Our Staff

Meet The Team

• Rebecca Gore
  Headteacher
  Rebecca Gore

  I have had the pleasure of being head teacher at The Croft for just over 5 years now and have appreciated the opportunity to support and encourage the children and staff to be the best they can be. I have two secondary aged pupils, including one who has just finished Year 11! At weekends I end up spending an awful lot of time by the side of a football pitch watching my son play for a variety of different teams.
  
  As a family, we like to go to Portugal on holiday and can often be found either in
  the woods between Cranham and Sheepscombe or on Painswick Beacon walking
  our Cocker Spaniel, Halley or at our favourite restaurant in Gloucester, Greek on
  the Docks.

• Kathy Donaldson
  Senior Teacher in Year 1- HEDGEHOG CLASS
  Kathy Donaldson

  I am one of the Senior Teachers at the Croft. I teach Hedgehog class along with Mrs Gunn and I lead Maths at the school. I enjoy teaching Maths, but I really love using the core texts for our English and Enquiry lessons. Â It's also great seeing how the children learn how to our answer our 'big questions'. At home, I enjoy spending time with my family and walking our lovely dog.

• Vicki Gunn
  Senior Teacher in Year 1- HEDGEHOG CLASS
  Vicki Gunn

  I teach Hedgehog class with Mrs Donaldson. I am also one of the senior teachers here at The Croft and I lead English across the school. I am passionate about books and love encouraging the children to be enthusiastic readers. I am a mummy to my 2 year old twins Connie and Reggie and my 7 year old Oscar. In my free time (which there isn't much of!) I love taking part in Canicross group runs with my dog Amber.

• Natalie Greening
  SENCO
  Natalie Greening

  I am the Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (SENCO). This means that I support pupils to ensure they can access the curriculum to the best of their ability. I do this through 1:1 and small group work. I also cover KS2 Teachers for Planning, Preparation and Assessment time (PPA). During these sessions I take the children for Forest School which is always a highlight of my week. In my personal life I am usually found running along the Cotswold Way. I love long distance trail running and have taken part in various events, including 50 and 100 mile races. One of my highlights was running the London Marathon in 2019.

• Natasha Hartley
  Teacher for Reception - MOLE CLASS
  Natasha Hartley

  Hello, my name is Natasha Hartley and I have had the pleasure of teaching at The Croft for the last nineteen years. I teach the reception children in Mole class and we have lots and lots of fun!

  I am very passionate about teaching and love to bring my creative personality within everything we do. I also lead Art, DT and PSHE and enjoy running clubs to support children's mental health and well-being.

  Outside of school I enjoy horse riding, knitting and visiting cat shows with my grand champion pedigree Siamese called Lakha Echo Blu.

• Victoria Soutar
  Teacher for Reception- MOLE CLASS
  Victoria Soutar

  I'm Mrs Soutar, I live in Cranham with my husband, three teenage children and
  two dogs. I enjoy walking my dogs in the woods around Cranham. I volunteer
  for Natural England and count the butterflies on Cranham Common during the
  warmer months. I enjoy reading, visiting art exhibitions, cooking and being out
  and about with friends and family.

• Ryan Malpass
  Teacher for Year 2 - FOX CLASS
  Ryan Malpass

  In school, I teach Fox Class and I lead PE. I love anything to do with sport, particularly cricket in the summer and rugby in the winter. I have also recently got
  a puppy named Charlie - he chews everything!

• Sophie Heather-Warner
  Teacher for Year 3 - OWL CLASS
  Sophie Heather-Warner

  I joined The Croft in September last year. I have been teaching in Year 4 (Owls) and have very much enjoyed getting to know the children at The Croft. I am passionate about music and I play the piano as well as sing. Away from school, I enjoy going to the theatre to see musicals. Before I began teaching, I actually attended an open audition for a West End show! I am also a big animal lover and while I don't have any pets of my own, I like to adopt animals that are endangered or require sanctuary. I am currently adopting: a polar bear, a money named Peanut and a seal called Banana

• Aaron Wright
  Teacher for Year 5 - SEAL CLASS
  Aaron Wright

  I am the class teacher for Seals. I have a real love for anything technology
  related, whether that is using the computer to show videos, or the iPads
  as part of our learning. I am also quite a musical person; I can play a lot of
  different instruments! My current favourite subject to teach is Science, I
  think it is great to learn about our world (and beyond!) in as many
  different practical ways as possible. Over the past couple of years, I have
  run an archery club in school, as well as choir and coding club!

• Ruth Heywood
  Teacher for Year 6 - BUZZARD CLASS
  Ruth Heywood

  Hello. My name is Mrs Heywood and I am the Year 6 class teacher.

  I really enjoy preparing children for the next stage of their education moving from Year 6 to Year 7 and of course I love taking them on residential.

  Although I would consider myself quite musical as I can hold a tune and play the flute, bassoon and saxaphone, I am the only junior teacher in the school that can't play the piano!

  
  
  
  

• Sam Partridge
  Class Teaching Assistant & Lunch Supervisor
  Sam Partridge

  I have been working at the Croft for 18 years. I work as a TA in EYFS and key
  stage 1 which I really enjoy. I have many roles at the Croft including TA and Lunch
  Time Supervisor. I also run the Breakfast Club, Afterschool club (Fun Club) I have
  had other roles, over the years, such as Governor, Lolli Pop Lady. When not at
  School I enjoy gardening, walking, reading and loud music.

• Chris Greenwood
  Class Teaching Assistant & Lunch Supervisor
  Chris Greenwood

  I am a teaching assistant at The Croft, working mainly with year 6 (Buzzards). I enjoy the challenge of working with children who are completing their journey through primary school and helping to prepare them for secondary school. In my spare time I enjoy walking (and very occasionally running) with my spaniels, Mabel and Margot. I live in Painswick and my three children all attended The Croft
  School and loved their time here.

• Sharon Lyons
  Class Teaching Assistant
  Sharon Lyons

  I joined The Croft in 2021 as a 1:1 Teaching Assistant but also help as a class TA when needed. I have been a TA for 10 years, following a career in nursing. I am passionate about encouraging a love of reading and have helped to develop the library at The Croft. Outside of school, I enjoy reading, gardening and visiting historic sites.

• Louise Nicholls
  Class Teaching Assistant & Lunch Supervisor
  Louise Nicholls

  I am a teaching assistant in school and I work with Fox class. In school my favourite subjects are History and English. I love spending time with my new baby grandson, Arthur and walking my dog, Poppy.

• Sandi Carr
  School Business Manager
  Sandi Carr

  I have worked at The Croft since 2014, when my daughters (twins) were in Reception and my son in Year 3. I have a complete overview of the school office administration, having dealt with all aspects but being School Business Manager my role is predominantly Finance and Budgets. My children are now all at secondary school. We live in Painswick and share our house with many pets; dogs, cat, chickens a friendly Bantam Cockrell! I enjoy gardening and keeping fit (thanks to Joe Wicks).

• Eve Berry
  Lunchtime Supervisor
  Eve Berry

  I have worked at The Croft for nearly three years now as a lunchtime supervisor
  and I usually work with the key stage two children. I have two secondary aged
  children who previously attended The Croft. I dance most days although I'm not
  sure how good I am!

• Sharron Andrews
  Fun Club Assistant
  Sharron Andrews