Subject Leaders
Mrs Jones
Hi everyone! I’m Mrs Jones. I feel very privileged to be your Deputy Head and so lucky to have lots of different roles in all areas of school life. I thoroughly enjoy working with staff, pupils and parents to organise whole school events and I love overseeing everything that happens in each class within my role as Curriculum Lead. Alongside all of the subject leads here, we strive to build a curriculum that enables all of our pupils to enjoy meaningful learning throughout our core and foundation subjects. I am subject lead for English and, for me, reading and writing is the key to successful learning in all other curricular areas and our wider lives. Let’s all get reading, as once we can read well, writing well will follow! I also lead history and geography across school. Geography was my favourite subject when I was at school and I’m still absolutely fascinated by places, maps and cultures from around the world. History compliments this, as understanding cultures and events from the past, help us to understand places today. Happy learning everyone!
Mrs Gould
Hi! I’m Mrs Gould! I lead Maths and Computing through school and I am also the Online Safety Lead. I am passionate about Maths and keen for children to enjoy this core aspect of learning as it is so essential for everyday life. Maths comes into so much of what we do in our curriculum and, without this key knowledge, other areas of our learning would suffer. We are able to do so much more now as a result of Computing. As Computing Lead, I make sure we have the right devices in order to access the many different areas of Computing effectively, whilst also ensuring pupils, staff and parents are aware of Online Safety and put pupils’ well-being and safeguarding at the heart of all that we do.
Miss Cespedes
Hi! I’m Miss Cespedes and I’m the lead for RE and PSHE. I enjoy being the RE lead because I like to celebrate the diversity of people within our school, the local community and the wider world! It’s amazing finding out about different cultures, beliefs and ways of life. It helps us to respect and understand each other better. I also enjoy leading our PSHE Jigsaw programme. This supports all of us to develop our emotional and social well-being and learn life-long skills in order to lead successful lives - both now and in the future - and to help us to become the best versions of ourselves! “Spread your wings, learn new things, and fly as high as you can!”
Mrs Edmonds
Hi! I’m Mrs Edmonds and my subject is Design and Technology. Did you know that everything you use on a daily basis has been designed and engineered, using technology to create it? Someone will have invented it and then used Design Technology to manufacture it. In DT, we look at creating all sorts of things; we solve problems, learn and apply new skills and find out about great designers from the past and present – who knows, maybe you will become a great designer in your future. I love DT so much that I even learn about it when I’m not at school - DT is everywhere!
Mr Middleton
Hi everyone! I am Mr Middleton and I have the pleasure of leading Science at Dovecotes. I love being Science Lead because I thoroughly enjoy helping children to understand how things work as well as finding out about all of the wonderful things that grow, space and the planets and a whole load of other interesting phenomena. This year, I want each class to get to learn more about different scientists that have helped make our world a better place.
Mrs Batchelor
I’m Mrs Batchelor and I lead early reading in school. This makes me happy every day because reading makes up part of my every day! Without reading, I couldn’t fill my mind with all the wonderful facts, thoughts and vocabulary I’m so lucky to have. I love to read, listen to children read and read with them. I also lead English as an Additional Language in school (EAL). My job is to support children and families learning English for the first time. Not everyone has English as their first language and some children here at Dovecotes are also new to the country. We make it our mission to create an environment that values the inclusion of all EAL pupils and families. Multilingual learners are an asset to our schools across the city, helping all learners to build compassion and global perspectives! We welcome and include all EAL pupils in our classrooms, expose them to the full curriculum and make sure that understanding and kindness towards EAL pupils is at the heart of everything we do.
Miss Reeves
Hello! Miss Reeves here! I love leading Early Years and PE at Dovecotes. Early Years is so special to me: I love helping our youngest children enter their first stages of learning. These first steps are often the most important and, here at Dovecotes, we make sure that co-play and high-quality interactions support all pupils in Little Doves, Nursery and Reception. I also love leading PE. I love sport myself, particularly martial arts, and find it incredibly rewarding when I see pupils improving in their team games and individual sporting techniques. This year, I hope to get the whole school involved in more sporting events and competitions – watch this space!
Miss Phiri
Hello everyone! I am Miss Phiri, the Music lead. I thoroughly enjoy the influence that music has on individuals. I think that our school’s core value of ‘Be Creative’ ties in with music perfectly, because music allows everyone to express their emotions and experiment with different types of instruments, musical genres and their own personal musical voice. I look forward to expanding each child’s individual love and appreciation of music and ensuring lessons fully allow you to grow creatively.
Miss Lane
Hi everyone! I’m Miss Lane. I am very lucky to be a teacher at Dovecotes and lead Art throughout the school. In my opinion, art is one of the most important subjects because it gives everyone the opportunity to express themselves, no matter what your academic abilities. Personally, my favourite artist is Banksy; I love the realism that their artwork shows and that they keep their identity a secret, however, I would love to know who the creator behind their incredible pieces of artwork is, wouldn’t you?
Within our art curriculum, you will have the opportunity to create various piece of artwork through painting and mixed media, college, sculpture, 3D, craft and design. Which is your favourite? Mine has got to be sculpture and 3D design; I love using clay!
This year I am excited to work alongside our new creative ambassadors to promote and showcase your artwork throughout the school!
Miss Medley
I am Miss Medley, the Language Lead at Dovecotes Primary and I am passionate about the power of language and its ability to connect people. I love to travel and immerse myself in different cultures, always fascinated by the way in which language reflects identity and history. For me, learning a language isn’t just about words—it's about understanding others on a deeper level and appreciating the richness that comes from diverse perspectives. I am dedicated to helping our students develop their language skills whilst encouraging them to see language as a bridge to new experiences, connections and self-expression.