Inspirational Sunderland school honoured in prestigious UK celebration of teaching
Selected from thousands of nominations, Hudson Road Primary School has been honoured as one of 102 Pearson National Teaching Silver Award winners across the country. Hudson Road Primary School was honoured with a Silver Award in The Award for Making a Difference – Primary School of the Year for their outstanding commitment to changing the lives of the children they work with every day.
Hudson Road Primary School serves one of the most disadvantaged inner city areas in England. Their pupils from very diverse backgrounds and nearly half speak English as an additional language. The school’s core purpose is not just to raise standards but pupils’ expectations of the full life that they can lead, with personal development and citizenship essential parts of their curriculum.
Hudson Road has also achieved the Primary Science Teaching Trust Gold Outreach Award for its hands-on science curriculum and work with other schools, an Historic England Heritage Schools Award, and is an RSC Outreach “Matilda” School.
Hudson Road Primary School has now been shortlisted to win one of just 15 Gold Awards later in the year, in a programme which will be broadcast on the BBC. This is a great opportunity to celebrate the exceptional school staff who have worked wonders during an incredibly challenging time for educators across the country.
The Silver Award winners are being honoured as part of the wider celebrations for ‘Thank a Teacher Day’, a national campaign to honour and recognise school staff for their incredible work. The celebrations follow new data which shows how the previous year’s lockdowns have significantly changed how families across the country view the role of teachers.
New research from Parentkind and The Teaching Awards Trust highlights that three in four parents and carers have a newfound respect hold for the teaching profession following their experiences of remote learning during lockdown. 74.9% of survey respondents agreed or strongly agreed that they had more respect for the work that teachers do following their family’s experiences of remote learning.
The last year has seen a wealth of stories of teachers making care visits to vulnerable families, coming up with innovative ways of remote teaching, keeping their pupils settled by regularly checking in and even using their school sites for Covid-19 testing when classes did return to school. There has never been a better time to appreciate them and the vital work they do.
The Pearson National Teaching Awards is an annual celebration of excellence in education, founded in 1998 by Lord Puttnam to recognise the life-changing impact an inspirational teacher can have on the lives of the young people they work with. This year marks its 22nd year of celebrating, award-winning teachers, teaching assistants, headteachers and lecturers across the UK
Sir Michael Morpurgo, celebrated author and former Children’s Laureate, and President of the Teaching Awards Trust, said:
“Thank a Teacher Day gives us all a chance – children, families, all of us – to pay tribute to those wonderful educators who change more lives than they will ever know. Today we say thank you to the teachers who have helped our young people navigate these most difficult of times, and who will continue to inspire countless young minds over the coming years.”
Rachel Johnson, CEO at PiXL, said:
“Hudson Road Primary School is a worthy award winner for their incredible efforts to support their students, their staff, and their local community, and it is only right we recognise their hard work. I know how humble teachers are, but I hope they take this opportunity to reflect fondly on their success so far, and congratulate themselves and each other on this fine achievement. At PiXL, we were so impressed by their story, and we know they will continue to keep going the extra mile to provide a truly wonderful education to everyone who comes through their doors.”
Sharon Hague, Senior Vice President of Schools at Pearson UK, said:
“After a year like no other we want to take today to say thank you to all the incredible school staff who have kept children and young people learning despite unprecedented challenges. We hope the celebrations today show how much you are appreciated, and that your hard work has not gone unnoticed nor unrecognised.”
Simon Marshall, Director of Education Services at Together for Children in Sunderland, said:
“Hudson Road Primary School should be incredibly proud to have won this award. The award recognises the dedication of the teaching staff at Hudson Road, who work tirelessly to improve the change the lives the children in their school community on a daily basis. I’m sure all in Sunderland would like to congratulate them on this achievement – they’ve done our city proud.”