Senior Leaders
We have a very experienced senior leadership team in our school who provide a steer to the school as well as helping to shape the vision for the school and drive standards forward.
Seconded Executive Head Teacher: Mr John Hutchinson
Our Head Teacher is Mr John Hutchinson B.Ed. (Hons) M.Ed. LLE. Mr Hutchinson is a very experienced head and has been at St Theresa's since April 2007. Mr Hutchinson has been asked to take on the role of Seconded Executive Head Teacher of St Theresa's and St Joseph's CPS in Hunslet. This temporary arrangement will be from January 2022 till August 2022. Mr Hutchinson was a Head Teacher at St Mary's Catholic Primary School, High Green in Sheffield for 10 years before moving up to Leeds. He has been a Head for almost 25 years and has undertaken a number of key roles both for the Diocese of Leeds and Leeds City Council including chairing the Diocesan Heads' Association (LDAPH) for 5 years and has also been a member of the LCC Head Teachers' Forum and Schools' Forum for almost 10 years. He was also chair of the Heads' Forum for 5 years. Mr Hutchinson has a burning passion for our school and is both ambitious for it and its young people. As a keen sportsman and musician he is keen to see the school compete in as many sporting activities as possible as well as perform many shows where he will often take the lead. He is immensely proud of the school and says, "I could not be more proud of St Theresa's! It is a tremendous school with brilliant staff and amazing young people who come from very supportive families. Our Governors are second to none and we all work together to build the kingdom here and Walk in Theresa's Little Way! As far as I am concerned this is the best school in the whole wide world!!"
Deputy Head Teacher: Mrs Jane Ryan [Acting Head of School: Jan 2022 - August 2023]
Our Deputy Head Teacher is Mrs Jane Ryan B.Ed. (Hons). Mrs Ryan is acting Head of School during Mr Hutchinson's period of secondment at St Joseph's (as referenced above). Mrs Ryan has taught at St Theresa's for over 25 years and is a very experienced senior leader and teacher. She is an Early Years and Key Stage 1 specialist but has vast experience of KS2 as well. She was previously Deputy Head of Lower School (KSF/KS1) but was promoted to DHT of the whole school in September 2019. Mrs Ryan is very approachable and is extremely popular with all our stakeholders but most especially our staff and parents who will always turn to her for help and advice. She is also extremely popular with the children who just adore her. Mrs Ryan coordinates lots of our monitoring, evaluation and review work and with Mr Hutchinson and the other senior leaders helps to drive standards forward to make St Theresa's the best school it can possibly be. She says, "I just love my job and it is the best job in the world! It is a pleasure and a privilege to serve this community which is why I have stayed so long. Our children are just fabulous and they bring such joy to us all. Every day is different and I have loved every minute here. My door is always open to everyone and I am always happy to help everyone in our community." Mrs Ryan is also a senior mentor for the School Direct programme and works closely with the Leeds Teaching Hub in that role.
Assistant Head Teacher: Mrs Anne-Marie McQuillan-Strong [Acting Deputy Head of School]
Mrs Strong B.Ed (Hons) is our Assistant Head Teacher for Inclusion, Safeguarding and Special Educational Needs. Mrs Strong is acting Deputy, Head of School, during Mr Hutchinson's period of secondment at St Joseph's (as referenced above). Mrs Strong is a very experienced and highly respected SENCo and many schools have turned to her for advice, guidance and support. Mrs Strong is a champion for our most vulnerable children and families and she works hard to ensure that they get the very best education possible in the safest, calmest and most supportive environment we can create together. She leads the Inclusion Team and heads up all our work on Safeguarding and Child Protection. Mrs Strong also line-manages all of the support staff in school. She is a vital cog in the St Theresa's machine and helps us to deliver the very best provision for all our children. She joined us initially from St Gregory's School in September 2008 and has been a vital part of our school team ever since. She says, "My job is to make sure that St Theresa's is the safest place possible for all our young people. I look after the most vulnerable children and ensure that they get the very best provision we can muster in school. The Culture of Care that we strive to create at St Theresa's is very important to me and all of my team work really hard to make sure that all our children feel safe, loved and happy in school."
Assistant Head Teacher: Mrs Laura Dowd
Mrs Dowd joined our SLT in September 2022 after many successful years working at St Nicholas's CPS and St Francis CPS, Morley. Mrs Dowd is a very experienced primary practitioner and has specialism in leading Maths, Religious Education and the Curriculum. We are absolutely delighted to welcome her to our team and she is working hard to support Mrs Ryan in her role as Interim Head of School in 2022-2023. She is taking a strong lead in KS2 and working closely with the staff in that area of school to maintain and improve standards of Quality First Teaching. She says, "I just love working at St Theresa's! It is such a caring and kind community. The children are amazing and I cannot wait to get my teeth into lots of projects where I start to a real difference to the lives of these young people." [Picture to follow soon!]
