Mrs Dorothy Gregory
Teaching Awards 2007 Winner
The Ted Wragg Award for Lifetime Achievement, sponsored by the Innovation Unit in North East and Cumbria
Walkergate Early Years Centre, NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE
“Inspirational” “dynamic”, “empowering” – just a few of the words to describe the visionary woman who has helped to transform early years education in Newcastle upon Tyne.
People come from all over Europe to visit Walkergate Early Years Centre as an example of outstanding practice, a reputation which is largely due to the foresight and commitment of its headteacher, Dorothy Gregory.
Dorothy has dedicated her teaching career to the city and worked almost wholly in areas of severe economic and social deprivation with some of the most vulnerable families.
She is a passionate believer that education is the key to a better society and a better way of life for the children in her care – a belief that has never wavered throughout her entire working life.
Her vision for Early Years provision is described as both inspirational and aspirational and she has had the necessary energy, strategic understanding and management skills to make that dream a reality.
Within her community she has given people the confidence to believe that change for the better can happen and that parents are the first and foremost educators with regard to their child’s successful early development.
At all times she has been driven by the desire to provide the best possible educational opportunities from the cradle onwards, a campaigning zeal which has led to the £700,000 redevelopment of Walkergate from a small nursery and family centre when she took it over in 1998, into Newcastle’s first children’s centre with designated Early Excellence status.
She has led her team through two “outstanding” Ofsted inspections and Walkergate has been listed twice in Ofsted’s annual report amongst the top schools in the country. She embraced the spirit of “Every Child Matters” long before it hit the statute books.
Walkergate, according to the local vicar, has become the most stable element in the lives of so many parents and children.
