Bishop's Teaching Assistant has tea with Tony and Cheri Blair

One of Bishop’s top teaching assistants met the Prime Minister this week alongside a handful of other higher-level teaching assistants from around the country.

Daphne Moczulski is one of four higher-level teaching assistants at the Bishop of Hereford’s Bluecoat School.  To achieve this status requires a fairly challenging training, preparation and assessment process – qualified teaching assistants are trained and prepared by the council in small close groups, just a few each term, so that they can provide evidence that they are able to meet 31 national standards. 

The training enables them to offer a wider range of support to teachers.  For example, having a greater input into long term planning, they may take small groups of children to work on specific projects or offer support to groups requiring more teacher input.

Daphne is one of the school’s many successes and has enjoyed the training so much that she has continued training on-the-job at Bishops as a maths teacher through the graduate training programme and will take up her post as maths teacher in September. 

The council was asked to nominate names of suitable people to represent the success of the scheme, and much to Daphne’s surprise, she received an invitation to 10 Downing Street to meet the Prime Minister on 22nd May.

Daphne said, “I didn’t have much time to take it all in, it happened so quickly. I had only three working days notice to dig out my passport, which was needed for security, and get a new outfit.

“It was very exciting entering through the front door of number 10, and breath- taking going up the stairs which are lined with photographs of all the country’s past prime ministers.

“There were around 200 people there from all areas of the public sector who had been chosen to attend what was a celebration of the government’s successes. 

“Tony Blair addressed us all paying tribute to everyone for the variety of work undertaken to benefit the community.  He looked very tired, but took time to talk to everyone and shake everyone’s hand.

“I feel very honoured to have attended this event and am extremely grateful to all my colleagues and mentors who have supported me - I’m looking forward to taking up my teaching post in September, but this wouldn’t have been possible without them." 

Carol Rushton, Assistant Headteacher at Bishop’s, said: “Daphne has worked really hard to achieve this and we’re all delighted that she will be able to continue her professional development by taking up a maths teaching post at the school in September.

“This is a great example of joint working.  Bishop’s is a training school and has worked with the council and a local training provider to grow the potential of our staff in a subject which is difficult to recruit in.”

Ends

Press release issued: May 25 2007