Christopher Sumpton

I currently work in a specialist Key Stage 3 provision that provides bespoke education to students who have, for a variety of reasons, been unsuccessful in meeting mainstream school expectations.

In this role I am responsible for the planning and delivery of lessons across a range of subjects including English, Mathematics, History, Cooking and Physical Education.

I work effectively alongside a small team of dedicated staff who strive to meet the complex needs of our learners on a daily basis.

I also hold whole school responsibility for all off-site education. This role involves sourcing and risk assessing a range of provision that seeks to enrich the curriculum.

I worked for three years as a teacher in this specialist alternative provision that meets the needs of learners that are, for a variety of reasons, not compatible with mainstream education.

I was responsible for quality first teaching across a range of subjects including English, Mathematics, Physical Education and GCSE Citizenship.

Calling upon over 15 years of teaching and leadership experienced I immersed myself in the day to day operational running of the school. This helped stabalise the school initially before embarking on a three year journey of improvement. I feel I played a major role in securing a positive Ofsted report in April 2022.

It was deemed necessary by the Head of The Education Alliance (MAT) for me to leave the position of Supply Teacher at Malet Lambert School and begin working at Driffield School and Sixth Form.

My main responsibilities were to support the Senior Leadership Team in addressing concerns regarding deteriorating behaviour around school. This included supporting relatively inexperienced senior leaders in their daily roles, most notably with difficult meetings and assisting with daily procedures that impacted on whole school behaviour such as managing the Isolation and Internal Exclusion units, providing clarity and consistency in their daily running.

I was initially contracted for 1 term but was asked to stay longer and stayed for 4 terms. Upon departure, following a successful Ofsted report, I was thanked for my efforts in the improvement the school had made.

As an elected member of Hull City Council I was primarily responsible, alongside other senior politicians, for the political direction set for the City of Hull. This included setting policy and budgets that impacted greatly on all residents of the City.

I personally represented the Holderness Ward in East Hull which homed over 10,000 residents, always seeking to ensure they got the best possible political representation within Hull City Council.

My senior position within the Labour Group saw me operate as Chair of the Overview, Scrutiny and Management Committee, the most senior of the scrutiny committees. Responsibilities included overseeing the implementation of the highly successful 2017 Hull City of Council bid.

I also sat on various committees including the planning committee. I gained valuable knowledge about the workings of local government and public sector provision of vital services.

Working directly for The Educational Alliance on a 0.2 FTE contract to fit alongside my other role as an elected Councillor for Hull City Council, I taught Design and Technology every Wednesday due to staffing shortages.

In addition to the 0.2 Fixed Term Contract I worked as a Supply Teacher on other days subject to my availability.

The school would contact me directly ahead of supply agencies as I lived locally and was considered extremely competent when teaching across the Key Stage 4 curriculum.

I was contacted directly by the Headteacher who became aware I was no longer full-time in education due to my role as an elected member of Hull City Council.

Due to staffing shortages in Modern Foreign Languages and problems with the quality of some supply teachers I was approached and asked to go in and support the department. I taught all students in years 7 and 8 for one of the two designated MFL lessons with a focus on local history and culture to compliment the 2017 Hull City of Culture.

Initially employed as a teacher of Physical Education I was promoted numerous times within a relatively short period of time. I progressed to a Head of Year position before undertaking a role that saw me take responsibility for the academic and pastoral progress of Key Stage 3 students. Having excelled at the role I was duly promoted to the role of Assistant Headteacher with whole school responsibility for Inclusion. This included behaviour, attendance, SEND and LAC. I successfully and effectively managed the whole school pastoral team, created and implemented new behaviour and reward policies which had a significant positive outcome on the school. I was also responsible for alternative provision and a learning support unit within the school.