National Teaching Awards honour classroom stars from Hordle Primary and Christchurch Futures
A TEACHING assistant from Hordle and the team running the Christchurch-based Futures programme for young people struggling in mainstream education have won national awards.
The Pearson National Teaching Awards, known as the ‘Oscars of the teaching profession’, annually attract thousands of nominations.
Margaret Bawden, teaching assistant at Hordle CE Primary School over the last 27 years, has won a silver award for Teaching Assistant of the Year, and Christchurch-based Futures has won a certificate of excellence in the further education team category.
Mrs Bawden, known affectionately as Mrs B, is one of 102 teachers, lecturers, leaders and support staff named as silver winners now in the running for the coveted gold award, to be announced later.
The school said: “She has a wonderful relationship with the children, always including them in how to develop, and she has led our group of librarians for well over 20 years.
“Mrs B has also committed a huge amount of time and expertise to leading maths interventions for pupils with learning difficulties, passionate about closing the gap and ensuring that children transition to secondary school or special provision with the confidence and skills needed in order to succeed.”
She has inspired children by fundraising for Cancer Research, and played a pivotal role in the Oakhaven Project, arranging for children to visit Oakhaven Hospice to understand the work of staff and volunteers.
Running a Knit and Knatter club for many years, her talents included crafting a knitted nativity, Year 6 show props, staff Christmas jumpers, a book cover, and even a stick insect as class pet.
The Christchurch Futures programme operated by the charity Autism Unlimited empowers neurodiverse people aged 18-25 to fulfil their potential.
Futures now has 28 learners from an initial four in 2021, all developing through learning, practical activities, work placements, employability skills and supported independent living.
Futures’ manager Tilly Larment said: “We are all immensely proud to receive this award, for us, the team, and for all our learners.
“It’s not an exaggeration to say that Futures is life-changing for our learners and their families. Many young people have come to us having struggled in traditional education environments.”
