HEADTEACHERS can either make or break a school, so it makes sense to commend those that get it right in such a difficult role.

The shortlist for this award included: Michael McKenna, from Reevy Hill Primary School, Mary Connor, from Baildon Church of England (CofE) Primary School and Heather Lacey, from Shirley Manor Primary School.

The winner of the award was Michael McKenna who has overseen Reevy Hill achieve its best-ever Ofsted rating.

Mr McKenna admitted the nomination itself was an honour and paid tribute to the other two candidates.

The headteacher was almost bombarded by his family on camera as the T&A began its interview.

Reevy Hill joined the Leading Learners Multi-Academy Trust (MAT) back in 2016 and Mr McKenna arrived in 2017 with a lot to do.

Before then, Reevy Hill had received a mixture of Inadequate and Requires Improvement ratings from Ofsted and two Satisfactory inspections under the old rating system.

Then in its latest visit, in October 2019, it was deemed to be Good.

Mr McKenna says the set-up of the Trust has allowed him and his staff to enjoy the journey they've been on.

He added: "We're part of Leading Learners, so the team you've got at the top level of that is so supportive.

"You get that support from them, you look back down the hill with them and you see where the next part is.

"They help you celebrate the achievements, because they see it over time, whereas you're thinking, what's next, what's next.

"But you roll that back to your whole staff and get them to do the same and when they start looking back where they've come from, it's motivating, it really is - it drives you."

Coronavirus was the latest hurdle thrown up for the headteacher to deal with and admits it has been tough.

He said: "You're constantly following that guidance, you're constantly checking it, constantly looking for updates, reviewing it all the time.

"It really has a massive impact at that level.

"You're working to keep people safe but, as importantly, the mental wellbeing of making them feel safe at the same time.

"It's trying not to go back to what you'd normally do in Autumn and think this is what we just need to get going.

"It's actually, let's get everybody settled and feeling calm and ready to recover from this."

Mr McKenna has now been promoted into a wider role within the Leading Learners MAT.

But he is confident Reevy Hill can be taken to the next level with the staff and leadership infrastructure that was built during his time there.

He said: "The team that we built, and I say we because that SLT that we built together in Reevy was so good and so driven that once I moved on from there, the capacity was built in the school, they were ready to take it on and take it to its next step.

"They can start to build towards that Outstanding, but really focus on the school's identity and serving that community that it does so well."

Read our other in-depth interviews with each winner below:

Or take a look at how the overall event went here...