Teachers

Hello! I am Caroline Woodland, the Reception Class Teacher at Norton Primary School. In 2008 I joined the amazing Norton family as a NQT after studying an Early Years teaching degree at UWE in Bristol and I have never looked back! Teaching is my passion; it’s great to see each child love learning, making friends and being a confident individual. Every child is unique and they all have their own learning journey; my role is to ensure they build positive relationships with myself and others, make progress and want to achieve by scaffolding their learning and providing fun and stimulating experiences at school. Over the past 13 years I have taught Reception and Year 1.



At home I am a Mum to my two beautiful, young children. Weekends and holidays are family time; this is when we enjoy making memories and having adventures, mainly outdoors. We love the beach, reading stories, making dens, being creative and most importantly having fun!

I began working at the wonderful Norton school 8 years ago. I began my time at Norton working in the preschool for two years and since then have been teaching in Reception and now Year 1! I love the children’s individual personalities, watching the children progress and seeing them grow in confidence.


I’m the deputy safeguarding lead at Norton, a school governor and KS1 Subject Lead for phonics and reading. I really enjoy these roles and working as part of a team to strive to be the best we can!

I’m a Mum to an inquisitive, busy toddler. At the weekends we enjoy going on adventurers, visiting parks and spending time with family members.

I began my journey here at Norton back in 2005 when I worked throughout the school as a supply teacher. I then began teaching year 6 here at Norton on a full time basis. All my dreams came true when I became a permanent member of staff in 2009. Prior to working at Norton I had worked in a wide range of different school settings and I knew that this was the place I would choose to be! My placement whilst studying for the PGCE was in France where I had the amazing opportunity to teach and learn more about the schooling system in France. I have taught across the key stages in all year groups at Norton; most recently in year 4 and 5. I studied French and Linguistics at university and am fortunate enough to be able to apply my passion for language within the classroom. I take great pride in encouraging children to succeed. There is no better feeling than seeing a child happy and motivated at school and it as an honour to be a part of that journey.

In my other life I adore spending time with my two children. Being outdoors and finding muddy puddles seems to be the sport of choice at the moment! As a family we like to travel and explore new places together.

I have had the pleasure of teaching at Norton for a wonderful 21 years. Having graduated from university with BEd honours I was extremely fortunate to start my teaching career here, in the Autumn of 1997, with a Reception class. Since then I have taught across the whole of Key Stage One and Year 3 and 4. I currently teach Year 2.

I absolutely love teaching and enjoy watching children develop and grow into confident young adults. I am a firm believer that learning should be fun and meaningful as well as challenging so that all children can reach their full potential. I really do feel like I have the best job in the world! This is all down to the fantastic people and children that I work with every day.

I am the Physical Education Co-ordinator and this was one of my specialisms at university. Within my role one aspect of my job is to look at participation and identify opportunities for all of our children to be involved in physical exercise and team sport. I believe all children can enjoy being active no matter what their capabilities and I am keen to encourage this at Norton.

My favourite author is Julia Donaldson and I enjoy reading her stories to my class. ‘The Gruffalo’ is always top of my reading list closely followed by ‘Superworm’.

Outside of school I love being a mum to my son who is a typical toddler and growing up way too fast for my liking! I enjoy spending time with my family and friends, holidays in Cornwall and reading (when I have a spare moment!!)

After completing my degree in Computing, I decided to go abroad to Japan for a year in order to get a taste for teaching. However, I fell in love with the country and didn't return to England until 6 and a half years later in order to undertake my PGCE which I finished in June 2016. I enjoy learning and like to pass this love on to the children I teach.

Outside of work I like to cook, read, draw, play video games and exercise.

Hello!

Since graduating from the University of Winchester in 2017, I spent my first two years teaching in year 1 in Hampshire. I then joined the wonderful Norton family in 2019 and absolutely adore teaching year 4. I love seeing the children become independent and grow in confidence.

I am the history and geography subject lead and have a huge interest in geography and exploring new places. I like to incorporate geography into my teaching too in a variety of fun and interesting ways to help children appreciate the world we live in.

I am also the KS2 lead for reading and enjoy sharing my love and passion for reading with the children. Some of my favourite children's books are 'Secrets of the Sun King' by Emma Carroll and 'The day the crayons quit' by Oliver Jeffers.

Outside of school I enjoy reading, travelling and walks in the countryside.

I have had the pleasure of being part of the Norton family since 2019, joining freshly graduated from
University with First Class BEd Honours and a Music Diploma. I began my teaching journey as a Year
1 teacher and have since moved to Year 5, I love both ages equally and you can still see the creative
and lively side of me in the juniors. In 2020 I also took on the role of Art, craft and design co-
ordinator and have strived to make our curriculum as individualistic and inclusive as possible. This
has also initiated significant links with the local community and other schools.

Since my time at Norton I have taken on many ‘hats’ and have used my love of music to organise our
Christmas Carol Services. Alongside teaching, you can find me on the stage and I love representing to
the children that hobbies can continue into adulthood!

When I am not performing, you can usually find me doing something arty or out for a walk in the
countryside or on the beach! A donkey is also my favourite animal!

I am incredibly proud to be the Assistant Headteacher of Norton and Year 6 teacher. I first came to Norton as a student teacher and returned after completing my Newly Qualified Teaching year in my home county of Kent. At this point, I thought I was leaving my family, but I was in fact joining it. I have been here for 9 years, teaching mixed 5 and 6 and, for the last 6 years, Year 6. Seeing the school flourish under Mrs Farren and our talented team is an absolute pleasure.

Maths is my subject leadership responsibility and I am a ‘Glos Ed leader’, working with the Local Education Authority to improve standards across the county. In 2019, I also worked with Maths Mastery Specialists from the National Centre for Excellence in the Teaching of Mathematics (NCETM), which I hope to continue my professional development with. In addition to this, Mrs Farren and I created a working party formed of schools from the Tewkesbury District Partnership to share staff training and good practice in Maths.

Mental Health is a particular passion for me and my classroom practice is designed to instil resilience, independence and positivity in pupils, as I see these as essential skills for happy, lifelong learners. As a staff governor, I pay particular attention to standards and learning, and the mental health of our children and staff.

Growing up on Thames Sailing Barge Greta, I understand and respect the variety of backgrounds we all have and celebrate our differences: be together, not the same. I now live in Norton and was elected on to the Parish Council in Spring 2019. The opportunity to serve the community that I love is an honour. In my home in the village, I have two house rabbits- rescued- and a Mr Partridge, who is not rescued.