‘Stop gap’ move lasted 30 years
THREE decades ago, Sue Hoyland said her move to Nottingham was “meant to be a stop gap”, but instead, she never left the “vibrant and changing community” she had come to love.
Sue has become a well-known face among the Forest Fields Primary and Nursery School families, progressing from teacher to deputy and, for the past 14 years, head teacher.
Now, the much-loved and respected leader is bidding farewell, with her retirement tomorrow after a year like no other.
“Because of the circumstances, it has been very surreal to leave,” Sue, 59, told the Post.
“I thought I’d experienced most things I’d set out to do in teaching although global pandemic wasn’t on the list.
“It’s been different to usual. I’ve visited each class individually but that has meant I have been able to say goodbye to everyone personally and I have been made to feel very special.”
Sue said she still remembers the moment as a teenager on workexperience that she realised her future lay in teaching as she spent time observing children learning and in turn learning from them.
“I considered writing and journalism, too, but I have never looked back,” she said.
“You go home and you really feel you’ve made a difference, not just with children but their families, too.
“Education has changed so much over the years, and improved a lot, it’s been very exciting.”
Sue started her career in the London borough of Havering, where she spent around seven years, before moving to Nottingham to be with her parents.
Aged 29, she said Nottingham was “meant to be a stop gap” but says she loved the city and the “vibrant and changing community” she had become a part of.
Sue has worked as English Lead, Special Educational Needs coordinator and Key Stage 1 Lead.
She also spent a year working in Australia as part of a job swap where she recalls staying in a 4-bed Queensland home in tropical climates, while her counterpart took her terrace in Bulwell. Recalling her first impressions arriving at Forest Fields, Sue said: “I thought it sounded so nice ‘Forest Fields.’
“Then I pulled up outside and there wasn’t a tree in site,” she jokes.
“But since then, we’ve gone from not one flat PE space to having two, along with trees and a garden so I feel I am leaving the school in a more environmentally kind place.
“It’s good to see the tangible differences.”
Sue has, like many head teachers, faced her most challenging year with the Covid-19 pandemic but had made the decision prior to retire at 60.
She said: “I kept thinking, should I? Shouldn’t I? All schools are exhausted and it’s going to take a lot to get them back up to where they were - we’ve basically reinvented them.
“I thought now would not be the worst time to go. The new head is keen and energetic and that’s what the school needs now.
“It’s been a privilege to work in this community, alongside teaching and non-teaching staff.
“They have all been so supportive and everyone has put children at the heart of what we do.
“I have thoroughly enjoyed the connections made and feel it has truly enriched my life and given it meaning.”
Sue said she hopes to return to the land down under as well as go on more travels and adventures as part of her retirement.
“I want to keep learning and try new creative things now I’ve got a bit of freedom back - I’m so used to living my life in blocks of time like terms and holidays.
“It will be nice to see friends and family again.”
Paul Charly, one of two deputy head teachers at Forest Fields, has spent the past six years working with Sue after she employed both him and fellow deputy head teacher Gareth Denman.
Paul said: “Sue is just a real people person and really takes the time to get to know you. She is equally wellknown herself in the community.
“She has really seen the school grow and change and everyone speaks so highly of her.
“She has still got that passion for teaching and has been massively supportive of me, including choosing to take on two deputies.
“She’s going to be missed by everyone but I know the time is right and she has things she wants to do.
“We have been stuck into the pandemic since the very beginning with the school, wondering what we were going to do, knocking on doors - she has had no time away from it.
“The pressure has been huge for her and she has given a lot to the school. I really couldn’t have asked for a better boss and she is leaving the school well sorted for the future.”
BUT NOW IT’S SCHOOL’S OUT FOR RETIRING HEAD TEACHER