Mr Hampshire became headteacher of Greensted five years ago, having been deputy headteacher of Lee Chapel Primary for several years before.

What are the best aspects of your job?

“Seeing children work hard, achieve their goals and become confident, articulate members of society is at the heart of what we want to achieve.

“Personally, I love teaching English every day to Year 6 and seeing them produce their very best. Another is standing on the gate every morning to greet the children personally by name with a “good morning”. It all sets the tone for the day of work ahead.”

What challenges have you faced as a school and how have you worked to overcome them?

“The main one is how we, as a school and community, have coped admirably with the challenges that the Covid 19 pandemic has put our way. The school community and the brilliant partnership which we enjoy with our parents has ensured that, despite periods of lockdown and isolation, we and the children have come through together more resilient, focussed and appreciative of all we have at Greensted.

What topics have you got planned for the coming months?

“The teachers and children love dressing up to fully immerse themselves in their current topic and these include: ‘how the home front helped win the war; ‘space; the final frontier’; ‘vile Victorians and stone age warriors’. These topics ‘hook’ our children and their books are filled with brilliant examples of writing on the subjects.”

What do you think the school does particularly well?

“We place a huge emphasis on the power of sport and understand the important role sport plays in keeping our children healthy both in body and mind. In recent years, our football and netball teams have reached district and county finals. “During Lockdown we had the StreetTag App to encourage families to get out and about in the fresh air. It has been a huge success and one for which we were awarded Active Basildon School of the Year.”

What is in store for the school this year?

“From September 2022, Greensted Junior School and Greensted Infant School and Nursery will become Greensted Primary School. This is something the whole community cannot wait for and is an exciting time for all involved.”