Who's Who

Mrs Riches – Headteacher

Mrs Riches joined Freegrounds Infant School in September 2011. This is her second Headship, previously she was the Headteacher at John Keble Church of England Primary School in Hursley for 4½ year which she led to becoming the highest performing primary school in the County and one of the top 10 performing schools nationally by 2009. She studied her teaching degree in Southampton and in 2006 was awarded her NPQH (National Professional Qualification for Headship). Prior to this she spent 10 years in leadership roles and teaching within Infant Schools in Southampton and the New Forest.

Mrs Riches ensures school improvement priorities are secured by working collaboratively with the Strategic Leadership Team, governors, staff and wider school community, facilitating high quality professional development opportunities, coaching and mentoring. She also ensures the schools budget is spent to best achieve school improvement priorities and the school meets its duties in relation to health and safety, safeguarding and the statutory requirements set out by the DFEE.

During the academic year 2019-2020 Mrs Riches will also be the Acting Executive Headteacher at Netley Abbey Infant School.  This is an exciting opportunity for both schools to celebrate and share best infant practice and build on the strengths and leadership of the Strategic Leadership Teams within both schools.

She is passionate about Infant Education and committed to working in partnership with parents and the local community, putting down firm foundations which allow pupils to achieve their best. In her spare time she enjoys cooking. gardening and spending time with her family and dogs.

Head of Teaching and Learning, Deputy Headteacher and Year 2 Leader – Miss Seed

Inclusion Manager – Mrs Watkins

EYFS Leader and Blue Class Teacher - Mrs Jones

Mrs Jones is currently the EYFS Leader and the teacher of Blue class at Freegrounds Infant School.  She is a member of the Strategic Leadership Team and  will also be leading Computing across the school in September. She completed her degree in Teaching and Learning with the University of Worcester and her PGCE with Cornwall SCITT.  She is looking forward to the opportunity of teaching and learning alongside the children in her class next year. She has a particular interest in outdoor learning and Phonics . When not in the classroom she can be found enjoying her time off with her husband and their 2 dogs and 2 cats or watching, singing, talking about Disney!

Blue Class EYFS Learning Assistant – Mrs White

Marie White works in  Blue Class as an Early Years Learning Support Assistant.    She has studied STLS L2 and STLS L3 at Eastleigh college, and has been working at Freegrounds Infants school since 2014. Apparently she absolutely loves it! She thoroughly enjoys working with all the children and finds her role very rewarding.

Red Class Teacher – Mrs Rigby

Mrs Rigby is one of the Red Class teachers at Freegrounds Infant School. She will be the teacher pm Thursday, Friday and every other Wednesday. She has been a teacher at Freegrounds Infant School for 14 years, many of them spent in EYFS. She moved to Southampton when she was 18 to go to university from Staffordshire which is where the rest of her family live. 

Away from school her time is mostly taken up by her 2 children. They keep her very busy! She is also committed to her yoga practise of 22 years which helps keep her fit! She enjoys swimming. gardening, vegetarian cooking and walks at the beach and in the forest.

Red Class Teacher – Miss Emery

Miss Emery is one of the class teachers in Red Class. She will be teaching your children at the start of the week and every other Wednesday.  She is also the school Leader of Art. She gained an English degree at university and then spent two years working as a teaching assistant before completing her PGCE. She loves teaching and is passionate about creating a happy and stimulating classroom in which children can achieve their full potential as she feels there is nothing more rewarding than watching the children grow and develop throughout the year.

Red Class EYFS Learning Assistant – Mrs Taylor

Yellow Class Teacher – Miss Hunt

Yellow Class EYFS Learning Assistant – Mrs Giles

Angela Giles has lived in Hedge End for 39 years and has been a teaching assistant in Early Years for 29 years. She is married with 2 grown up children and 2 granddaughters. She really enjoys her role in school, seeing the transformation from when the children start compared to where they finish in Early Years. She is very committed and doesn’t tend to stop until she has finished what she’s started. She enjoys reading, shopping, catching up with friends and seeing her granddaughters.

Year 1 Leader and Purple Class Teacher - Miss Webb

Miss Webb joined Freegrounds Infant School in September 2016. She is currently the Purple class teacher in Year 1 and has been the Year 1 Leader since September 2018.  She is also the Leader of Maths. Miss Webb is an exemplary practitioner who loves teaching and enabling opportunities for children to explore, learn and grow as individuals in an environment that promotes discovery and inspires their curiosity. She went to The University of Winchester to study her teaching degree, a dream she had since being in Year One herself! In her free time she loves visiting new places and spending days out exploring with friends and family. She also enjoys baking, trying new recipes, and reading.

