Deputy Headspace

Mrs Julie Thomas, St Mary’s College, Crosby

Growing up as the eldest of four children, our family always attended St Francis de Sales church in Walton, Liverpool and my primary school was attached to this parish. I always enjoyed school and tried to throw myself into all it had to offer. Music was a priority at St Francis de Sales, as was public speaking, and I remember joining with other primary schools to make huge, combined choirs and performing at numerous concerts.

On Saturdays growing up, I used to visit my great-grandmother, grandmother, and great aunt who all lived together in a flat in the centre of Liverpool. My great-grandmother lived to be a week off 99, she couldn’t read or write, as her own mother died young, so she had younger siblings to bring up. She was one of the most intelligent women I have known yet wouldn’t have been able to pass written exams. She always said that education was the most important gift a person could have, so education was always a priority for my parents. Secondary school was St Augustine’s, Bootle which was an all-girls 11-16 comprehensive school with a rich mix of pupils and a staff committed to giving opportunity to all. I loved this school and had a decision to make for Sixth Form. I was advised by one of my teachers to apply to St Mary’s College as I wanted to study Maths, Music and Chemistry and the local Sixth Form didn’t do Music. This was the start of my Edmund Rice journey.

The school at the time had just started to take girls in the Sixth Form (I was in the third tranche) so for me to move from an all-girls comp to an all-boys independent school was a bit of a culture shock, especially when my brother was asking ‘did they play rugger’? I knew I wanted to be a teacher and having thoroughly enjoyed St Mary’s, I went back to teach Maths after a degree at Liverpool University and a PGCE, I have been here ever since. I was given good advice by the Deputy Head at St Augustine’s when she said that if you ever decide to stay somewhere for a long time, make sure your job changes and I have always made sure it has. Teacher of Maths, teacher in charge of PSHE, Head of Maths, Assistant Head in charge of pastoral care and, for the last seven years Vice Principal, each post has challenged in a different way.

In the early days I started going on the annual HCPT pilgrimage to Lourdes, our school group was led by Fr Pat Harnett. Fr Pat was a legend, he would work tirelessly, often in the background, under the radar, supporting pupils and their families when they needed it. He would provide opportunities for service for pupils, whether that be in Lourdes at Easter or Summer, on pilgrimage in Walsingham or working with seafarers at Stella Maris; similar work to we see happening in our schools now. It is interesting when recruiting teachers, I think that a certain type of teacher finds our schools appealing; it’s not just about the academic, important though this is, it’s about walking in the steps of others, showing real consideration for all members of our school and wider community. Our teachers will always go the extra mile.

Over the last year or two we have been working on our school strategy document. This has been a process in which we have dissected what is it that we are really trying to do. We have decided upon five goals: excellence, opportunities, contribute for others, looking forward, and the place to be. These five goals are underpinned by our school motto ‘fidem, vita, fateri’ we show our faith by the way we live. Putting in the detail can often be daunting but to have clear goals is the key to a sustained future and the process of review is always exciting.

We are also preparing for an ISI inspection; the new framework is centred around pupil well-being; it is clear that it has been well thought out. Thinking of everything in terms of pupil well-being has been a different focus but a very useful, productive one. Capturing every pupil voice and knowing their lived experience is what we strive to do so that we can understand and support all pupils regardless of their protected characteristics. We know that mental health services for children are very stretched so building resilience and supporting pupils in their everyday struggles has become a very important job for schools and is probably one of the most important things that we as teachers can do. The nurturing, caring environment that our schools provide is in my view the greatest gift we can give our pupils so that they can go out into the world to make a positive difference.