Helen Bruckdorfer

Interim Executive Headteacher

Cal Shaw
Headteacher
Whole school leadership
Responsibility for Safeguarding and Child Protection

Tiggy Mitchell
Deputy Headteacher
Responsibility for Pupil Voice, Pastoral and Deputy for Safeguarding
Head of KS2

Tiggy hates traffic jams, isn’t keen on the tube and loathes waiting for a bus if it’s cold – she wishes she could fly so she’d never have to do any of them again! She loves working with children because they are never dull and often full of joy. That is what every day should be like! She would have loved to have met Emmeline Pankhurst, because at a time when women were just supposed to keep quiet and do what they were told she fought for a women’s right to vote and have a voice of their own. Tiggy believes each and every person’s voice should be heard.

Henry Commander
Deputy Headteacher

Henry loves football and was inspired to work with children after a stint coaching an under 11 football team. Despite saying Aston Villa winning makes him smile, he smiles a surprising amount of the time! If he knew today was the last day of the world, the first thing he’d do is tuck into a big breakfast of pancakes, bacon and maple syrup! If a film was ever made of his life story, Henry would choose Elijah Wood to play him, as like the hobbit Wood played in Lord of the Rings, Henry describes himself as ‘short and hairy’! It’s no surprise that when he was a child Henry dreamed of being a footballer – football’s loss is teaching’s gain.

Rachel Fields
EYFS Leader

Laura Lien
Assistant Head Teacher
Rights Respecting Champion and PSHE&C

Globetrotting Laura would love the power of teleportation to visit the hundreds of places she has on her list of places to see. She’d struggle knowing where to go first – Machu Pichu, the Galapagos Islands, Iguazu Falls, she’s determined to get to them all one day. On one of her travels she learnt to skydive in Australia and that is the scariest, but most fun thing she’s ever done. She didn’t decide she wanted to be a teacher until she was 23 but now knows it was the right decision – she feels the Ray Bradbury quote ‘Do what you love and love what you do’ could have been written just for her!

Samantha Avery
School Business Manager

Henry Commander
Deputy Headteacher

Henry loves football and was inspired to work with children after a stint coaching an under 11 football team. Despite saying Aston Villa winning makes him smile, he smiles a surprising amount of the time! If he knew today was the last day of the world, the first thing he’d do is tuck into a big breakfast of pancakes, bacon and maple syrup! If a film was ever made of his life story, Henry would choose Elijah Wood to play him, as like the hobbit Wood played in Lord of the Rings, Henry describes himself as ‘short and hairy’! It’s no surprise that when he was a child Henry dreamed of being a footballer – football’s loss is teaching’s gain.

Rachel Fields
EYFS Leader

Lisa Hyland
Literacy Lead
Class Teacher – Year 5

Angie Cord
Science Lead
Class Teacher – Year 3

If Angie knew today was her last day she would round up all the people she loves for a day of laughing and eating – hopefully she’d cover her mouth while laughing and chewing as no-one wants to see that! She’d also love to revisit Tulum, Mexico where she once swam with whale sharks and turtles. She loved the weather, food and scenery there and thinks of it as her ‘happy place!’ She could have been the female Tim Peake or the next Taylor Swift as when she was a child astronaut and rock star where he planned career paths, however, she admits she didn’t really do much to make it happen and feels blessed to be a teacher as she loves the jobs so much. She did however at least buy a guitar to learn on when she was younger, inspired by the first record she ever bought, the amazing Nevermind by Nirvana. That’s a pretty cool first record and she’s pretty cool too!

Maeve Doherty
Wider Curriculum and KS2 Wellbeing Lead
Class Teacher – Year 6

There are a lot of teachers at Brecknock who don’t like waiting and Maeve is no exception – if she had a super power it would be teleportation so she could travel anywhere in a blink of an eye and whatever she was doing she use it to end the day on a beach in Thailand – having taught in China for a number of years she knows east Asia very well and would love to go back and visit her favourite places in not just Thailand but China and Vietnam too. Don’t get her onto the topic of football – not unless you want to be bored by the ludicrous claim that Manchester United are the greatest team in the world! Some things from childhood Maeve just can’t move on from and one of those is ‘The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe’. She first read it when she was 8 and still reads it to this day – we assume she means re-reads it and not that it’s taken her all this time and she still hasn’t finished it as that would be very worrying for a teacher!

