An “inspirational” Worcester headteacher has been nominated for a Worcestershire Education Award.
Suzanne Beston, of Perry Wood Primary, helped struggling families to get through lockdown and has since helped establish a family hub at the school to continue supporting those in need.
Parent Sarah Stevens said: “As a parent who has had many children through this school I can honestly say she truly listens and cares about us. She is inspirational to families and more importantly the children.
“Mrs Beston can be found daily on the gates in the morning greeting everyone and giving a smile of encouragement to those families not quite feeling it that day. Even in the darkest days my children tell me she makes everyone laugh and smile.”
Mrs Beston said: “We didn’t stop during the lockdown, we knew our families were struggling. The children were at home and some of them didn’t have enough food to eat. We organised food parcels and were out and about each week delivering those boxes.
“There were families struggling with bills so we helped to get reductions for them, and parents without enough credit on their phone to do the online learning, so we managed to get a load of SIM cards. We made weekly phone calls to make sure families were ok.
“It all actually brought the community a lot closer together. We are part of the Griffin Schools Trust and we always say we’re a family trust, but now we’re even stronger.
“Things have started to get back to some normality but we can still see the strains and pressures our families are under. We’ve set up a family hub as we had a spare building, During lockdown the community came to us - so we have expanded what we are doing in school. People can come to us and feel comfortable and safe to discuss their issues with us.”
The Worcester News is running the Worcestershire Education Awards 2022 in conjunction with the University of Worcester.
Anyone can make a nomination - just head to our Worcestershire Education Awards page at worcesternews.co.uk/awards/worcestershireeducationawards/
There are 12 categories in total and the deadline for entries is Friday 17 December.
If your business or organisation is interested in sponsoring an award, email dale.godliman@newsquest.co.uk
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here