For she’s a jolly good fellow... top post for head
A PRIMARY school head teacher from a village school near Ashbourne has been given a fellowship at a top educational institution.
Aimee Tinkler, head of Carsington and Hopton Primary School, was re-elected this year onto the council of the College of Teaching – a relatively new professional organisation which aims to bolster the development of schools, teachers and pupils across the country.
Mrs Tinkler, who has been part of the college since its early stages, has been award- ed the fellowship in recognition of her work for teaching.
The status has already seen her travel down to London for a reception in the House of Lords hosted by Baroness Nora O’neill and, earlier this month, she took part in an Allparty Parliamentary Group session for the teaching profession in the Commons.
She said: “I was absolutely thrilled to have been re-elected to the Council of the College of Teaching, this time voted in by other teachers and educationalists across the country.
“This feels like a real recognition at a national level for the work I have done.
“As a recognition of my work for the teaching profession, I have also been nominated and awarded Fellowship of the College of Teaching. This is a huge honour as it is an award only given for significant and sustained contributions to the teaching profession.
“I was absolutely thrilled to receive this and a letter from the Duke of Edinburgh, congratulating me.”
A teacher for 16 years, Mrs Tinkler moved back to her native Ashbourne after working in challenging, inner city schools for the early part of her career. In these roles, she worked on a programme aimed at helping to improve schools in difficult circumstances, before moving to Kirk Ireton Primary School in 2010 and eventually to her headteacher role at Carsington and Hopton, which is federated with Kirk Ireton.
Mrs Tinkler originally joined the College of Teaching, which works in a similar way to the Royal College of Surgeons or the Institute of Chartered accountants, when CEO Professor Dame Alison Peacock launched a campaign to recruit seven volunteer teachers to sit on its council and help guide its new direction.
Her role sees her travelling to and from London at weekends and she spoke at the college’s first annual conference and continue to do work on their behalf across the country.
The college has become a huge success, with more than 25,000 members now signed up.
Mrs Tinkler said: “What makes this all a bit special is that I am a teacher and most days can be found in my classroom in a tiny rural school and yet a part of leading this huge organisation on behalf of the whole teaching profession.
“I think I’ve got these opportunities basically because I love teaching, am very enthusiastic about developing teachers to be the very best they can be to make the educational experience of all children brilliant.”