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Teaching assistant leaves school where she had wedding reception
A TEACHING assistant is leaving the school in Henley where she held her wedding reception.
Tracey Urwin, from Gainsborough Road, worked at Badgemore Primary School for 18 years, looking after children from all age groups.
Mrs Urwin, who was a pupil at the school, also worked very closely with those children with special educational needs.
She previously worked as a nanny but always wanted to get into teaching after a school trip as a child to a hospital which cared for children with special needs. After completing two placements at the school while a student. She joined permanently in 2006.
Mrs Urwin said: “I did a lot of courses and built up a lot of knowledge with special needs pupils and I’ve worked with speech and language and I’ve done quite a lot of work with autism over the years.
“I’ve run interventions, worked very closely with special educational needs co-ordinators and helped them along the way doing the individualised plans for the children. I work very closely with teachers and put in place anything that the children need so maybe adapting a lesson slightly to their academic ability.”
Mrs Urwin said she loved working at the school in Hop Gardens because it was like being part of a big community, with parents, pupils and staff all working together.
She said: “The reward that I get is knowing that I’ve made a difference to the children that I’ve had. Everyone who works at Badgemore will tell you it has such a family feel. Everyone is so nurturing. The children are great and, because it’s a small school, you get to know the children really well.
“The teachers are all so dedicated and kind and they really want the best for the children and the parents too.
“The children are our stars. They are the ones that shine and we just help them along the way to do that. Badgemore has been a big part of my life for so long so it’s quite surreal to be leaving.”
Mrs Urwin said one of her highlights was when the whole school was invited to the Queen’s Jubilee tea party at Henley Business School in 2012. She said: “We had little, posh tea cakes and fresh lemonade and we saw the boat coming down and we waved at the Queen.
“We were really lucky that the school was picked to attend. There were a few different schools that went but our school was the Henley school, so we all dressed up in our best outfits.”
Mrs Urwin has seen many changes at the school, including its expansion to take on more pupils and the introduction of animals for the children to learn to care for.
She said: “The school is gradually getting bigger. The class sizes are gradually getting bigger. When I first started, the school was quite small and the year groups were grouped together. There was a reception, Year 1 and 2 all in one class and now we’ve mainly got one class per year.
“The grounds have also changed a bit because we’ve now got chickens and guinea pigs so we’re helping children learn about their environment and running a forest school so things are a lot more diverse than they used to be.
“We’ve also got an outside classroom at the front of the school so the children can have lessons outside and that’s developed with help from the wider community. It’s a very community-feel school and the parents are so engaged in helping us out with that.”
Mrs Urwin is married to Eddie, tying the knot at Holy Trinity Church in 1996. They decided to hold the wedding reception in the school grounds because it was a “special place” for her family as her mother, Christine Spaulding, from Henley, also worked there.
She said: “We were looking for a low-key venue and the grounds of the school are so wonderful. It has got some great outside space so it was just perfect. At the time, the hall, which is now a classroom, was in a hexagonal shape so we had our cake as a hexagon as well.
“Students from The Henley College came and cooked our food so it was a lovely community thing. We wanted somewhere where we could have a family feel and outside space for everyone to feel comfortable.”
Mrs Urwin, who has a son, James, 24, will start a new position as an education co-ordinator for the Margaret Clitherow Trust, based at Badgemore Park. The charity supports health and education for children in Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities.
She said: “You always feel a bit sad when you leave a job but I am very excited about the opportunity that I’ve got and where this will take me professionally. I’m going to miss the children so much but I do feel like I’m never going to be completely gone because I’m going to come back and see them.
“When the children go up to secondary school and you’ve seen them from reception and you hear all these wonderful stories of how they’ve got on, that’s always quite emotional. You’ve nurtured them as long as you can and then you have to let them go off and fly.”
A leaving assembly hosted by headteacher Tim Hoskins was held today (Friday), which was attended by former and current pupils and staff.
Mr Hoskins said: “We are very sad to see Tracey go because she has been such a big part of the school for such a long time. Having known her myself for several years, I know how good she is. She’ll always go above and beyond for every pupil and she’s also so supportive of the staff, too. Our biggest loss will be her immense knowledge.”
29 November 2024
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