Welcome from the Head teacher

Dear Parents & Carers,

I wanted to take this opportunity to introduce myself to you all and let you know a little bit about me as Head teacher of St. Nicholas' Chantry Church of England Primary School.

My name is Rosanna, but everyone (yourselves included, I hope) calls me Ro. I live in Somerset with my ten-year-old son William, who is the light of my life! He has just started in Year Six and I have loved watching him learn and grow. I have lived in the south west all my life, growing up in a small village on the beautiful Somerset Levels. I studied teaching at the University of Wolverhampton, achieving an Honours degree in Primary Education with Art & Music in 1999. I then worked as a teacher at St. Mary’s C of E Primary in Bridgwater for eight years, followed by Deputy Headship at Cannington C of E Primary, where I gained my National Professional Qualification for Headship.

For five years I was the Head of Nether Stowey Church of England Primary School, a village school on the edge of the glorious Quantock Hills. Following this I have spent the past four years as the Head of Willowdown Primary and Nursery in Bridgwater. I  embraced all elements of Willowdown’ s transformational journey and celebrated the many successes as this truly inspiring school has continued to grow and flourish. I have now led St. Nicholas Chantry Church of England Primary School for a year and what a positive, strong community I have joined – I relish the opportunity to work with every one of you to make our school and community both strong and successful.

I am delighted to be the Head here because the school family has strong Christian values at its heart. Staff and pupils are friendly, approachable and kind. Behaviour around the school shows that pupils have a good moral compass and enjoy their learning. My core values and interests align well with those of the school. I love to paint and draw and intend to ensure creativity, as well as honesty, charitability and aspiration, form the basis of all we do as a school moving forward. I aim to bring the very best out of every single child by nurturing their character, confidence and sense of self to ensure they become successful, happy citizens of the future.  

The staff here care deeply for your children as well as for one another. This is the type of school I want to lead because I make the mental health and wellbeing of all pupils, staff and families a priority in order to ensure our school is successful and thrives. I am also aware I am responsible for retaining the true character of the school, following on from the Heads before me. I promise to make sure the very best elements of St. Nick’s are not lost as the school continues its transformational phase. I will work with all of you and the church and local community to keep St. Nick’s character and reputation at the forefront of our thoughts, plans and priorities.

Every single pupil here without exception deserves to make the best progress possible, regardless of their needs and starting point and I will ensure this happens. I have very high standards and expectations for myself and my staff team and I aim to support them no matter what their role here at school. In order to achieve this, I also need your help. I expect you to tell your child’s class team, or me when you have a concern and we will do the same and let you know if we have a concern about your child so we can work together to put it right. We will always communicate with you as effectively as we can and I expect you to raise your concerns in a polite manner as soon as you can too. I assure you I am a very open, approachable person, so please let me know if I can help.

My other expectation is that you make sure your child arrives on time, in smart school uniform every day (in line with the specifications on the school website parents & carers' area). It is vital you’re your child completes homework set by the teacher, particularly phonics, daily reading and Maths. This will ensure your child is equipped to learn and doesn’t miss out on all the opportunities on offer. If this does not happen I will contact you, because it really must. Occasionally I like to make a home visit. This is something I do in order to get to know you and your child and talk about any support I might be able to offer. I hope you will be able to find the time to make me welcome if I should ask to visit.

I know it can be hard to make it into school when you are busy with family and work commitments, but I will hold regular drop-in sessions when you can come and have a cuppa and a chat with me and other members of staff if they are available. Some of these drop-ins will include a tour of the school so you can see the classes in action. I will also be asking for your help with projects such as donations for our new OPAL project, blitzing the school’s outdoor areas and planting in the autumn and spring. All parent and carer sessions drop-in sessions will be toddler, baby and breastfeeding-friendly events so please come along and say hello and we can get to know each other and discuss any queries, suggestions or positives you might like to raise – I look forward to seeing you!

Ro O'Reilly

Head teacher