Staff Structure

Mrs. Wild was appointed Headteacher in January 2002 and oversaw the move from Norman House School to Firwood Manor Preparatory School in August of the same year. Her career spans four decades and during that time she has taught in primary, secondary and further education in both the independent and maintained sectors as a teacher, Physical Education Consultant and Deputy Headteacher. She is passionate about children’s learning and about creating the most supportive environment for learning. When she is not in school, she enjoys reading, walking her border collie and spending time with her son, daughter and granddaughter.

Mrs. Toms was born and educated in Leeds where she gained a BEd degree. In her early career she taught Home Economics in Yorkshire before becoming a fulltime housewife and mother and migrating across the Pennines to Oldham where her second son was born. After twenty years of teaching in Rochdale and Oldham, mainly in primary schools, she looked towards a change of career and gained a CLAIT qualification and a European Computer Driving Licence. She has worked as a supply teacher at Firwood Manor on many occasions and in 2006 became the School Administrator. Her interests include cooking, making greetings cards and spending time with her adorable grandson who was born in 2007.

Mr. Wild is the Financial Administrator at both Firwood Manor Preparatory School and Clevelands Preparatory School in Bolton. A former pupil of Crompton House School, he gained his BA degree in Business Studies with Environmental Management from Huddersfield University in May 2004 having spent a sandwich year with the Environmental Services at Huddersfield Council. He enjoys playing and watching football and from the age of six has supported Oldham Athletic Football Team. He has a young daughter.

Mrs. Greenwood is responsible for the Foundation Stage. She has been teaching for fourteen years, the last two of which have been at Firwood Manor. Before joining the staff here she worked at an infant school in Oldham. She trained at Nottingham Trent University and gained a BEd Honours degree in primary education with a focus on Science. Her weekends are spent with her two children and husband. They spend a lot of time bike riding and taking long walks with their dog.

Mr. Lengden has been teaching since 1998 and was appointed to the staff at Firwood Manor in 2003. He is responsible for the Emergent Stage (Years 4,5 and 6). He has experience of both the private and state sectors. He grew up in Chadderton, attending Mills Hill School and Hulme Grammar School. From there he went to Manchester Metropolitan University and gained his degree in English. After graduating in 1996, he spent a year working for the Nat. West bank and then completed his PGCE at Edge Hill. He lives locally with his wife and two sons. His interests include art, contemporary fiction and biographies. He is passionate about football and is a qualified level 2 FA coach. He runs a boys’ team at Chadderton Park FC and is an avid fan of Manchester United.

Mrs. Batters has been teaching for eight years most of which were spent at a primary school in Oldham. She trained at Leeds Metropolitan University and gained a BEd degree in Design Technology and English. She joined Firwood Manor in September 2007 and has responsibility for the Development Stage (Years 1,2 and 3). Her weekends and holidays are spent with her husband and son. She supports Leeds Rhinos Rugby League team.

Miss Byram has worked as a member of the team at Firwood since September 2007. Every minute has been enjoyable. She finds the staff and children to be very friendly and the atmosphere to be one of learning and fun. Before arriving at Firwood, she completed supply work in schools in the Rochdale and Oldham areas. She was a pupil at Saddleworth School before moving to the Sixth Form College to complete her A levels. To obtain her teaching degree, she studied at St. Martin’s College, Lancaster. When she is not in school, she enjoys horse riding, jogging, swimming and, of course, shopping.

Miss Monaghan joined Firwood Manor in 2006. She has always dreamed of being a teacher and after taking A levels embarked upon a teacher training course at Edge Hill University. She graduated with a BA Honours degree in Primary Education and children’s learning and development. She lives in Worsley and enjoys spending her free time socialising with friends and family, reading and going to the cinema.

Mr. Woodward gained his BEd Honours degree from the University of Wales in 1997 after spending four years in the sleepy market town of Carmarthen in South Wales. His professional specialism is Art. He has always enjoyed Music and began playing his first instrument at an early age – the saucepan lids were useless for their purpose but made great cymbals. At six he began to learn to play the piano and has continued to play. His other interests include collecting records and antique gramophones, shopping therapy and walking the dog. He joined Firwood Manor in 2006.

Mr. Walker was born and bred in Ashton-u-Lyne, the son of a baker. He gained a degree in Social Sciences in London and returned home to teach, specialising in language development. His lifelong interest in rock and roll and reggae led to an enthusiasm for clog dancing and squeeze boxes. He is married with three grown up children and a cat, none of whom can stand the sound of a concertina!

Mrs Woodward achieved a BA (Hons) in French and Spanish Literature from Manchester Polytechnic in Secondary Education in 1991. She then went on to gain her P.G.C.E. in 1993. During her second teaching practice she was offered her first post at the Radclyffe School in Chadderton. She spent the following twelve years working there as a teacher of French and Spanish whilst also undertaking roles such as Head of French, Head of Year 7 and Central Mentor to trainee teachers. After the birth of her daughter in 2000, Mrs. Woodward set up a small business offering language tuition to children in primary schools which she continues to do. Mrs. Woodward first came to work at Firwood Manor to cover a maternity leave in 2005. When she is not working Mrs. Woodward loves spending time at home with her husband and two children. She also enjoys horse riding and gardening.

