Red carpet for school staff hailed for their efforts

A town school rolled out the red carpet to honour its support staff.
St Begas RC Primary School Unison Star awards for support staff.St Begas RC Primary School Unison Star awards for support staff.
St Begas RC Primary School Unison Star awards for support staff.

Teaching assistants, receptionists, cooks and caretakers were all given a pat on the back at St Bega’s RC Primary School in Hartlepool.

The event, which involved cream tea and awards, was to mark the important work of the Thorpe Street school’s support staff.

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Stars in our Schools is a celebration event organisd by the union, UNISON, to celebrate the wonderful work the staff behind the scenes do every day and to make sure the world knows just how vital they are to children’s education.

Mike Cooney, headteacher at St Bega’s said they were thrilled to be able to thank the staff in this way.

He said: “We managed to keep it a complete surprise from the staff, so they had no idea what the assembly was about.

“We have a red carpet we put out for special events, so we rolled it out for this and we had a boy and girl from each class presenting awards.

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“I am so proud of our school and so proud of all the teachers and the support staff.

“It was a lovely event and a number of staff told me it made them feel really valued.”

Mayor of Hartlepool, Mary Fleet, went along to the school to help present the certificates and took part in tea and cakes with the staff and students.

A spokesman for UNISON, said: “It takes a whole team to make a school a safe and happy place for children to learn.

“School support staff are vital to the effective running of a school, but this is not often recognised. They are the unsung heroes of our children’s education.”