I am extremely proud to be the head of school at Glenleigh Park. Having worked in schools for 22 years, I can safely say that I learn something new every day. For me this is the most exciting thing about education. Education has the power to change lives and this excites me! Teaching, learning and curriculum design are passions of mine and currently we are working hard at Glenleigh Park to design a curriculum that actively engages the learners to deepen and embed skills and transfer knowledge across the curriculum.

When I am not in school, I enjoy spending time with my husband and two children. Being active is important to us as a family; we enjoy rambling over the Firehills, exploring Battle Woods or strolling along the seafront on a sunny day. Cooking is one of my favourite pastimes; I adore experimenting with new flavors and trying new foods. An interesting fact about me is that I undertook the 3 Peaks challenge to raise money for the charity CRY, it was one of the most exhausting but exciting experiences of my life!

My name is Libby Barnard and I am the Deputy Head and SENCo at Glenleigh Park Primary Academy. I joined the team in April 2019. I love working at Glenleigh Park because the staff and children are so amazing and every day I get to learn something new! At home, I live with my two daughters, who despite only being 5 and 10 years old seem to have a better social life than me! I am not a huge sports fan but I do enjoy walking with my girls and my extended family. We love a seafront stroll or a muddy forest adventure.

When I was at secondary school, I received my bronze Duke of Edinburgh award, which involved a lot of walking up mountains in both Wales and the Lake District. Art is my passion and although I don't have that much time for it right now, when I do have a spare day, I enjoy visiting galleries and exhibitions of different artists. An interesting fact about me is that I have a piece of my artwork hanging in the library at my old university.

Enter description

Enter description

Enter description

My name is Rob Bennett and I am a year 6 teacher and Key Stage 2 lead at Glenleigh Park Primary Academy. I joined Glenleigh Park in September 2014 and have worked across the year groups in Key Stage 2. I love working at Glenleigh Park because every day a child makes me laugh so I always go home smiling! At home, I live with my partner Natalie and Winston our dog. I am a big sports fan and everyone knows that outside of school I will either be at the golf course, watching Arsenal on the TV or wandering in the woods with Winston. An interesting fact about me is I love to scuba dive. I dive in the U.K in the summer and whenever I am somewhere warm and sunny on holiday. I love to dive with sharks, in particular Tiger sharks. I am still building up the courage to dive with Great White Sharks!

Enter description

I’m Charlotte Pierce, and I joined the wonderful Glenleigh Park team in September 2020. I love being a class teacher at Glenleigh Park because the amazing children and teachers make the school such a happy place to be. In my spare time, I enjoy walking along our beautiful seafront, baking sweet treats, and travelling whenever I can. My favourite holidays have been to Italy, where I enjoyed seeing the breath-taking sights in Pompeii, and eating my body weight in gelato in Sorrento! I studied Psychology at university, and it is still a real passion of mine. I find our brains fascinating and enjoy reading about how we grow, learn, and think. But when I’m really relaxing, I like nothing more than watching a good movie and munching popcorn in my PJs!

Proud owner of 5 guinea pigs. I joined Glenleigh in September 2020 and am a Year 3 class teacher. I like working at Glenleigh because it has a positive atmosphere and is full of smiley faces. My favourite film is Harry Potter. I enjoy watching lots of TV series, martial arts and music. One of my greatest achievements was graduating with a first-class degree and the other, was winning gold at a Taekwondo competition.

My name is Sam Marchant, I am a Year 3 teacher and Physical Education lead at Glenleigh Park Primary Academy. I have been part of the Glenleigh Park community since January 2020 and I have loved every minute, I feel privileged to work with so many amazing children and such a hard working team! I have a strong passion for sport and general exercise, who knew you could keep fit, feel good and have fun all at the same time!? I enjoy playing and watching a wide range of sports, but football has to be my favourite. I play for a 6-aside team once a week, and when I am not playing I often go to watch my favourite team; Brighton and Hove Albion. When I was just two years old, I was the You’ve Been Framed video star of the week for some crazy dancing in my high chair. Visiting the ITV studios and appearing live on the programme is my claim to fame, I am not sure that my dancing is as good these days!

Enter description

My name is Debbie Sinfield and I am a class teacher at Glenleigh Park Primary Academy where I have worked for 4 years. Before I started teaching, I worked in West Sussex managing a range of different children's services and prior to that I trained as a dancer and even got to dance in the West End. While growing up I was a regular on stage at the De La Warr Pavilion performing in the Christmas Pantomime, dance shows and as a member of the Bexhill Light Operatic Dramatic Society. I have 2 daughters who are 8 and 10 who keep me very busy. We love being active, going for walks and the beach. In my spare time I love being with family and friends, reading and running.

