‘More important than ever’ to recognise our teachers at virtual Teach Portsmouth Awards ceremony

When the annual autumn Teach Portsmouth Awards ceremony was postponed until March, education leaders hoped Covid would be a distant memory and that school staff could once again come together to celebrate teaching excellence across the city.

However with the realisation this would not be possible, education leaders were determined that teachers would ‘get the recognition’ they deserve and decided to take the event online with a virtual ceremony on March 11.

Portsmouth City Council’s director of children, families and education, Mike Stoneman, said: ‘We did consider whether in a serious pandemic the event should go ahead. We consulted headteachers and the overwhelming response was ‘yes, let’s do it’. This celebration is something we’ve done for the last few years and the consensus was it needs to go ahead.

‘This year has been incredibly challenging and I’ve been amazed at how teachers have responded. While some have naturally been anxious, teachers have shown a moral responsibility to continue educating our children while putting themselves at risk.’

The council’s cabinet member for education, Cllr Suzy Horton, added: ‘There has been a real sense of serving the community and school staff really have gone above and beyond. In many ways it could not be more appropriate to celebrate these people.’

Teachers and support staff have undertaken a massive restructuring of both the physical school environment and digital delivery of remote learning.

‘This all had to be done in such a short period of time but I knew if anyone could do it then it would be our teachers,’ added Cllr Horton.

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In addition to giving up preparation time to cover for isolating colleagues there are countless accounts of staff going the extra mile for the city’s children and the public now has the chance to recognise this with the submission of nominations for the People’s Choice award which is sponsored by The News.

Mr Stoneman said: ‘There was an issue with siblings of isolating children being unable to get to school. The headteacher at Copnor Primary School used the minibus to collect these children as well as delivering food parcels to families in need. Many headteachers and deputy heads also returned to the classroom to cover for isolating colleagues.’

Cllr Horton added: ‘It’s not just teaching staff. I know of admin staff who were getting up at 4am to ensure they could process all the government’s free school meals vouchers for families.’

Both Mr Stoneman and Cllr Horton feel one of the few positives to emerge from the pandemic is a new-found appreciation of the role of teachers.

Mr Stoneman said: ‘Parents having to home-school their children gave them a real insight into the challenges faced by teachers. I think the reputation and profile of teachers has gone through the roof.’

Cllr Horton added: ‘I think we’ve all realised just how important schools are to local communities which is why I think the People’s Choice Award is such a great idea.’

The decision to go ahead with the awards has the full support of Priory School headteacher Stewart Vaughan.

Mr Vaughan said: ‘In a time of crisis the teaching profession has really stood up and been counted. I’ve never been more proud to be a teacher and it’s right the profession should be recognised.’

Other awards include Long Service, Innovation in teaching, Creativity, Inclusion and Diversity and the Unsung Hero Award.

Nominations for the People’s Choice Award can be made via the Teach Portsmouth website.

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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