Mrs Rood is our Head of School. After 12 years of teaching, both in London and Somerset, she has decided to embrace the challenge of leading a school. She is keen to embrace all the wonderful aspects Spaxton has to offer and develop them further, so that we have a school the whole community is proud of. Mrs Rood would like the school to be a hive of activity where children become independent, resilient and hard-working learners. She would like all the children to develop a love of learning, but most importantly become caring and thoughtful members of the community.
In her spare time, Mrs Rood enjoys spending time with her family, including walking the dogs. She also enjoys baking and doesn't mind getting her hands dirty and helping out on the family farm.
Mrs Ball has worked in education for 20 years starting in further education. She then after having 2 children decided to begin working in primary education where she started as a Teaching Assistant/HLTA. After enjoying her role of supporting children to flourish within their learning Mrs Ball then decided to study towards a BA Hons in Early Childhood Education and then a PGCE to become a primary school teacher finishing in 2022. Having worked in a small village school for the past 10 years she is excited to be teaching at Spaxton Primary School because she enjoys the sense of community that a small village brings working with the children and their parents.
Mrs Ball has lived in the Somerset area all her life and enjoys taking her dog for walks around the local area. In her spare time, she loves gardening and spending time with her family, going to music concerts with her daughter and watching her son play football which she often gets roped into playing too in garden at home.
Mrs Standing joined Spaxton in 2022 where she began her teaching journey. She loves nothing more than watching the children learn and grow. Mrs Standing has a degree in musical theatre and achieved a BA (HONS). She then went onto becoming a fitness instructor as helping others reach their goals became a passion of hers!
In her spare time, she loves nothing more than spending time with family and friends. Mrs Standing also loves running, camping, music festivals, baking and long dog walks in the countryside.
Miss Holden joined Spaxton Primary School in March 2023 and has 15 years experience in childcare. Miss Holden decided to study Childcare and Education to Level 3 and then continued onto Plymouth University studying Education Studies and achieved a BA (Hons). Miss Holden’s experiences lie in preschool and early years and previously in preschool management for 6 years. She really loves reception phonics and in particular early reading.
In her spare time, Miss Holden enjoys spending time with her family and friends. She loves cats and has three of them…..Ember, Rudie & Kiki. Miss Holden is also training a new puppy that she has called Effie. When Miss Holden has any other spare time she enjoys going to the gym and eating chocolate!
Mrs Skews is Kingfisher Class teacher as well as the SENDco. She has been teaching for 20 years, all of that time within Somerset schools. In 2012 she made the decision to leave the classroom to become a non-teaching SENDco of a large primary school, however she really missed the day to day interaction with the children and took a leap of faith leaving the school she had worked in for 15 years to become part of the Spaxton School community.
Mrs Skews has truly enjoyed being part of the Spaxton community, saying "Pupils, staff and governors have all been really supportive and welcoming. The school has the children at the heart of all it does, inspiring all pupils to do their best. I really enjoying the holistic approach we have to learning developing the child as a whole, providing them with life skills as well as academic achievements"
Mrs Skews is an avid crafter and enjoys making cards and scrapbooking her family’s adventures alongside her husband and daughter. She love the outdoors and enjoy being out and about in all weathers, and is a keen photographer who likes to capture a sense of belonging.
In her spare time Mrs Skews is also a Brownie leader, sharing her passions with the young girls she supports. She still loves to read children’s books and her favourite author is Roald Dahl. Mrs Skews loves reading romantic novels especially those by Katie Fforde. Her favourite films are the Harry Potter series, including Fantastic Beasts and Crimes of Grindlewold, she loves how the directors have brought to life JK Rowling’s imagination.
Mrs Jones is one of our Teaching Assistants and runs the After School Club. She has been here with us at Spaxton School for 13 years now and says, "I love the smiles on the children's faces in the morning and the beautiful views of the countryside around us".
In her spare time, Mrs Jones is busy being a mum and a nanny to Bailey. Her favourite book is The Faraway Tree and her favourite film is Toy Story.
Mrs Jenkins has worked as a teaching assistant for 8 wonderful years, starting out as an apprentice and then completing her level 4 in teaching and learning before having her first child. Previously Mrs Jenkins worked as an Au Pair in Australia and this is where she found her love for working with children. She enjoys helping children grow and develop and to be the best versions of themselves.
In her spare time, Mrs Jenkins enjoys spending time with her family. It can be busy at times as she has two children under three, but would not change a thing. Mrs Jenkins enjoys family time, including walking up on the Quantocks with her dog Oakley. She also enjoys horse riding and swimming.
Mrs Elsley is one of the teachers for Peregrine Class. She trained 20 years ago and since then has taught in a range of primary schools across Somerset. Mrs Elsley has worked in a variety of roles over the years, and has even found time to complete her Masters of Education along the way. She enjoys teaching at Spaxton School and realises how lucky she is to be working in such a beautiful area of Somerset and with such welcoming, compassionate children.
In her spare time, Mrs Elsley enjoys spending time with her family and two lovable Labradors. She loves to be by the sea or exploring different National Trust sites. Mrs Elsley likes to be creative. She enjoys sewing, card making, toddler crafts (Play Doh and messy paint are firm favourites!) as well as Modern Jive dancing.
Mrs Smith joined Spaxton in 2024, she enjoys talking to the children when they pop into the office and helping them when required. She is also on the end of the phone to help with any questions from our parents. Mrs Smith's journey started when she finished college and has since gained extra knowledge and experience along the way.
In her spare time, she loves spending time with her family and friends. Mrs Smith also enjoys baking and walks out with her dog.