Kevin Sadler: Education, Thurrock

Hi, I’m Kevin,

Music is my passion, so teaching was the ideal vehicle to spread that love of music. I started my teaching career 40-years ago in Brentwood and after working in several Essex schools and becoming Music Advisor for Harrow, I became the Head Teacher at Passmore School in Harlow. I am now CEO at GLC (Gateway Learning Community Trust), a multi-academy trust based in Thurrock which helps ensure young people receive quality education and support. I love working with young people because you can feed from them and they can feed from you; you have the opportunity to create change within a community. In 2006, Gateway was the 5^th worst performing school in the country, I’m proud to say that in 2011 we achieved Outstanding Status, leading us to start the trust in 2012 and now all our schools are Good. This gives me joy every day and hope for the future.

The most important thing for me is to make sure that the provision for children is as good as it can possibly be, not only in terms of the quality of teaching but also in terms of the curriculum – what we’re teaching and how it leads children into their next steps, post 16, to their future careers, how they operate outside of school, how to form relationships and succeed in society.

The past two years have been tough, we’ve rallied to the needs of the wider community providing food, support for parents, tents for the homeless and a whole host of unimaginable things. The disadvantaged have become more so – the gap has grown. However one of the strong points was how all our staff jumped into action to move all of our teaching online, transforming the way that we think about learning. We made sure that every child in the Trust from 2 – 7 has their own computer so they could learn from afar, aligning with our mission of lifting the community up!

Being 60-years old, the Queen has been a constant throughout my life. Her commitment to her role is impressive and the vow she made at her Coronation has never faltered. I admire her resilience, her tenacity, and her love for the Commonwealth. The diversity that this has brought to the UK is fantastic and the richness that we gain from cultural diversity is a strength of our nation. Credit to the Queen for maintaining the Commonwealth and long may it continue to grow and be an important part of our lives.