Muzeyin Issa

Maths Lead & Class Teacher – Year 6

Kate Tench

Computing Lead
Maternity Leave

Kate wishes she could fly so she could always be on time, but also use it pop on holiday at a moments notice! Her favourite place to be is in Italy, enjoying the food and sunshine with friends and family. The best advice she ever received was that ‘when you fall over, make a mistake or something doesn’t go the way you planned, it is better to laugh about it than cry’. Kate laughs a lot! She’s inspired by her sister because she’s independent, focussed, academic and a risk taker. If Kate was on a desert island and had only one book she could take she’d opt for an encyclopaedia. It might only be one book but she’d learn a lot!

Tanit Madanes

Nursery Class Teacher

Hannah Neill
Class Teacher – Reception

Rachel Fields
EYFS Leader

Hannah Neill
Class Teacher – Year 1

Abbi Eisenburg

Class Teacher- Year 1

Adam Binding

Class teacher – Year 2

Lexie Awad

Class Teacher- Year 2

Lisa Hyland
Literacy Lead
Class Teacher – Year 5

Julie Forsythe
Class Teacher – Year 3

The person that inspires Julie more than anyone else is her Dad because he was never miserable. If Julie could travel anywhere in the world, she would sail across the Atlantic to New York on a large ship because it would feel very decadent. She loves to spend time at the seaside and snow always makes her smile. Julie’s superpower of choice would be to be able to shrink! I wonder what she would get up to! Julie would love to meet Graham Norton because he makes her laugh and would like Judy Dench to play her in a film. She always wanted to be a teacher and the most fun thing she has ever learnt to do is bake.

Angie Cord
Science Lead
Class Teacher – Year 3

If Angie knew today was her last day she would round up all the people she loves for a day of laughing and eating – hopefully she’d cover her mouth while laughing and chewing as no-one wants to see that! She’d also love to revisit Tulum, Mexico where she once swam with whale sharks and turtles. She loved the weather, food and scenery there and thinks of it as her ‘happy place!’ She could have been the female Tim Peake or the next Taylor Swift as when she was a child astronaut and rock star where he planned career paths, however, she admits she didn’t really do much to make it happen and feels blessed to be a teacher as she loves the jobs so much. She did however at least buy a guitar to learn on when she was younger, inspired by the first record she ever bought, the amazing Nevermind by Nirvana. That’s a pretty cool first record and she’s pretty cool too!

Tom Dibb
Class Teacher – Year  4

Usma Ahmed
Class Teacher – Year 4

Zoe Rickard
Class Teacher – Year 5

Zoe has always wanted to work with children because she loves the variety that comes with teaching and that the children make her laugh. Travelling is important to Zoe, she would love to go to Mexico and enjoy the sunshine and the food. She would spend her time eating burritos and lying in the sunshine reading a good book. She would save her passport if her house was on fire to make sure she could still jet set around the world! ‘Atonement’ by Ian McEwan would be her book of choice if she could only take one book to a desert island. The most fun thing she has ever learnt to do is hula hooping. She claims that she can hula hoop for twenty minutes! Sounds like a contest to be had with some eager Brecknock children! The best advice she has ever received is to always get a good night’s sleep. A very important piece of advice for any teacher and pupil alike.

Mel Gordon
Class Teacher – Year 5

Maeve Doherty
Wider Curriculum and KS2 Wellbeing Lead
Class Teacher – Year 6

There are a lot of teachers at Brecknock who don’t like waiting and Maeve is no exception – if she had a super power it would be teleportation so she could travel anywhere in a blink of an eye and whatever she was doing she use it to end the day on a beach in Thailand – having taught in China for a number of years she knows east Asia very well and would love to go back and visit her favourite places in not just Thailand but China and Vietnam too. Don’t get her onto the topic of football – not unless you want to be bored by the ludicrous claim that Manchester United are the greatest team in the world! Some things from childhood Maeve just can’t move on from and one of those is ‘The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe’. She first read it when she was 8 and still reads it to this day – we assume she means re-reads it and not that it’s taken her all this time and she still hasn’t finished it as that would be very worrying for a teacher!

