Pontefract Academies Trust and Halfpenny Lane is delighted to welcome Hayley McNeill as Headteacher of Halfpenny Lane Junior, Infant & Nursery School.
Hayley brings with her 29 years of impressive educational experience as a teacher, 11 and a half of them as a Headteacher. Hayley is no stranger to Pontefract as she was born in the town and even attended Larks Hill Junior & Infant School as a child before emigrating to South Africa.
Hayley was previously Executive Head at The Federation of Rawcliffe Bridge and Rawcliffe Primary Schools and was attracted to the role of Headteacher at Halfpenny Lane because of the schools values and ethos and relished the idea to be part of a strong and progressive trust. Hayley said: “I’m looking forward to getting to know everyone – staff, pupils and families. Making sure the children continue with their effective ‘lockdown recovery’ and working with staff, pupils and parents to plan for next year which will hopefully involve a return to ‘normality’ and some exciting and inspiring learning experiences.”
Over the past year, Hayley has been teaching herself to play piano which she continues to enjoy in her spare time. Hayley is also an avid reader and has a wide range of favourite children’s books which include: ‘The Jolly Postman’, Allan Ahlberg; ‘Holes’, Louis Sachar; ‘The Secret Garden’, Francis Hodgson Burnett; ‘Charlotte’s Web’, E.B White.
Tom Fay, Director of Primary Education at Pontefract Academies Trust said: “We’re absolutely delighted to welcome Hayley to the Trust and are confident that she will help us with our mission to improve the life chances of the children and young people in our communities. Hayley shares our passion for improving social mobility and wants to make a difference day in and day out.”