Miss Alice Farmer - Oak (Upper School Team Lead)

Nine years ago, I began my teaching career at Shiphay in Year 5.  After two years in Year 5, I then moved abroad to Qatar, where I was teaching the British National Curriculum to Year 2 children from all over the world. I gained lots of new experiences and skills that I have brought back to my teaching in England.  I am looking forward to another engaging and exciting year teaching Oak in Year 6 and also continuing developing in my role as Assistant Headteacher and Upper School Team Lead. In addition to this, I also coordinate Art and Design  and Maths. 

I enjoy teaching all areas of the curriculum, and my subject specialism is Art and Design.  I also have a passion for Mathematics, and I am a Maths Mastery Specialist, working with other schools across Devon to develop Maths Mastery in their schools.  I ensure the children are given a breadth of understanding that teaches them the skills to be able to reason and solve problems. I am a very active person and enjoy spending my time dancing, running and going paddle boarding around the Bay. I have also been involved in many theatre performances at the Princess Theatre from a young age. My experience as a dancer and performer has taught me the importance of working together as a team and the wide range of skills it develops.

In my classroom, I value the children as creative individuals with each of them being creative in different curriculum areas.  I aim to use this to bring the children together as part of a community. It is important for children to be free to explore what they are learning by asking questions, working collaboratively, having resilience, building independence and being reflective on their practice. By embedding these core values across all of their learning, I believe it will develop the children into strong individuals who are respecting citizens and who are equipped for the future.

Mr Richard Nutbeam - Sycamore

 I have loved being at Shiphay Learning Academy and I am excited to continue my learning journey with Year 6 next year. I have always held a passion for the outdoors and exploring the world. I decided to enter into the teaching profession after being inspired in outdoor classrooms in Kenya. I have now been teaching for over 17 years. In the past I have led schools, but two years ago I returned to the classroom and I have loved working with the children directly.

As a teacher, I have developed my practice to create vibrant classroom environments that allow children to thrive, encouraging a wide spectrum of the children’s strengths and talents. I believe that the key to good progress and learning behaviours is the relationship we build with the children, and I strive to create a learning environment where children feel safe and understand that mistakes are part of the learning process. My favourite subject is Science and I specialised in this area. I think it is a very exciting subject, where learning can really come alive.

I started my teaching career in Birmingham and moved to Devon 5 years ago. Since moving to Devon, I have loved taking advantage of the outdoors with my wife and three children Arthur(5), Alfred(3) and William(1). I look forward to meeting my new Year 6 class and helping support the last stages of their learning journey at Shiphay.