On National Thank a Teacher day, we have a guest blog from someone our recruitment work helped recruit to Scalby School in Scarborough
Guest blog from Mrs A Catterall – Associate Senior Leader at Scalby School.
Scarborough on a sunny day, the sea, the castle, the cliffs, the two bays and so much more on offer.
What’s not to love about it? How wonderful it must be to live and work with all this and the North Yorkshire Moors on your doorstep. These were the thoughts that ran through my head each time I watched the 40 or so year 7 and year 8 students having a blast on the beaches during our school residential trips from Manchester.
After a career in banking, I switched to teaching maths and chose to work in ‘secondary modern schools’. I was determined and passionate in my quest to unlock the potential of students, encouraging them to believe that they can succeed and supporting them to be the best that they can be. The time came in my life to consider a move, a big move, and it was the North Yorkshire Coast that held all the appeal….no more pollution, no traffic jams (unless stuck behind donkeys on their way back up from the beach) and the added bonus of more house for your money.
I was eager to find out about schools in the area and so I cast my job searches from Whitby down to Hull and inland as far as York. It was at this point that I discovered that Scarborough and the surrounding area was an Opportunity Area. I had worked within an Opportunity Area before and so was very keen to find out more and was soon in touch with the service through James Annetts, the recruitment consultant funded by the project. He was highly informative about the schools around Scarborough and the potential teaching and leadership opportunities, taking the time to find out about me and my background. After a few conversations and having shared my CV with him, I dared to get excited and hopeful of a post arising.
I was delighted when he contacted me early Spring 2020 to advise of a possible role at Scalby School as an Associate Senior Leader…. a school whose motto is ‘Being the best we can be’. From the second I walked into the building, everything James had told me about the school was right, I knew Scalby was a school whose ethos and values I shared. I am pleased to say I have now spent two great years working at Scalby. The opportunities to develop as a teacher and the advice given to staff to also be the best they can be makes for a very exciting and rewarding career move.
It is lovely to work in such a fabulous school, alongside amazing staff, who are all there to nurture, educate and encourage high aspirations for the young people of Scarborough on their journey to happy and successful lives beyond the school gates. I stand on yard duty on a sunny (and not so sunny) day, observing the sights and sounds of the seagulls swooping in, having the sea, the castle, the cliffs, the two bays and so much more on offer.
I now know it certainly is wonderful to live and work with all this on your doorstep. I am forever thankful for the advice and information received from the Opportunity Area team and for them helping me to follow my own mantra … ‘make it happen and make it count’.