My name is Philip Green. I am a Year 6 teacher and KS2 English and reading lead at Glenleigh Park. I have been at Glenleigh for 4 years and love working here. The children are so enthusiastic and I love getting to know them all. I am a big sports fan. I love watching and playing lots of different sports. I particularly enjoy football and play for a team on Saturdays. I also love running. You may bump into me running along the seafront! Make sure you give me a wave!

My other big passion is reading. I particularly love reading children's books. We are so lucky to have so many brilliant children's authors around at the moment. My current favourite author is Katherine Rundell and I would recommend reading all of her books! An interesting fact about me is that I grew up living on a farm!

My name is Rob Bennett and I am a year 6 teacher and Key Stage 2 lead at Glenleigh Park Primary Academy. I joined Glenleigh Park in September 2014 and have worked across the year groups in Key Stage 2. I love working at Glenleigh Park because every day a child makes me laugh so I always go home smiling! At home, I live with my partner Natalie and Winston our dog. I am a big sports fan and everyone knows that outside of school I will either be at the golf course, watching Arsenal on the TV or wandering in the woods with Winston. An interesting fact about me is I love to scuba dive. I dive in the U.K in the summer and whenever I am somewhere warm and sunny on holiday. I love to dive with sharks, in particular Tiger sharks. I am still building up the courage to dive with Great White Sharks!

My name is Miss Sargent and I am the Maths Lead, Lower Key Stage 2 Lead and Class Teacher here at Glenleigh Park Primary Academy. I joined the team in September 2017 after teaching at two other schools in Hastings. At weekends, I love going for walks with my cheeky Labrador puppy and nephew. I love being outdoors, especially at the beach, which is my favourite place. When I have time to relax, I enjoy keeping active in the gym or playing sports.

My name is Charlotte Axell and I am a Teaching Assistant at Glenleigh Park Primary Academy. I also work in the after school club too. I joined the team in September 2015. I love working at Glenleigh Park as no day is ever the same. I love working with my lovely colleagues and I am lucky enough to not only work with the children in my class but I get to work and know children from all year groups, seeing them flourish and grow. Outside of work, I enjoy being active, I play netball for a local club which is great as I get to see my friends as well taking part in something that I enjoy. I also enjoy going swimming and walking in the countryside with my extended family. I love history and enjoy visiting history museums and watching history programmes on TV. I went to Rome a few years ago, visiting the colosseum, and seeing all the ancient ruins, it was amazing! When I was at secondary school I received the ‘Sports Girl of the Year Award’ in my year group for my achievements in sport.

My name is Sam Evans and I am a Teaching Assistant at Glenleigh Park Primary Academy. I joined the team in September 2014 as a midday supervisor and Volunteer and then became a Teaching Assistant in November 2016. As a young child I wanted to be a teacher and never changed my mind, I went to college to study childcare and then I went on to work in local nurseries and since starting at Glenleigh I've never looked back. I love being a Teaching Assistant - I personally believe I have the best job and really look forward to everyday. I love working at Glenleigh Park because it is such a lovely place to work with lots of supportive colleagues, great children and many professional development and learning opportunities. I particularly enjoy teaching phonics - how amazing that we have the knowledge to teach children to read - a lifelong skill they will use for the rest of their lives. At home, I live with my fiancé and two sons aged 10 and 3. I love family days whether that's at home playing or watching movies or out on fun days out.

My name is Wendy Kennard and I am a Teaching Assistant at Glenleigh Park. I have been a TA for approximately 13 years. The best thing about being in my role is when a child you are working with has a ‘lightbulb’ moment. It is wonderful seeing their faces light up! My favourite food has got to be Marmite and chocolate, but NOT together, tried that once and it was incredibly YUK! Four years ago I queued up for a very long time, at Chessington, to stroke a baby panda, to only realise after that it was in fact a robotic panda! One day I will travel around Europe in my Motorhome Bessie, chasing the sun! Oh and I can wiggle my ears.

My name is Hannah Noble and I am a teaching assistant at Glenleigh Park. I joined the team in November 2017 and I am currently at university training to be a Primary School Teacher. I have three football mad sons, who all play for a local team, which means a lot of my weekends are spent on cold, wet fields. When I have free time, I enjoy camping with the boys - my favourite place is the New Forest.

