Head Teacher's Report

Alison Fox, Head Teacher - King's Court First School, Old Windsor, Berkshire

Alison Fox trained for her Bachelor of Education in Leicester, and has been teaching for 17 years. She joined King's Court as Deputy Head in 1997, and - after working with two Head Teachers - herself became Head in March 2003. She and her policeman husband have two children, aged five and two.

King's Court is a state school with 206 pupils, ranging in age from three to eleven years old.

What are your memories and impressions of your own education? I was one of those children that really enjoyed school! I started at a traditional church primary school, that was actually quite strict, but I loved learning, doing well and pleasing my teachers. I remember getting quite bored in the school holidays! My secondary education was at an inner city church school in Hammersmith, that was a little like a grammar school.

Looking back, I suppose I was a model student, in that I tried really hard, and gained good averages, although I've always found exams hard. My parents were very supportive, but they didn't sit over me each night they just helped when I needed it.

Who was your favourite teacher at school, and why? My favourite teacher was Mr Sheppherdson, my Sixth Form tutor, who also taught me English and Media Studies. He earned the pupils' respect by being a good disciplinarian, but also ensuring that we knew we could always talk to him if we needed to.

He was very approachable, with a great sense of humour, and it was obvious that he cared about us as people, not just as his pupils. With hindsight, I think he was an excellent motivator, as he definitely had high expectations of us, but we all wanted to please him, so we tried extra hard.

What was the toughest exam you ever sat? That would have to be my Maths O Level! I was dreading it I had always struggled with Maths, and the pressure was on, as it was obviously a requirement for entering teacher training. Luckily I passed, and I never had to take another Maths exam again, as my teaching qualifications were based on assessment of my coursework. However, I think that my early difficulty with Maths means that I now consider the teaching of it as one of my strengths.

I really understand what it's like to grapple with numbers and equations, so I appreciate how sometimes a different approach can make all the difference to understanding. I think that some of the new ways of teaching Maths are excellent they really make sense, and are much more intuitive, so children can grasp concepts more readily, and gain confidence.

What career would you choose if you weren't a teacher? My mother was a teacher, and, for as long as I can remember, I have always wanted to teach too. Dance is a passion of mine, and I almost became a dancing teacher! Instead, I decided to train as a Primary teacher, with Dance and PE as my specialisms. If I hadn't become a teacher, I probably would have chosen nursing instead; I've always felt the importance of working in one of the 'caring' professions.

I like to think my work can help make a difference. In fact, after doing some temporary typing work during one of my holidays when I was a student teacher, I was offered an excellent job as a PA to the MD of Honda. When I turned it down to carry on teacher training, my peers were amazed, as the difference in the two salaries was enormous! But I couldn't see myself being happy doing that type of work.

How do you wind down after a hard day at school? By going to bed! Sometimes I can't unwind until I'm actually in bed, as I have a lot of preparation work that can eat into my evenings ' sometimes Governors' meetings can last until 10pm. I love to spend time with my husband and children, doing the usual family things, but I always try to get to bed by 10 or 10.30pm.

What are your plans for the school holidays' Like many working parents, because my family time is so precious, I really look forward to the holidays ' although I do need to be available and 'on call? for any work required in the school grounds, or to the building infrastructure. We have no definite plans as yet apart from catching up on various chores, and spending lots of fun family time together.

Do you still have a teaching role? I don't usually teach anymore, as it's a full-time job running the business of our busy school. I do the odd day when someone's off sick, but I do miss the regular contact - I think it's important for me to keep in touch with what the children are learning, and to talk with them in their typical teaching environment.

I do manage to fit in the odd stint though; in October last year, the school Governors and I made a conscious decision that I would teach the Year 4 class myself, rather than get in a substitute teacher. I taught them until Easter, as we wanted to recruit exactly the right teacher for the class we all felt my paperwork could wait!

How do you think parents can really help their children's school? The most helpful thing that parents can do is to come to curriculum meetings, and really to listen to what the teachers are saying. The children are also regularly given information sheets to take home, and I know from experience that they often forget to give them to their parents! So it's very useful if parents ' when they chat with their kids about their school day ' can get into the habit of reminding their children to show them anything they've been given to bring home.

How can parents best help their children to learn? Really, it's the simple things, like making sure they read with their children several times a week right the way through their primary and junior school years. As they get older, and become better readers, parents will probably find it more interesting, for both them and their kids, to focus less on the mechanics of reading, and more on the interpretation and comprehension of what's being read. Doing this really helped my son when he had some speech difficulties, and gave him much more confidence.

Also, it sounds obvious, but when your children have homework, it's ideal if you can make the time to get really involved in what they're doing, and even play games to help with their spelling, or Maths. And it never hurts to alternate trips to the cinema or bowling with the odd outing to a library, museum, gallery or other interesting place!

What are your biggest challenges today as a Head Teacher? Probably to be a 'jack of all trades'! - I've been trained as a teacher, but being a Head obviously involves managing, and justifying, a large budget, as well as being responsible for motivating and leading a team of teachers and support staff. The management of the school property and grounds is a huge task, as there's a mountain of red tape to deal with.

Talking of which, keeping abreast of all the Government directives, and working out how best to implement them sensitively in our school is an ongoing job! Also, together with supporting the staff, I often find myself acting as a sort of social worker for some families which, as you can imagine, is quite challenging at times.

However, I was fascinated to read a recent piece of research, that showed that teachers  - over and above doctors, police etc can make the best community leaders. This job really makes me feel that I'm contributing something.

Alison Fox

Head Teacher, King's Court First School