Primary Teacher of the Year Shortlist

Ruth Corkery, Thornbury Primary

RUTH Corkery has been at Thornbury Primary School for several years, and was nominated for this award by school head Clare Daddy. She has led the improvements in the school’s Early Years for the last two years and Mrs Daddy says that in that time she has transformed the learning and life chances of the school’s youngest children. She said: “She has restructured staffing, provided support, guidance and coaching for staff and been proactive in ensuring the learning environment is stimulating, purposeful and relevant for early learning. Ruth has overseen the re-modelling of the Reception classes this year and her team speak of her as inspirational and totally motivating. “She has built a strong, happy team and as a result she has also raised standards from 39 per cent achieving a good level of development Nursery/Primary Teacher of the Year two years ago to 61 per cent achieving a good level of development in 2016.” Mrs Corkery said: “I wouldn’t be where I am without my family and the team that I work with. “It is a fun job that is always interesting. The children just fascinate me. I love their sense of humour, their innocence, and it is great when you see that lightbulb moment. You see that pure, unadulterated joy.”

Patrick Goldon, Green Lane Primary

PATRICK Goldon, a teacher at Green Lane Primary School in Manningham, was nominated by Safia Hussain, a parent of one of his pupils. Explaining why she thought he deserved to be named best primary teacher in Bradford, Mrs Hussain said he is “an outstanding teacher who makes learning really enjoyable for my child”. “He has really encouraged my child to learn and improve on his weaknesses. “My son just started Year 6, but his confidence has grown in abundance and I think, actually I know, that this is down to Mr Goldon and all his hard work. “I would really like to thank him and show appreciation for everything he has done for my son and other kids’ learning.” Mr Goldon said finding out that he had been nominated for the Primary Teacher of the Year award was a “huge shock”. He said: “You don’t come into teaching to achieve an award. The award is what you get from the children on a daily basis, there is not a medal or a cup at the end of it.” He said teaching the 30 children in his class “sharpened my wit” and kept him on his toes. Pupils at the school have also praised Mr Goldon for his sense of humour and his ability to make learning, particularly maths, much more fun.

Elizabeta Butkovic, St John's CofE Primary

A WOMAN who fled the Balkan crisis and eventually found herself teaching in Bradford is one of the Primary Teacher of the Year nominees. The early 1980s crisis left Elizabeta Butkovic living away from her Croatian home with her two young children. Her husband was being held in a concentration camp – she didn’t know whether she would see him again. She eventually heard her husband had made his way to Bradford; she got money together and took her two children on a bus hoping to get to England. A trained teacher, she spent the next few years improving her English, working in lowpaid jobs until she finally applied for a job at St John’s C of E Primary School in Bierley 17 years ago, and has worked there ever since. This year she is 60 and has decided to work part- time. She still teaches children, mainly in early years. Head Liz Lawley said: “She is an inspiration and an example of the positive impact that a refugee has had on the lives of so many children and on the staff team she works with. She is always positive and makes us all feel grateful for the lives we enjoy.” Mrs Butkovic said: “I always wanted to be a teacher. I was a teacher in my home country and I’m a teacher here. If you want to achieve something you can. Hard work always pays off.”