Ormskirk's Pauline Treanor, Head of the Associated Merseyside Partnership SCITT, has been named Partnership Lead of the Year by the National Association of School-Based Teacher Trainers (NASBTT), the voice of school-led initial teacher training and development.

She beat off fierce competition from Claire Harnden (Surrey South Farnham SCITT) and Sacha Beresford (The Kemnal Academies Trust SCITT), who were runners-up in NASBTT’s Partnership Lead of the Year award. This category recognises partnership leads who motivate and inspire their core team to achieve success through effective leadership and management.

In awarding the Partnership Lead of the Yearprize, the judging panelcomprising of education and ITT experts said: “Pauline emerged as Partnership Lead of the Year because the judges were totally convinced by the description of her ‘passion for education, boundless energy and relish for new challenges and opportunities to influence the learning of children, trainees and colleagues’.

"Clearly, Pauline has developed a new SCITT from its earliest days and overseen its growth into a strong and ever-evolving partnership of many schools across five local authorities."

The nomination cites: ‘Colleagues enjoy and excel working for the Partnership because Pauline makes things happen, she secures outcomes and celebrates the individual contributions made. Success is achieved because she empowers those around her’.”

Pauline said: “My vision was for a school-led initial teacher training programme that not only brought new teachers into the profession but kept existing staff in schools by providing CPD and career development opportunities through their engagement with the SCITT. Our recruitment process is robust and ensures that trainees are quickly embedded into school life and fully understand the teacher’s role. I am delighted that 78% of our first cohort are now in leadership roles within education. It is an honour to be recognised for doing a job that I love – I am proud to be a teacher.”

The inaugural NASBTT Awards, held at the Union Jack Club in London on 11^th July, were launched tocelebrate excellence in school-based teacher education and recognise the exceptionally hard-working and talented professionals involved in driving the profession.Sponsoring NASBTT’s Partnership Lead of the Year award category was TeachingTimes,publisher of School Leadership Today, Professional Development Today, Creative Teaching and Learning magazines, along with Every Child Journal, Digital Learning and Learning Spaces. The group also publish e-bulletins: Leadership Briefing and Every Child Update.

Pauline's pictured with Howard Sharron of TeachingTimes - other winners are also photographed including Burscough's Denise Heath, third from left, deputy head at Crow Orchard Primary in Skem. and honoured as 'Mentor of the year'.