Mrs Sharratt is the school's swimming teacher. She is a qualified Amateur Swimming Association teacher and pool lifeguard. She currently works for Oldham Community Leisure as the swimming coordinator at Royton Sports Centre.

Mrs. Berry is married with two grown up children. She and her husband were delighted to become grandparents for the first time in 2005. She is a qualified NNEB and also holds a level 3 in Childcare and Education. She has worked as a teaching assistant for 24 years and now finds herself helping to teach the children of children whom she taught years ago. In her leisure time she loves to go walking in the countryside, gardening and reading.

Mrs. Cluskey has been married for 36 years and has two grown up sons. She found herself drawn to education after her first son was born. Unable to find a satisfactory nursery, she set up her own playgroup in the local church hall. It is still running successfully today. She then gained experience working in nurseries and infant classes before going back to college to gain her NVQ level two and three qualifications in Childcare and Education and City and Guilds D32 and D33 in Childcare. She went on to work for Manchester Education Department supervising students of Childcare. Mrs. Cluskey had worked at Norman House School for fourteen years before transferring to the Firwood site. She is a warm and caring person with a wealth of experience. She is passionate about the early years of a child’s life and strives to ensure that the children in her care have the best possible start.

Mrs. Hassall started working in Nursery education in 1975 at Norman House School. She trained as a Montessori teacher at the London Montessori School and later acquired a City and Guilds assessment qualification in Childcare and Education. She continued to work with pre-nursery and nursery children at Firwood Manor attending many courses for her professional development, the most recent being Birth to Three Matters. For the past thirty years, she has worked for different charities, raising money for sick children and cancer research. She has a love of music and the theatre and enjoys spending time with her family and five adorable granddaughters. She is widely travelled and has enjoyed accompanying Firwood pupils on residential visits to Spain and France.

Mrs. Hughes is married with three children. She is one of our midday supervisors. She sometimes helps in Out of School Hours Care. In her spare time she likes to socialise.

Mr. Lawton-Price was a student at Oldham College and has worked at Firwood since August 2007 after gaining his level 2 certificate in Childcare and Education with distinction. He is continuing to further his qualifications at the college. He is a teaching assistant in the Foundation Stage and also works in the Out of School Hours Care. He lives in Chadderton with his twin and older brother. His interests include reggae music, reading and spending time with friends.

Mrs Mistry is married with three children, two boys and one girl. She is one of our midday supervisors and has been with the school since it opened in 2002. Mrs. Mistry also works as a “lollipop lady” on the crossing close to school.

Mrs. Patterson has been at Firwood Manor since April 2007 and has built some strong relationships with both children and staff. The first sixteen years of her working life were spent as a lifeguard and swimming teacher. She then moved to the Royal Oldham Hospital as a physiotherapy assistant. Finding that she missed working with children, she gained her level 3 diploma and worked in a local nursery. In her spare time she enjoys swimming, walking and reading.

Mrs. Tetlow is married with two children. She works at Firwood Manor over the lunchtime period and helps the children in the dining room.

Mrs. Williams has worked in education for five years ranging from Reception to Year 6. Since being at Firwood Manor, she has been based in the Foundation Stage. At the moment she is attending night school in order to gain her NVQ level 3. She wishes to continue to level 4 next year. At weekends she loves spending time with her family and indulging in a little retail therapy.

Miss Wright attended the Bluecoat School and gained her Childcare and Education qualifications at Oldham College. She completed one of her placements at Firwood Manor and started her working life here in 2005 as both a teaching assistant in the Foundation Stage and assistant co-ordinator for Out of School Hours Care. She enjoys working with a professional team at Firwood and is pleased with the way she has been able to develop her career here. She also loves the family atmosphere of the school. Her spare time is spent socialising with friends.

Mr. Blackburne was the caretaker at Norman House School and moved with the school in 2002. Most of his working life has been spent in the building trade, many of those years in the Middle East. He is a proud dad, granddad and great granddad. He is an avid reader and enjoys opera and watching Manchester United. He is often the first person to greet the children and parents in the mornings as he helps the youngsters to get out of the cars.

Mrs. Wroe has worked at Firwood Manor since it opened in 2002. She is married to Frank who is Pastor of Ebenezer Congregational Church in Uppermill and she has two grown up children. She has been a guider (Girl Guides) for most of her adult life and is a life member of Oldham Amateur Swimming Club. She goes to the baths every Monday to help with the club.

Mrs. Harris joined the staff at Firwood in 2003. She has four sons, one granddaughter and one grandson. She lives in Chadderton. She loves reading murder stories.