Muzeyin Issa

Maths Lead & Class Teacher – Year 6

Henny Wedmore
Class Teacher 

Henny loves the things children come out with. One of her favourites was the time when sitting eating fish fingers for lunch with her class a little boy piped up, ‘But Henny, fish don’t have fingers!’ This innocence and the endless curiosity and creativity is what inspires Henny every day. She’d love to meet Quentin Blake and hopes he’d be able to teach her to draw with such personality. There’s so much to see and do in the world that if Henny could have a superpower she’d want to be able to have 10 bodies to go to different places and do differents things all at the same time, but then become one again in time for bed! She has a very useful piece of advice she was once given, ‘If it ain’t broke, improve it!’

Kate Tench

Computing Lead
Maternity Leave

Kate wishes she could fly so she could always be on time, but also use it pop on holiday at a moments notice! Her favourite place to be is in Italy, enjoying the food and sunshine with friends and family. The best advice she ever received was that ‘when you fall over, make a mistake or something doesn’t go the way you planned, it is better to laugh about it than cry’. Kate laughs a lot! She’s inspired by her sister because she’s independent, focussed, academic and a risk taker. If Kate was on a desert island and had only one book she could take she’d opt for an encyclopaedia. It might only be one book but she’d learn a lot!

Katie Cooke
Class Teacher –Maternity Leave

Geraldine Taylor
Early Years Practitioner – Nursery

Natalie Lomax-Churchill
Senior Early Years Practitioner- Reception

Natalie loves rock and roll and if she could go anywhere she would travel back in time to the 1950s! She wishes she could have everlasting lipstick, she loves her lipstick but it has to be bright! She’s always been interested in teaching and as a child had a pretend classroom in her bedroom, the creativity and imagination of children made her want to work in education. The most fun thing she’s learnt to do was ride her bike. Natalie would love to meet Pippi Longstocking to join her for an adventure.

Faye Cleverly
Nursery Nurse – Nursery

Faye’s mum was also involved in childcare and Faye knew from an early age it was something she wanted to do too. As well as having a guiding effect on Faye’s career, her mum is also her inspiration – ready with advice and support in everything she’s done or wanted to do. Faye likes to know what’s going on and if she could have a superpower she’d love to be invisible so she could listen to all the gossip! The most fun thing she’s ever learnt to do is very useful for her working in the nursery, it’s to be able to act like a big kid! If she could travel to any country she’d want to go to Australia and then take her time travelling back visiting all the other countries on the way.

Maria Streater
Nursery Nurse – Reception
Meals Supervisor

Maria’s first record was the Dirty Dancing soundtrack and her love of dancing has never left her. She’d love to have meet Gene Kelly. If she could go anywhere in the world she’d pick Cuba to learn to Latin Dance! If she could have any superpower she’d want to be invisible, think of the fun she could have!

Diana Asiamah
Early Years Practitioner – Reception

Federica Ghio
Teaching Assistant – Year 1

Christine Ahern-McDiarmid
Teaching Assistant – Year 1
Meals Supervisor

Christine was drawn to working with children because she wanted a role that was worthwhile and in which she would be able to make a difference to children’s lives. She gets a lot of inspiration from people like Anne Williams, the Hillsborough activist – ‘She never gave up seeking justice.’ If she could go back in time and meet anyone she’d choose Joan of Arc to find out how she managed to lead an army! When she was a child she wanted to be a ballerina, she’s held on to her love of dance and if she could travel anywhere in the world she’d go to Vienna as she has always loved the Strauss waltzes and would like to go to a formal ballroom to ‘swirl around the dance floor’!

Nimete Imeri
SEN Teaching Assistant – Year 1
Meals Supervisor

Working with children always puts a smile on Nimete’s face as they have such a good sense of humour. She’s always been curious and if she could travel anywhere it would be to Egypt to look at all the fantastic archaeological discoveries. If she could have any superpower it would be to be able to fly. She’s been interested in the idea of flying for a long time as when she was a little girl she wanted to be an air stewardess! The best advice she ever received was to never give up, good advice indeed, and she has a positive attitude she enjoys passing on to the children she works with.

