In April 2025 our early years setting Happy Hollow received the Bronze Award at the Pearson National Teaching Awards. Superb recognition for the incredible work of our early years team led by Deputy Headteacher Mrs Linsley. The evidence shared by Mr Goffee with their judging panel is outlined below:
Green Lane Church of England Primary School, is situated in the heart of its community in rural County Durham. Our school is dedicated to providing a nurturing and holistic education that goes beyond academic achievement and focuses on the development of the whole child. It is a school that has seen a triple fold increase in deprivation and pupil premium numbers, it is a school that knows that it needed to do something different to support its community. With our own ethos and values at the core, we created a unique early years environment, Happy Hollow, that enables our youngest learners to thrive. It was created during lockdown, at a time when the country was in crisis. During this awful time we had an opportunity to reflect on what an early years provision truly needed to be – a place that brought the natural world to life, a place where curiosity and independence were at the heart of young peoples’ experience. We set about raising nearly twenty thousand pounds from our local community to create the provision that children returned to when they were finally allowed back in schools. The provision was very much the brain child of our superbly passionate early years lead – Mrs Linsley. The lockdown, awful as it was for so many reasons, gave her the chance to create something truly special – a magical learning environment that has engaged and inspired learners over the past four years. It is impossible to convey Mrs Linsley’s passion and her enthusiasm in one report, I truly hope that you will come out and see for yourselves what a special and unique place Happy Hollow at Green Lane is. Over the past two years she has also worked with the Early Years team at Durham County Council and they have been so impressed and so inspired with Mrs Linsley’s vision and what she has created that she is now leading a hub for schools locally, inspiring others to build on what she has started!
Our early years offer is based on a woodland themed environment inside and out, mirroring our local area. Happy Hollow is a magical place that enables learners to explore, take risks, be independent and develop core values that will help shine throughout their life. From the moment the children step through the door they are greeted by a happy and fun experience that supports their wellbeing and their learning. Pupil voice is extremely important to us and the children help us to plan their learning by voicing ideas of what they would like to learn, and we ensure these match our characteristics of learning. These characteristics are again unique to Green Lane and are something we feel are vital for our children to become independent, resilient and inquisitive learners.
Despite increasing levels of deprivation and pupil need our children have always shone high and achieved early learning goal percentages way above the national and local average. We believe this is because our provision is perfectly in tune with what our young learners and their families need. Our team use innovative teaching methods and exceptional teaching qualities to facilitate a transformational change in the lives of our children. I know you will say I am biased as their headteacher, but I can see with my own eyes what they have achieved I such a short space of time and I am immensely proud of them, and of the young people in their care.
The relationships that the team form with all the children are very special. We want the children to love learning in a safe and happy environment therefore the team ensure all children feel valued, respected, and nurtured. They love dressing up as dinosaurs or wizards, continually making new resources and enhancements to ensure pupil engagement and developing experience days to promote pupil wellbeing. The learning year ends with our very own Graduation Ceremony, to which all parents, carers and their wider family and friends are invited!
Assessment plays a huge part in Happy Hollow, and we believe we have a holistic approach that assesses the whole child. We work collaboratively with parents to assess the children. Parental input has been vital not only to gain an insight into each child’s development such as how they sleep, eat, any development issues from birth but also gives the parent an insight and understanding into how children are assessed and learn in school through our strong partnership with parents.
The children follow 7 core values that have been chosen by the children, staff, governors, and parents. Each characteristic is represented by a Peter Rabbit character such as Jemima Puddle-Duck, who is nurturing so she has big wings to protect you. The children use these characters to develop their values and demonstrate them in their learning. If the children demonstrate that they are using the core values, they get rewarded with kindness coins that they can save and spend in the setting’s kindness shop. This could be saving coins to have lunch with a teacher, making pizza for their classmates or having parachute time with their friends! We want our learners to be independent, risk takers who love to learn but equally we want our learners to be caring, honest, respectful, inclusive with a strong sense of right and wrong. This innovative approach has proven to be highly effective in promoting a character education and fostering a positive learning environment.
The enthusiasm, expertise, and commitment of our early years team has extended beyond the classroom walls, positively impacting local families and the wider community. An example is a bespoke after school club for pupils called ‘Go Getters’ EYFS pupils make ‘Happy Hedgehogs’ for patients in the local hospital to make them smile. By fostering a collaborative approach, we have created a strong sense of community and pride among our students, parents, and the wider community.
In conclusion, the Early Years’ team has demonstrated an exceptional dedication and commitment to transforming children’s early learning and development. Through their enriching approach, they have positively impacted the lives of individual children, groups of children, families, and the wider community. As headteacher I would like to see the hard work and dedication of Mrs Linsley and her team recognised by the Pearson’s Teaching Awards, I feel that they deserve to be recognised nationally alongside the other outstanding provisions in the country for the exceptional work they do. I hope you agree!
