Mrs Emma Gorman - Skylark (Assistant Headteacher and Middle School Team Leader)   

I began my association with Shiphay in 2006 as a Student Teacher on the Devon SCITT course and was very fortunate to then be employed as a teacher in Year 3. After teaching in Year 3 for three years, I moved to teach in Year 6, where I have taught until this year. Committed to lifelong learning, I have worked my way through Middle Leaders, Senior Leadership and Headship qualifications. As a result, I am the Academy’s Assistant Headteachers and Team Leader. In addition to this, I coordinate English. 

Creativeness is very important to me. Prior to teaching, I studied at Dartington College of Arts and gained a First Class Honours Degree in Performance Writing and a Masters with Distinction in Visual Performance; this has inspired in me a love of literature, the Arts and digital media. 

Teaching is both a challenging and exciting experience, and I am really looking forward to the new opportunities teaching Year 4 will bring. Having a creative approach to the curriculum based on active learning enables me to set high aspirations for my class. I believe in putting the learner at the core of the learning experience, so they feel empowered to become partners in planning learning experiences and evaluating their success. Those are essential skills they will take with them through life.

Mrs Charlie Lawton - Woodpecker

Since qualifying as a teacher in 2015, I have been lucky enough to teach in all year groups from Reception to Year 4. Teaching in different year groups has allowed me to see how the children progress and grow along their learning journey. After recently having returned from Maternity leave, I have been teaching in Year 4, where I am very excited to be continuing my teaching adventures on a part-time basis. 

My degree specialised in Early Years, but I enjoy teaching all areas of the curriculum, particularly English. I also have a keen passion and interest for Geography and Computing. I am currently the Computing subject lead and support the Online Safety Champions and Digital Leaders.   

I strongly believe that the curriculum should be accessible to all children in a range of fun and engaging ways in an environment that is both safe and nurturing to each child's needs. In the classroom, I aim to create a friendly, welcoming environment where children feel empowered to learn and secure enough to make mistakes in their learning and grow from these. I like to teach in a range of ways that meet many different learning styles so each child can have equal opportunities to access the curriculum. In 2017, I was lucky enough to spend some time travelling the world. During this time, I taught English to children living in the poorest province in Thailand. This experience was invaluable and has made me appreciate how fortunate we are in the UK to have such an engaging curriculum and up-to-date Technology.

I am looking forward to another year in Middle School and supporting the children along their learning journey.

Mrs Kate Rickard - Woodpecker

I have been teaching at Shiphay Learning Academy since September 2017, and I’m very excited to be returning to teach in Year 4 following my Maternity leave. Throughout my time at Shiphay, I have been based within the Lower School Team, where I have developed a good understanding of teaching and learning in the Early Years. My teaching degree is in Early Years, but I am interested to see the progression of skills within a new year group, especially the development of Mathematics, Reading and Phonics. My other subject interests are Art, Design and Technology and Music, so I’m already excited to teach these topics next year!

Although teaching in Middle School is new to me, I welcome the challenge of a new year group and look forward to developing my teaching whilst job sharing with Mrs Lawton. I aim to bring creative teaching and learning opportunities and provide a safe and welcoming environment where the children can learn. I feel it is important to teach around the children’s interests and provide them with a range of ways to develop their learning, knowing it is okay to make mistakes, and by using a positive mindset, we can apply ourselves to challenges and learn from different outcomes.

Teaching Assistannts

Miss Izabela Idziak (HLTA)

Mrs Amanda Staples (HLTA)

Ms Tanya Williams-Powell (HLTA)

Ms Marisa Leigh 

Mrs Amy Haworth