Arthur Terry teacher’s work wins silver award

A Sutton Coldfield teacher has received a second top award for her services to children and education.

Selected from thousands of nominations, Arthur Terry School/Arthur Terry Learning Partnership teacher Sue Bailey MBE has been honoured as one of 102 Pearson National Teaching Silver Award winners across the country.

Sue was honoured with a Silver Award in The Award for Lifetime Achievement for their outstanding commitment to changing the lives of the children they work with every day. 

Sue has devoted her career to the educational, social, and emotional welfare of children, transforming many lives, and in 2017 she received an MBE for services to the community and vulnerable children.

She was the Strategic Lead for the Four Oaks Children’s Centres, providing a ‘lifeline’ to families, by organising transition days, community choirs and partnership events.

A Duke of Edinburgh’s Gold Award holder, recognised by the Outward Bound Trust for her long service, Sue has headed up visits to partner schools in South Africa through ‘Aspire for Africa Trust’. In 2016, Sue’s dynamic leadership became headline news when she led students and colleagues to safety during a military coup at Istanbul Airport.

Sue has now been shortlisted to win one of just 15 Gold Awards later in the year, in a programme which will be broadcast on the BBC. This is a great opportunity to celebrate the exceptional school staff who have worked wonders during an incredibly challenging time for educators across the country. 

She said: “I’m really honoured, humbled and proud to have received this Pearson Silver Award. Thank you to all the colleagues I have worked with over the years, who have supported me, inspired me, challenged me, laughed with me, cried with me and been part of this incredible journey. On this national ‘Thank a Teacher Day’ I would like to congratulate all schools and everybody who works in education for the incredible work they do.”

Richard Gill CBE, CEO of the Arthur Terry Learning Partnership and Chair of the National Teaching Schools Council, said: “We are absolutely delighted to see Sue win this Silver award. She is an inspirational and dedicated teacher and leader, who has transformed the lives of so many children and young people, both at the Arthur Terry School and across our family of schools. It’s a privilege to work alongside Sue, and we all look forward to congratulating her on this ‘National Thank a Teacher Day’ when we will also be celebrating and thanking all colleagues across all schools for their incredible work, every single day.”

Sutton Coldfield MP Andrew Mitchell said: “Congratulations to Sue on such a phenomenal achievement. Her outstanding service to education and safeguarding across Arthur Terry School, ATLP and the wider community, has helped to shape so many lives over the years. This Silver Pearson Award is richly deserved!

“Every child matters to Sue, and this was never more apparent than when she helped to secure the safe return of her students and colleagues following a military coup in Istanbul. Sue was calm, caring and courageous – exactly what we need in great teachers and leaders, and it is an honour and a privilege to work with her.

“It is befitting that she receives this accolade on ‘National Thank a Teacher Day’ when we celebrate the valuable contribution that all school staff make to our schools and communities. We are very fortunate to have such wonderful schools here in the Royal Town, filled with exceptional individuals like Sue Bailey, and I am very proud of their incredible work.”

The Silver Award winners are being honoured as part of the wider celebrations for ‘Thank a Teacher Day’, a national campaign to honour and recognise school staff for their incredible work. The celebrations follow new data which shows how the previous year’s lockdowns have significantly changed how families across the country view the role of teachers. 

New research from Parentkind and The Teaching Awards Trust highlights that three in four parents and carers have a newfound respect hold for the teaching profession following their experiences of remote learning during lockdown. 74.9% of survey respondents agreed or strongly agreed that they had more respect for the work that teachers do following their family’s experiences of remote learning.

The last year has seen a wealth of stories of teachers making care visits to vulnerable families, coming up with innovative ways of remote teaching, keeping their pupils settled by regularly checking in and even using their school sites for Covid-19 testing when classes did return to school. There has never been a better time to appreciate them and the vital work they do. 

The Pearson National Teaching Awards is an annual celebration of excellence in education, founded in 1998 by Lord Puttnam to recognise the life-changing impact an inspirational teacher can have on the lives of the young people they work with. This year marks its 22^ndyear of celebrating, award-winning teachers, teaching assistants, headteachers and lecturers across the UK 

Sharon Hague, Senior Vice President of Schools at Pearson UK, said:  “After a year like no other we want to take today to say thank you to all the incredible school staff who have kept children and young people learning despite unprecedented challenges. We hope the celebrations today show how much you are appreciated, and that your hard work has not gone unnoticed nor unrecognised.”