I joined the Glenleigh Park family in 2015 and I relish the fast paced, positive and rewarding environment the school has to offer. I am a member of the Pastoral team and I am also a trained Emotional Literacy Support Assistant (ELSA). I work across the school providing support to children emotionally, socially and academically. My passion is to empower pupils, helping them build resilience, believe in themselves and achieve their full potential. Working with children is my dream and I love that no two days are ever the same!

At home, I live with my partner and my son Rupert. I aspire to be a fantastic mother and role model for him. Family is hugely important to me and in my spare time I love spending time with family and friends, particularly in the outdoors. I studied at the University of Brighton and have a degree in Applied Social Science. One of my greatest achievements is hiking 26 miles across the South Downs for charity in 2019. I am a huge football fan, I support West Ham United and I have held a season ticket with my Dad for a few years!

Enter description

My name is Amy Walsh and I work in the Ducklings Nursery as a Nursery Practitioner. I joined the nursery team in November 2020 when I moved down from London. The nursery team have made me feel very welcome from the start and the children and families are lovely. I have always been into sports from a very young age especially football. I was offered an opportunity to move to the USA to play football there, but it was too far away from my family so chose not to go. At the weekends, I enjoy going for walks and finding new places to visit, and going back to London to see my family and friends. Once a month I like to treat myself to my favourite take away, which is a Chinese.

My name is Sharon Croft and I am a nursery practitioner at Glenleigh Park and have worked here for 6 and a half years. I enjoy working in the nursery, as every day is different, and we all work well as a team. I have 2 children and 1 grandchild who I enjoy spending time with. I like going for walks in the country or along the seafront. I also enjoy going to Zumba and Powerhoop classes.

My name is Caroline Young and I have been at Glenleigh Park Primary Academy for over 6 years now. Recently my role changed to Nursery Finance & Administration Assistant for both Glenleigh Park and King Offa Primary Academies. I’ve been happily married to my husband, Martin, for nearly 25 years. I thoroughly enjoy working within Glenleigh Park and King Offa nurseries, as the staff and nursery environment are lovely to work within - they are focussed on providing excellent childcare, the schools are great and every day is different. On the sport side, our middle child has played cricket for Sussex for nearly 10 years now - so I have to say cricket, although our youngest is a very keen golfer and he’s won several competitions. Proudest moments with our eldest was her achieving a 1st in Music at Chichester University in 2020 and being with her when she was awarded her Duke of Edinburgh Gold at Buckingham Palace in 2018. I enjoy reading, walking, cycling and social gatherings. On an achievement front, I completed several London to Brighton and London to Cambridge bike rides in my younger years. I love anything to do with Christmas and would have the tree up all year round if I could, which has led my friends to nickname me Mother Christmas.

I live with my partner in Hastings, our two teenage sons, our dog Eddie, cat Pickles, my son’s collection of tarantula’s and his aquarium full of fish that would normally inhabit the Amazon rainforest and his vivarium that is awaiting the arrival of some poison dart frogs! I joined Aurora Academies Trust in June 2018 as Business Manager of King Offa Primary Academy, and then took on a joint Business Manager role covering both King Offa and Glenleigh Park Primary Academies in April 2020. A key factor of my role is managing the school finances and resources to enable the leadership team and teaching staff to provide a high quality education and safe and stimulating environment for our pupils. I really enjoy my role at Glenleigh where the children are at the forefront of every decision made. In my time away from work I am a very keen cook and baker; love to garden and particularly like growing my own fruit and vegetables. I also love to sing and have been involved with various choirs over the years. As one of twelve children, I really value the family atmosphere that prevails at Glenleigh and look forward to being part of the schools’ continuous development.

My name is Charlotte Gooch and I am the Office Manager at Glenleigh Park Primary Academy. I am fairly new to the team, as I joined in September 2020. I love working at Glenleigh Park because every day is different and there is always something new to learn! The staff team and children make work lots of fun and I really enjoy my role. At home, I live with my partner and our cat, who is always getting into lots of mischief! In my free time I like to go for long walks with friends and family, and I also enjoy getting creative and have been known to make gifts and cards for loved ones. During the summer holidays, my partner and I like to explore new places in the UK and our favourite place so far is the Lake District; we are hoping to continue our adventures this summer. An interesting fact about me is that I once took part in a Circus Skills workshop and found out that fire breathing is not for me!