Sabrina Fieldhouse
Teaching Assistant – Year 2

Sabrina’s family inspired her to work with children as many members of her family work in the education system. She has always admired them for the work they have done and the impact that it has had on others. Being with her friends and family makes her smile and if she knew today was her last day on Earth, she would spend it with her brother and sister watching ‘Toy Story’. Sabrina would teleport if she had a super power and would use it to get free travel and visit Bora Bora. If she could only take on book with her to a desert island it would be ‘Charlotte’s Web’ by E.B White. ‘Hakuna Matata’ is the most useful piece of advice she has ever received, Sabrina is clearly a fan of animation films! The most fun thing she has ever learnt to do is a ride a bike.

Rachel Clancy
Teaching Assistant – Year 3
Meals Supervisor

Rachel wishes she had a bit of the Mary Poppins about her and could twitch her nose to get things done like the housework! She would love to visit artist Grayson Perry’s studio to get some major inspiration and possibly have some tea with him. Just being in London inspires Rachel – ‘What an amazing place it is, just look around’. If she could choose, she would spend her last day with her daughter and lots of art materials creating and having fun. It’s no surprise that the most fun thing she’s ever learnt to do is art based too – abstract life drawing. The best advice she’s ever been given – ‘Make your own mistakes’.

Leroy Bailey
Teaching Assistant – Year 4
Meals Supervisor

Leroy likes the classics. If he could only take one book to a desert island he’d opt for the Iliad by Homer.The book choice hints at his love for history and if his house was on fire he’d quickly grab up his record of his family’s history before dashing for the door. When he was a little boy he was aiming for the stars and wanted to be an astronaut but a desire to see children reach their full potential drew him into teaching. It doesn’t take much to put a smile on Leroy’s face but sunshine and Arsenal winning help! The most fun thing he’s ever learnt to do was boxing, which might explain why, of everyone in the world, he’d love to meet Mohammed Ali the most.

Tara Boakye-Ansah
SEN Teaching Assistant – Year 4

Tara loves the fulfilment she gets from working with children from a diverse range of cultures. The children and their sense of humour really makes her smile. Her preferred superpower would be the power to heal those with illnesses. She’d love to meet Nelson Mandela as he is ‘an intelligent and courageous man who has gained respect from people from all across the globe’. Ever practical, if her house was on fire she’d grab her coat on the way out – ‘Just in case it get’s cold!’ In terms of her own learning, the most fun things she’s ever learnt to do was to play the piano.

Sadikah Saumtally
SEN Teaching Assistant – Year 4

When Sadikah was a little girl she wanted to be a librarian because she loved to read. That would explain why if she could only take 1 book to a desert island she would cheat and take two – To Kill a Mockingbird and her Quran! It does fit in with the best piece of advice she’s ever received – ‘be prepared!’ Sadikah’s mother inspires her because she never gives up and always sees the positive side to situations. She’s always up for learning new things and if she could have any power she would want to fly to visit different places in the world to learn about new cultures and meet new people.

Alpha Sesay
SEN Teaching Assistant – Year 5

Louise Sainsbury
Teaching Assistant – Year 6
Meals Supervisor

Ever practical, if going to be marooned on a desert island Louise would pack ‘Bear Grylls – A Survival Guide for Life’. Louise is very family oriented and seeing her children’s face’s every morning makes her smile. She’d love to take them to Disneyland, although who would enjoy it more is debateable! She did want to be a nursery nurse until during a work experience she fell asleep with the children during quiet time! She prefers the hustle and bustle of the older children now! The best advice she’s ever been given – as a mother of 4 it had to be – ‘Push!’

Susan Bishop
Teaching Assistant – Year 6

Ever practical, the book Susan would take with her to a desert island is ‘How to survive on a desert island’! As a child she wanted to be an Olympic Gymnast and not surprisingly the thing she has most enjoyed learning in life is Gymnastics. The best piece of advice she has ever been given is that people are like parcels, never judge by the outside, it’s what’s inside that counts. She takes inspiration from her eldest son Kane, who despite adversity, always strives to do his best. All that gymnastics must help keep her looking young as you would never guess the first record she ever bought goes all the way back to T.Rex ‘Ride a White Swan’. She didn’t understand the lyrics at the time, but hey, great music

Jo Curran
SEN Teaching Assistant- Year 6

Jo was inspired to work with children by watching her own mum who was a TA at Brecknock and loved it. When she was a child she wanted to work with children in social care but has found herself in Brecknock instead. Our gain! In life, her old English teacher, Mr Brankin, inspired her when he once told her, ‘We can all learn by our mistakes as long as we try our best’. That has stuck with her ever since. She’d love the power of invisibility so that she could play pranks on people, especially her children! The best piece of advice she ever received was to ‘not let past mistakes define you’. Good advice indeed. The first record she ever bought was by Adam Ant. I wonder if she can do the dance!

