Mrs Sheila Claridge, who taught at The Mead Primary School in Trowbridge for five years before retiring in December 2016, has been recognised for her incredible contribution to children across the town with an MBE in this week’s Queen’s Birthday Honours list.
As a Specialist Maths Teacher, Sheila touched the lives of numerous children vulnerable to underachievement in maths, working tirelessly with teachers and teaching assistants to carry out diagnostic assessments and establish effective support plans enabling children to make accelerated progress. She was instrumental in the development of a rigorous and highly effective intervention programme called Maths Counts, which is now running in 37 schools in Bristol, Wiltshire, Somerset and London.
Sheila, who will be invited to attend an Investiture ceremony at Buckingham Palace later in the year, commented, “I am hugely honoured of course but I didn’t work alone by any stretch of the imagination and I feel no more deserving than many wonderful and dedicated colleagues I have worked with over the years, most especially at The Mead. I am so pleased it’s been announced, my husband and daughters have been bursting to tell family and friends!”
Lindsay Palmer, Head of Teaching School at The Mead, said, “Sheila has an innate ability to use her specialist knowledge, skills and experiences to change the life chances of not only the children she has worked with directly, but also upon hundreds of other children taught by colleagues she has trained, coached and mentored. This award is truly deserved and we are thrilled it has been awarded to Sheila.”
For more information about Sheila’s pioneering work on the Maths Counts programme, visit www.mathscounts.co.uk.