachers to support the development and progress that the pupils make at school. I would like to continue developing my skills in teaching across KS1 and KS2 and learning about the National Curriculum. I would also like to continue my education to understand how children learn effectively. I would like to take on the responsibility of being a Subject Leader as I progress through my career.
Tom Davey, Year 6 Class Teacher & English Leader
Mr Davey has worked at the school for 12 years. He decided to train as a teacher after working at Sudbury for 4 years as a Teaching Assistant. This experience inspired him to apply to teacher training, as he very much enjoyed supporting children in class.
Mr Davey believes that even though Sudbury is a very large school, it does not feel like it. His views are that communication between adults and pupils is extremely clear and everyone at the school is “on the same page”. He also feels that the care and effort that all adults at the school put into their work, and the excellent behaviour and values demonstrated by the pupils, show the amazing culture that has been embedded throughout the school.
These are Mr Davey’s views of the school:
Pupils enjoy coming to Sudbury because they know that the adults who work alongside them want the very best for them. They are also motivated and inspired by the high expectations throughout the school and by the exciting, creative and clear teaching that is planned and provided by staff. Every single day is different and unpredictable. The conversations I have with the children are endlessly entertaining and seeing the pupils make progress and process new information is inspiring. I am very lucky, as I get to work with pupils from every age range throughout the school. Some of my favourite times are when I carry out Pupil Voice with children who I do not teach, to learn more about their experiences. I hope to stay at Sudbury for a very long time. Where possible, I would like to increase my leadership capacity, so that I am able to have input into issues which will affect increasingly more pupils each year.
Stella Bowes, Admissions Officer & PA to Headteacher
Ms Bowes has worked at Sudbury Primary School for 26 years and shares the following:
Sudbury Primary is like a family, and we all work together, adults and children alike, for the benefit of everyone. There is a vibrant, welcoming, inclusive environment, well-resourced classrooms, enthusiastic staff including specialist teachers, and a wide and enriched curriculum. There are so many opportunities for pupils to have their voices heard and have a say in what they would like the school to do for them. The Headteacher is always there to listen, guide and inform - a passionate educationalist who strives to ensure the best outcomes for all. This amazing school, originally founded in the 1880s, continues to evolve to serve the local community, preparing children to meet the privileges and challenges of today’s society. I’m lucky to work with staff, governors, parents and pupils, plus the wider community every day – no two days are ever alike!
