Oxfordshire’s smallest Church of England primary school was this week celebrating the success of its Head Teacher in the South of England finals of the 2005 Teaching Awards.
Fiona Craig collected a Commendation in the Primary Head Teacher of the Year award for her work at Shellingford CE Primary School. The school had been classed as ‘failing’ by OFSTED just before Fiona took up her new role as Head. It has since been singled out for special praise from the National Chief Inspector of Schools for a dramatic improvement in standards, achieved in record time.
The school’s positive Christian ethos was rated as ‘excellent’, with the children’s participation in daily worship being identified as one of the key factors in the school’s turnaround.
Fiona said at the ceremony in the Guildhall in Winchester: “It’s a great honour to receive this award. A church school should be distinctively different – it’s a privilege to work in an environment where Christian values are at the very heart of all that we do.”
She also paid tribute to the Oxford Diocese for its dedicated support of the school during it’s recovery over the last year.
The Teaching Awards Trust was established by Lord Puttnam in 1998 to celebrate excellence in the teaching profession. Trust Chief Executive, David Hanson, said at the ceremony: “We received over 5000 nominations this year for the Awards, which aim to thank the unsung heroes of teaching who make a real difference to pupils’ lives”.
