Staff Spotlight (Year 1 Teacher and Acting Head of EYFS)

Welcome to our “Staff Spotlight” series. Today, we focus on Miss Garner, the Acting Head of EYFS and Year 1 teacher. Miss Garner joined our team in 2022 from a prep school in London, where she had worked for 12 years. Before becoming a teacher, Miss Garner initially worked in the travel industry. She then worked at a nursery in Brighton before moving to London, where she started as a teaching assistant and then qualified as a teacher.

What do you enjoy most about The Mead?

The Children! I love how all the staff get to know the children really well and how we get to see the children we have taught from the previous year. I have never had that as my old school was huge and in 3 different buildings.

What is your favourite teaching memory ?

There are so many. This is a tough one, probably when I got given the list of my first-ever class and met them all. 

What’s your teaching style? 

Firm but fun, I like to have music on in 1G on a Friday afternoon, and we always end the day with a dance. I want to encourage independence and for children to use their own autonomy where possible. Also, I use Mrs. Marston (my class teaching assistant) in all of my teaching scenarios. 

Any phobias? 

Spiders, I tend to give them a name and then I can deal with them better. 

What is one of your hidden talents? 

I am hypermobile, so I can twist my arms and pull them over my head!! 

If you could have any superpower, what would it be?  

Oooh, that is easy, to talk to animals. 

Do you have any pets? 

Yes, I have three cats: Sinbad, Ted and Dolly. 

What would you be doing if you had 24 hours out of school?  

I would go on a vegan food expedition in Brighton or Camden. It has to involve cake, though! 

If you could sit down with a historical character, who would you pick and why? 

Emmeline Pankhurst, I am a huge feminist and find the suffragettes’ whole movement inspiring and fascinating. 

What’s your favourite book? 

I am a very big Harry Potter fan!

If you were an animal- which would you be and why?  

I’d choose to be a sloth because living in Costa Rica would be amazing—it’s my favourite place—and the lifestyle also fits my general vibe