Janet Bradley

About Me

It is my pleasure and privilege to have taken on a new role this year:  Head of English at Mayflower High School.  Mayflower High is an outstanding school and I have learned so much from my new colleagues both within the department and across the school.  I firmly believe that we regularly need to review and invigorate our practice, analyse what works and what doesn’t, keeping high aspirations for all students at the heart of our practice.

I previously worked at another good school:  The Billericay School, and in the last two years was Lead Practitioner of English.  One aspiration was to raise the quality of students’ writing across the curriculum.  I enjoyed the whole school focus of this initiative, working with colleagues from other subject areas to promote literacy across the curriculum, implementing strategies and monitoring how successfully they were working.

I have coordinated Key Stages 3, 4, and 5, thus understand the pressures and expectations of colleagues in these roles.  Throughout my career, I have needed to be adaptable to the demands of changing curriculums and accountability measures.  I firmly believe that a successful team is more than the sum of its parts.  To be successful, a team needs to feel supported and empowered, yet with key systems in place to ensure consistency across the department.  An effective team also needs high quality ongoing professional development to ensure that everyone is aspiring to the top.

It was also my privilege to have been a Teacher Governor in my career, which has given me an insight into the operational running of schools, and the wider issues that schools face.