Milton Keynes teacher earns national award for supporting youngsters throughout lockdown

Rob Plumbly from Swallowfield Lower School, was honoured with a Silver Award for Outstanding New Teacher of the Year in a UK-wide contest.

Rob was one of 102 winners out of thousands of nominees to be recognised at this year's Pearson National Teaching Awards. Now, Rob has been shortlisted to win one of just 15 Gold Awards later in the year, in a programme which will be broadcast on the BBC.

Teaching at the Woburn Sands school ,voters were impressed with Rob's ability to keep in touch with the school community during lockdown.

His interactive virtual teaching ideas were described as innovative. Rob's initiative allowed families who wanted to feel connected to the school whilst their children couldn't attend, to still play an active role in their children's education.

His classroom has been described as a vibrant and welcoming place for the pupils in his class and he cares deeply for their welfare and happiness.

Headteacher Kim Brewer said: "From a school leader’s perspective Rob has brought with him to Swallowfield an enthusiasm and energy to the team which is contagious, and has given us all a much needed boost among the uncertainty that the pandemic has caused over the past year.

"He has worked hard to balance his own young family with the huge demands of work, whilst also supporting his colleagues in developing their own technical skills with outstanding results. Rob has also initiated creative fundraising projects to support our transference to a primary school."

The Silver Award winners were revealed on Wednesday (June 23), which is also 'thank a teacher' day. The celebrations hold greater significance in 2021, given the new found appreciation a lot of mums and dads have for teachers after toiling through homeschooling.

New research from Parentkind and The Teaching Awards Trust highlights that three in four parents and carers have a newfound respect for the teaching profession following their

experiences of remote learning during lockdown. In total, 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.

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.