At the end of this term, we bid a very fond farewell to Mrs Mothersdale, who leaves William Howard School after 23 years to take up her new role as a Lead Adviser SEND with WMF local authority.
Since joining WHS in 2001, Mrs Mothersdale has been a pivotal part of the school community, taking on an array of roles as well as teaching a myriad of subjects including Health and Social Care, History, English, PD, Sociology, and most recently, Food & Nutrition.
An Assistant Headteacher since 2014, Mrs Mothersdale has led on many key aspects of school life: mental health and wellbeing, safeguarding, Sixth Form, vocational education and our Tanzanian Link. In fact, she has travelled the world on behalf of the school, leading trips to Tanzania, Sweden, Holland, China, America and Taiwan.
Having oversight of the Learning Provision Department from 2016 led to taking over as SENCO in 2021, and we were immensely proud when she graduated with her SENCO qualification from the University of Cumbria earlier this year.
On Wednesday this week, staff wore pink – her favourite colour of clothing – as a farewell gesture and a mark of how highly she is regarded in school.
Ms Pigdon (Headteacher) remarked: “Mrs Mothersdale has made an incredible contribution to the school and the wider community, touching the lives of countless students and colleagues. Her dedication, expertise and kindness have left a lasting legacy. It has been a privilege to work alongside such an exceptional individual, and we wholeheartedly thank her for her service to the school. We wish her every success in her new role.”
Mrs Mothersdale concluded: After 33 years as a teacher, today I have put away my chalk to move on to a new challenge. It has been the best and most rewarding job and everything my 10-year-old self would have wanted. There are so many people who have supported, nurtured and believed in me and I have been overwhelmed by everyone’s generosity and kind words this week. 23 years as a teacher and as a parent at William Howard has been an absolute pleasure!”
Mrs Mothersdale led our Tanzanian Link for a number of years, giving the students and staff involved an experience of a lifetime.
