Meet the Blackley team

My name is Sharon Croke and I live with my husband Richard and our son Jack. I was born in a little village in County Wexford in Ireland.

I moved to London when I was eleven years old with my parents and siblings. I attended secondary school in London and went to University there too.

I moved to Manchester when I qualified as a teacher in 1999. I have worked in the academy for the last seventeen years. I have taught in Reception, Year one, Year two, Year three and Year Six. I have been the Deputy Head for the last six years and my responsibilities include assessment and curriculum lead.

I am very passionate about teaching and I believe that all children can achieve and reach to their full potential.  I love working in Blackley and I think our children here at Blackley Academy are amazing.

My name is Rebecca Sykes, I am 36 years old. I live with my fiancé Ben and our cat who is called Puss, in Cheshire where we recently moved to enjoy more of the countryside. I was born and brought up in a small village in West Yorkshire called Holmfirth (Last of the Summer Wine country). When I am not at work, I enjoy going bike riding, cooking and spending time with my family.

In 2000, I moved to Newcastle to attend University where I studied BA Hons Primary Education with QTS. When I qualified as a teacher in 2003, I moved to South Manchester. I got my first teaching job at a Church of England school near where I lived in South Manchester, where I started as a NQT and over the 11 years taught in Nursery, Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 and progressed to Key Stage one Phase Leader. After 11 enjoyable years, I decided that it was time for a change and moved to the E-act Blackley Academy in 20I4, where I made the move into teaching in Key Stage 2. Currently, I teach in Year 4 but have also taught Year 3. My responsibilities include: science lead, Healthy Schools lead and PSHE lead. Recently, I joined the SLT team as Lower Key Stage 2 lead after carrying out my NPQSL (National Professional Qualification in Senior Leadership).

I am passionate about teaching and strive to ensure that all the children I teach receive the best possible education to develop a love of learning and to equip them for the future. I really enjoy working in Blackley as our children are fantastic individuals who put a smile on my face everyday.

My name is Sarah White, and I have recently joined E-Act in September 2018 as the Phase Leader for Year 5 and 6 and Assistant Headteacher. I have been a teacher for 13 years, working across the primary age range. I enjoy teaching most curriculum subjects, but particularly English and ICT.

My name is Gemma Spence. I moved to Manchester when I qualified as a teacher in 2009. I have worked in the Academy since September 2009. I have taught in Reception, Year One and Key Stage Two. I have been the Special Educational Needs Coordinator since June 2018. This role involves: Supporting the identification of children with special educational needs, co-ordinating the provision for children with SEN, liaising with parents and others outside agencies and ensuring that the records of all pupils with SEN are kept up to date.

I am very passionate about teaching and I believe that all children can achieve and reach their full potential.  I love working in Blackley and I think our children here at Blackley Academy are fantastic. I am very proud of the team that work tirelessly to support children with Special Educational Needs.