Purple Class Learning Support Assistant – Mrs Tuohy

Mrs  Emma Tuohy who joined us last September will be working alongside Miss Webb in Purple Class. She is currently our FEIPS practitioner and runs a regular Lego Group once a week. Mrs Tuohy will also be taking on the ELSA role. Previously she worked as a breakfast show presenter on the radio before becoming a music therapist for adults with learning difficulties.  She is also a children’s entertainer at the weekend and often dresses as various characters.  She loves making imagination come to life and she is very passionate about children being able to learn from their experiences and encouraged to reach for the stars and achieve their dreams.  She has two small children and loves spending time with them at the beach or going for picnics on the south coast

Orange Class Teacher – Mrs du Preez

Orange Class Teacher – Mrs Jones

Orange Class Learning Assistant – Mrs Sims

Beckie Sims has worked at Freegrounds Infant school since 2013 and is the Learning Support Assistant in Orange Class. She has completed Level 3 Supporting Teaching and Learning in schools whilst volunteering here since 2011. She also has a Psychology degree and Makaton Foundation level.  She is married with three little girls and in her free time she enjoys days out, going on holiday with her family, visiting the theatre and eating at new restaurants. She is really looking forward to working with Orange Class, Mrs Jones and Mrs Dupreez  next year. Besides being an LSA in the mornings, she also works two afternoons a week with groups and individual children doing Speech and Language Therapy.

Green Class Teacher – Miss May

Miss May will be the teacher in Green Class in September. She studied for her Primary Education degree at Canterbury Christ Church University and she enjoys working with children in the EYFS and KS1. Teaching is something she has always been passionate about, and she is dedicated to supporting children with their development and creating an environment that gets them excited about their learning.  She believes that all children should be given the opportunity to grow as individuals, and as part of a class. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her friends and family, as well as reading books and watching films. She also likes to travel when she can and has a general love of animals, particularly cats.

Scarlet Class Teacher – Miss Naylor

Special Needs Assistant – Miss Thorne

Emerald Class Teacher – Miss Kennard

Emerald Class Learning Support Assistant - Mrs Dore

Turquoise Class Teacher – Miss Wilson

Turquoise Class Learning Assistant – Mrs Kotch

Administration Officer – Mrs Haines

Mrs Haines joined Freegrounds Infant School in January 2018. Prior to this she has worked in an office environment. She is responsible for the administration of several areas including HR, Finance, procurement whilst also managing the welfare needs of pupils with the odd plaster or two when required. Mrs Haines is married with two children. A lot of her spare time is taken up with spending time with her family, running and going on family holidays and camping trips in her tent when it is not too cold.

Mrs Cunliffe - Administration Assistant

Mrs Cunliffe joined the admin team here at Freegrounds Infant school in January 2019.  After graduating from Exeter University with a degree in Sports Science, she worked in marketing before settling down with her husband and three boys.  In her free time she enjoys cycling, running, going to the gym and volunteering at a local sea scout & kayak club, but often spends most of it at the side of a football pitch watching her boys play. She is enjoying learning the diverse role of Administration Assistant especially as each day is different.

Administration Assistant - Dawn Belcher

Mrs Belcher started working in the school office as an Administration Assistant in November 2018 and has previously helped on many school trips. After taking a break from working in an office since having her eldest child she is excited to get back in the office and looking forward to helping everyone. Mrs Belcher is married with 3 children and enjoys running and baking in her spare time. 

Site Manager – Mr Southern

Mr Southern joined the school in 2013. Prior to this he worked as Operations Manager at Fawley Marine terminal overseeing 50 operators in the day to day management of the facility. His areas of expertise lay in Health and Safety, project planning and facilities management. In his spare time he enjoys DIY, gardening and especially wood work.

Lunchtime Co-ordinator/Play Leader - Mrs Dore

Mrs Dore oversees the team of Lunchtime Staff who support the children with the mid-day meal service and activities to promote play in the playground and on the school field. She is keen to promote the children to be physically active and make healthy choices in relation to the food they eat to promote a healthy lifestyle. Mrs Dore is also the Learning Support Assistant in Turquoise Class.

Mrs Wetton