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 Steph Moore, I have worked in schools across Oldham and Kirklees. I am the EYFS Lead and I am very proud of the amazing team that we have here. When I am not busy working you will probably find me  on a beach walking my two dogs.

We have a great team of teachers and TAs who make the reception classrooms an inspiring place to work and learn. We are always keen to have visitors so please make an appointment to come and see us in action in EYFS.

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.