Change of Headteacher for Saddleworth primary schools – including one former pupil

LIFE WILL be different at one Saddleworth primary school when children return after its Head decided to move on.

But it will also be a case of ‘the more it changes, the more it stays the same.’

After 20 years at Friezland Primary School, Rachael Swaby is heading across the area to a similar role at Delph Primary School.

To say she has done everything since walking into the Church Road premises is probably an understatement – as she says, she has ‘unblocked the toilets almost every week.’

Throw in dressing up as Santa, serving burgers at a summer fair, as well as being PE co-ordinator and SENDCO and life has never been dull.

“’Small school, many hats,’ we say,” said Rachael, who is being replaced by Rebecca Hill. “And I’ve worn every hat, even helping in the kitchen.

“It was September 2003 and I took up a role as an NQT with a class of 12 children.

“It’s just a fantastic school and I’ve never wanted to work anywhere else. Our mission statement is, ‘A family committed to making a difference’ and that really does happen.

“Year Six residentials are always highlights – overturned kayaks, zip wires, nil sleep but you’d do it all again the next week.

“I’m taking up the Head’s role at Delph, which is another of our Dovestone Learning Partnership schools, so I have already worked in partnership with the school in various other ways.

“And Rebecca and I have worked together at Friezland since 2016, when  I was promoted to Headteacher.

“We’ve a really strong model in terms of succession planning to make sure Friezland stays the good school that it is and deserves to be.

“Everyone who’s joined the team or been promoted has been rigorously interviewed, there was no guarantee.”

Rebecca is stepping up from being Assistant Head at Friezland Primary to complete her own personal journey.

For she still remembers playing netball and teachers reading Roald Dahl stories when she was a pupil at Friezland.

But teaching was not on her radar originally as she explained: “Absolutely not. I didn’t plan on being a teacher at first. I studied languages at university and worked in travel at first. I was 26, I was working for Air France at Manchester Airport but I knew I wanted to be a teacher.”

“I spoke to my previous year five and six teacher and said, ‘I think I want to be a primary school teacher, can you help me?’

“She said, ‘You’ll have to come in first and see if you like it.’ So I spent six months volunteering for one day a week at St Agnes’ in Lees.

“I started teaching in Greenwich and Lewisham in London then came to Friezland as I wanted to move closer to my family.

“I remember playing netball on the playground which was always tricky because it slopes and I recall playing the recorder in the school hall.

“I remember listening to Mr Rigby reading Roald Dahl at story time too.

“But I know what the challenges are and I know the school inside out so I feel I’m the right person.”

One of the issues the new Head will hopefully not face is dealing with a global pandemic no-one had ever heard of.

But Miss Swaby praised the way the school community rallied around and helped it through.

She added: “As a Head, the Covid-19 pandemic was challenging as no-one had experienced it and knew what to do or expect.

“But the small team went above and beyond to support one another and make sure our children were safe and happy.

“I’ll continue to work with Friezland in the Dovestone Learning Partnership and Delph’s got a very similar culture and ethos to Friezland. I’ll also be back on site as Headteacher meetings for the Dovestone Learning Partnership are often held at Friezland.

“I wouldn’t just pick any school but it is growth and development for me as Delph is that bit bigger – and Rebecca has the skill and experience in every area to keep Friezland moving forward ”