Catherine Penn
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Catherine Penn has spent 18 years at Park Hill Junior School, progressing from NQT and class teacher to Year Leader and now Assistant Headteacher. Following Park Hill’s move to Greenshaw Learning Trust in 2024, Catherine took on an exciting year-long secondment as Deputy Headteacher at Sandy Lane Primary School, gaining valuable experience across two schools and continuing to grow both personally and professionally.
Having spent 18 years at Park Hill (who joined Greenshaw Learning Trust in July 2024), I’ve had the opportunity to work up from NQT/class teacher to Year Leader and now Assistant Headteacher. My career took an exciting and unexpected step forward this past year when GLT offered me a part-time, year-long secondment as Deputy Head at Sandy Lane. Balancing two senior roles across two distinct schools has brought rapid personal and professional growth - from driving fast-paced school improvement and navigating a successful Ofsted inspection at Sandy Lane, to celebrating exceeding national outcomes at Park Hill.
What I love most about working within the Trust is the overwhelming sense of collaboration and shared mission. Even when stepping into new challenges, you are never doing it alone; the incredible support from school leadership, the Trust School Improvement Team, and dedicated colleagues across both schools makes all the difference. Seeing our pupils thrive each day makes every bit of hard work completely worth it. I would whole-heartedly recommend GLT to anyone looking for a supportive environment where your growth is genuinely encouraged and championed.