Adventures in learning for primary school pupils

The mother of two believes children learn best when they’re feeling enthused and inspired, and she does her best to create conditions that will stimulate their enquiring minds.

In recent weeks this has meant taking a journey through Wales to learn about its heritage and landscape, before heading for Copenhagen and the Silk Road. This is part of the school’s project ‘Gilwern Around the World in a New Curriculum’, where pupils are busy clocking up the equivalent of the kilometres needed to run around the earth.

“This is driving a purpose-led, learner-initiated curriculum,” says Ms Edwards.

And the fun doesn’t stop when lessons are over, with Ms Edwardsoffering a variety of extra-curricular activities in music and the arts, which culminate in large scale performances in a local theatre.

Ms Edwards joined Gilwern Primary School 14 years ago, starting as a newly qualified teacher. She’s taught a wide range of year groups and taken leadership roles too. Currently she’s the deputy head teacher and hopes to be a head one day.

“I enjoyed working here so much that I stayed here, and my children are now pupils at the school,” she says.

While being part of a community is important to her, Ms Edwards has made the most of opportunities to learn from the schools systems in other countries, having travelled to India, Spain, Northern Ireland and Germany to learn more.

“Being a teacher is just part of who I am, and I think it’s important to continue learning and developing,” she explains.

“You have got to have a fire in your tummy and want to provide the best for all the children in your care. You want them to have a positive impact on the community as they move through their lives.

“You want them to have all the foundations that can be provided at school. We’re developing the children of the future.”

Ms Edwardsdescribes the lockdowns as a challenge, and she felt frustrated that she couldn’t offer some of the activities that do so much for her pupils’ development.

“Our performances and extra-curricular activities are special because they are driven and led by the children,” she explains. “With the performances, for example, those who don’t want to act get involved in roles like marketing and selling tickets.

“Things like this bring the community and school together.

“For me, teaching is all about the children, about showcasing and celebrating their work.

“At Gilwern, the achievements of the school are due to a great team effort, not just me.

“Being nominated for the South Wales Argus Schools & Education Awards was lovely; it was an award for the whole team at Gilwern. I would encourage parents to nominate schools and staff that they value. It’s great to feel that parents are behind you 100 per cent.”

Support lays foundations for future careers

WESTERN Power Distribution (WPD) is the electricity network operator for South Wales, the South West of England and the Midlands – which means we are responsible for keeping the lights on in over 8 million homes and businesses.

Around one million of our customers are in Wales, and we firmly believe that the supporting awards initiatives is an appropriate way to recognise, encourage and reward people for their hard work and for the way they inspire others.

We are pleased to sponsor the Lifetime Achievement award category in the South Wales Argus Schools and Education awards.

These awards are an ideal fit for us to demonstrate our commitment to the local community.

We believe education is vitally important, so much so, we have a dedicated interactive education website www.powerdiscoveryzone. com to assist both pupils and teachers.

Our education website provides a rich source of games and puzzles about electrical safety and is packed with free resources to help teach Key Stage 2 pupils about electrical safety and STEM based subjects.

We pride ourselves on delivering a modern and innovative education programme in an engaging and interesting way, and we are always looking for new and innovative ideas used in the education sector.

We are keen to support initiatives which can help to encourage youngsters especially girls to participate in more STEM subjects.

The more participation pupils have in these subjects the more it can help them in the future when they are looking and thinking of career opportunities.

These awards are great way to celebrate and reward the most outstanding contributors in the education sector. The awards provide an opportunity for entrants to measure themselves against similar educators.