STAR PEOPLE
43
LISA CRAUSBY Executive Director: Education
In this edition of Star People we talk to Lisa Crausby, who is the executive lead for the trust’s education provision. Lisa, who joined the trust in 2017, takes the strategic lead on the School Improvement Framework, Principals’ Performance Management, the Rapid Improvement Model, Safeguarding, Inclusion and Teaching Strategy. She is also the link education director to a number of schools in the trust. Throughout the pandemic, Lisa has led on the trust’s approach to wellbeing to ensure pupils and staff remain safe and well during these difficult times.
What are the key challenges in supporting pupil wellbeing? There are two key challenges that come to mind. Firstly, schools are having to keep abreast of their local challenges at this current time. We know that in some areas, schools are dealing with a very high number of referrals to social care linked to the pandemic. This means that schools in these areas need to be proactive in their support for pupils who may be finding life difficult. It is crucial our schools are a safe haven for these pupils; an oasis where they can flourish, build resilience and achieve academically. To achieve this, they may require specialist therapeutic support alongside their own pastoral key worker within school. Secondly, pupils need to have opportunities to express themselves. To develop resilience and enhance pupil wellbeing, we need a strong personal development programme for all pupils. It is important for pupils to be physically active, work as a team, develop new talents and experience a sense of achievement. Our school staff go above and beyond every day to enrich the lives of our pupils through wonderful extra-curricular activities linked to our Star leadership foundations of sport, creativity, performing arts, enterprise and careers, charity and social action - and other initiatives, such as the Combined Cadet Force, Duke of Edinburgh’s Award and the National Citizenship Service. We continue to flood our schools with enrichment opportunities and target
those pupils who will benefit the most from them. In doing so, we will develop pupils’ character, which will help them emotionally withstand future obstacles that may come their way in life.
What aspect of your job gives you the greatest satisfaction? The greatest satisfaction is seeing transformation happening within a school. There is no better feeling than seeing a struggling school with a long legacy of underperformance starting to flourish. It is wonderful to see the hard work paying off and the school community developing its own distinctive identity. I also love to see happy, caring pupils acting as leaders, taking initiative and making their school and local community an even better place to be. We have so many great schools within Star that make me beam with pride.
Who was your favourite teacher and why? I have two: Mrs Hunt and Miss Billington. One taught me French and the other taught me German. Both transported me to France and Germany each time I entered their classroom and every lesson, they inspired me to love languages and helped me to achieve the top grades. Their investment in me gave me a hunger to study languages further. I taught myself Spanish whilst studying French and German at college. I then decided I wanted to study Arabic at university, which was an unusual choice at the time. My reasoning was to challenge myself to learn how to read and write the Arabic script whilst understanding more about the countries
in which Arabic was spoken. After obtaining my degree, I then trained to be a Modern Foreign Languages (MFL) Teacher and loved nothing more than imparting my love of languages to pupils. A special highlight was being a role model to the girls in my form class who all went on to study languages at college and university! I focused my Master’s Degree on how to help boys to succeed in MFL. It was a proud moment seeing my research findings being used in schools across the country. I will always be personally thankful to those two teachers for fostering my passion for languages and opening up an amazing career pathway which has enabled me to support others.
What interests do you have outside of work? Being a passionate linguist, I love to travel the world. I want my children to be outward-facing and appreciate new countries and soak up their cultures. To date, we have visited every continent on the planet and I am keen we see all seven wonders of the world. To unwind and relax, I love the theatre, music and ballet. I am blessed to live in the Eden Valley in Cumbria and regularly enjoy amazing lakes on my doorstep. I am also an avid Manchester City football fan having grown up as a junior blue.
What are you currently reading? I am currently reading Louis de Bernieres’ Captain Corelli’s Mandolin. I am enjoying the Greek island of Cephalonia and immersing myself with the struggle between love and patriotism. It is a brilliant book.
KEY APPOINTMENTS Stephen Dixon (Principal) SUMMER 2021 ISSUE 06