Siobhan Bishop
SEN Teaching Assistant – Year 6

Siobhan was inspired to work with children by her mother, who encouraged her to continue her education after she had her daughter. Making memories with her family makes her smile and she would rescue her cat Freddy if her house was on fire. If Siobhan could only take one book to a desert island it would be ‘Charlotte’s Web’ by E.B.White as it a childhood favourite of hers. Siobhan would teleport as a superpower, it would save her a lot of time and she would get more rest! She would teleport herself anywhere in the Caribbean where the sun is hot and the sea is beautifully blue. Learning to drive was the most fun thing she has ever learnt to do, even if took her three times to pass. If she could change anything about the world it would be for all children to receive high quality education and for everyone to have access to clean water.

Rod Arran
Specialist Music and Media Teacher

When Rod was a child he wanted to be Daktari (for those under 50 it was a TV show about a vet in East Africa from the 1960s). He’s never lost that love of nature and finds the wilderness an inspiration. In fact if he could change one thing about the world he’d go for ‘fewer human beings, more elephants!’. If he knew today was his last day on earth he’d spend it on a mountain on his own – he wouldn’t really want to share it! It would give him lots of time for thinking – another of his inspirations being ‘original thought’. He would like to have more power of self-control so, in his words, ‘I could do some of the things I want to and stop doing the things I don’t’. We’d all like a little bit more of that power!

John Clark
Leader of Physical Education
Learning Mentor

John would love to have the superpower of being able to fly so he could go wherever he wanted when he wanted. Interestingly this would be no use for his dream destination – the bottom of the ocean in a mini-sub! He wants to see all the things there that haven’t been seen before! The young John wanted to explore too, but this time in space as an astronaut. The most fun thing he’s ever learnt to do was kayaking – he has many fond memories growing up around the pirate club in Camden. He’s showing his age with the first record he ever bought – The Wall by Michael Jackson. The best advice he’s ever received is good advice for anyone – Never give up.

Natalie Paul

Senior Early Years Practitioner – Two Year Old Provision

Natalie was inspired to work with children because of a teaching assistant that was in her class in Year 5 and 6 at school. If she could only take one book to a desert island she would take a book that had a compartment which contained a never-ending supply of chocolate! Let’s hope it wouldn’t melt! Natalie’s superpower would be to time travel, both to the past and future. The best advice she has ever received was that when you have children, treasure every moment because if you blink, you will miss them and before you know it they will have grown up. The most fun thing she has ever learnt to do is ice skate.

Rose McCarthy
Early Years Practitioner

Samantha Avery
School Business Manager

Jackie Williams
Admissions and Pupil Data Officer

Jackie was inspired to work around children after helping out at her daughter’s playgroup and school. She is always ready to help and if she could have a super power she’d want healing hands so she could cure cancer and heart disease. When she was a little girl she wanted to be a hairdresser and she achieved this goal when she first left school working as a hairdresser for a number of years before finding her way into school. If she could travel anywhere in the world it would be to the Arctic Circle to see a blue whale. If she wants to smile she just needs to think about her grandchildren. The most fun thing she’s ever learnt to do was Roller Disco Skating – maybe she should start an after school club and teach us all!

Lindsey loves lives and breathes Harry Potter and would one day love to meet JK Rowling herself, as well wanting to marry her imagination. If she had any superpower, it would be the ability to fly or to be as fast as The Flash, so that she could visit her parents more often and travel without having to pack! If she could travel anywhere, it would be to Antarctica, even though she would be extremely cold, she adores penguins and it is her dream to see them in their natural habitat. If today were her last day on Earth, Lindsey would spend the time hugging her daughters and would try to seek into Buckingham Palace to have a nose around and to have a cheeky bubble bath in the Queen’s bath. The most fun thing she has ever done is zip lining through a Mexican Jungle during a lightning storm!

Lindsey Molyneux
School Office & Communications Officer

Curtis Blackman

Site Services Officer

John Tavener
Assistant Site Officer