No problem too big for Superhero Ken Hartley
Darras Hall Primary School, in Ponteland, held a special awards ceremony today to celebrate their caretaker Ken Harltey.
Superhero Award
Ken Hartley, joined the primary school less than a year ago and has made such an impact on the staff and pupils that they took it upon themselves to create an award to recognise his dedication to Darras Hall.
Victoria Hall, Head Teacher at Darras Hall commented:
“It’s not just that he goes the extra mile, because everyone at a school goes the extra mile. And it’s not just that he’s nice to everyone, because we have a great staff that are all nice to everyone. It’s Ken’s impact. I’ve never known a member of staff have an impact on every stakeholder – whether that’s parents, children, colleagues within the school or the trust – in such a short space of time too.”
Going the extra mile
The school commended Mr Harltey for his impact on young students including those with SEND.
Victoria spoke of a young boy who wouldn’t take off a large animal hat at school, as it helped him feel comfortable and explained that Ken spent his own time buying a similar large animal hat to wear himself, allowing the student to feel more comfortable.
A six year old student at the school developed a fixation with door locks and handles and it became challenging and distracting for him during his class time. Mr Hartley, of his own initiative, took a selection of locks and handles from the boiler room and built an interactive board that he could use to calm the student when he gets overwhelmed. Victoria added:
“That’s the thing with Ken – he is just so intuitive! It’s really interesting because he had never worked in a school before. When he came to us, he had been an engineer for years and travelled all over and this job came to him as he wanted a total change. He often laughs at how random things are at a school. One day he’s making a board full of switches and locks, another day someone may ask ‘can you just hang this cow from the ceiling?’. He just sees when people need help before they even know they need it. In a school people work so hard, beyond capacity these days, and schools are so tight for staff, Ken is just there making everybody’s lives that bit easier.”
Presentation
The community within Darras Hall felt so strongly about their appreciation to Ken, that they felt they needed to create this award for him. The school already allows staff to nominate each other for recognition and awards staff with boxes of chocolates however Ken has been given these prizes many times and the staff still felt like it didn’t show the true level of their appreciation.
Under the ruse of asking Ken to judge the ‘Easter egg decoration competition’, they held a small ceremony where staff and a student from each class surprised him with handwritten certificates, a Superhero award and a book full of photos and emails from parents who also wanted to show their appreciation.
Ken Hartley
Shocked by the surprise award, Ken commented:
“My last job was basically – clock in and get on with it, but working at Darras Hall everyone is so friendly, the kids are fantastic and when that happens it has an effect on yourself. I never thought it would happen to me, but this is a lovely place to work. Everywhere I go, around every classroom, I talk to each teacher and I get little bits of stories from each one. It’s like a family. I feel like I’m at the best school, it just works for me.”
Ken worked away from home for over forty years, sometimes doing night shifts or working weekends, even working as far as Russia. He hoped to find a job that was local and noticed the job vacancy at Darras Hall, ten minutes from his home.
With Ken’s engineering skills, he has been able to go above and beyond at Darras Hall. After the awards presentation, he told Head Teacher Victoria that he had finished making a ‘buzzer machine’ for students learning about electricity. Ken noted:
“What I’m going to do is make a diagram to go with the buzzer machine to show why it’s working. The kid’s will be able to follow the positive, negative and understand the buzzer and the switch. If they can see why it’s working then I think that’s part of making learning easier.”
Speaking of the ceremony and Superhero award, Ken added:
“I’m just absolutely blown away. I’m guilty of just doing my job. I’ve gotten more appreciation for this job than any other job. It makes your day. I really do appreciate it! ”
Poem for Ken Hartley from 6W
Ken the class caretaker,
You are a miracle maker.
Although you can’t read our mind,
You are very kind.
You may scare,
We still love your hair.
And you take our bins with care.
You are not like the rest,
Because you are the best.
The one that opens our doors,
And cleans are floors.
Miss Williamson can never reach,
But I guess you could try and teach.
Thank you for looking after 6W,
We need double of you,
Our school would be rubbish without you.
Darras Hall Primary School is a Schools North East Partner School. If you’d like to find out more about our Partner School Programme click here.
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