Nominated Date - 17-01-2025
Nominee Name - Christine Hawkes
Nominee Service - Bythams School Deputy Safeguarding Lead - Thrive Practitioner
Nomination Details
Christine first joined The Bythams School last year when my daughter was in Year 1.
She is now in Year 2 and during this time Christines support has helped my daughter and my family so much and has gone above and beyond. She is thoughtful and caring which is demonstrated by her quick thinking to implement practical support and access all resources available to really help families in need.
She has helped in creating a wonderful environment for the children at The Bythams School. The "Thrive Hive" is the name of the sensory support room and a place my daughter attends at the school where Christine is able to help regulate my daughters emotions.
I feel Christines support with my daughters emotional regulation has helped her to engage in her learning as she's come on amazingly this year. The way Christine is able to spend time with the children to understand what is really going on is vital to the children's wellbeing and helps them to process emotional challenges and help them to feel secure in themselves and regulated to learn.
I'm amazed by the range of resources and techniques she uses to achieve this, all with the purpose of helping the children to thrive. Christine used her initiative to set up a food bank at the school as she noted some rural families struggled to get supplies in also due to the cost of living.
As my village has no transport to the school, on days when I'm unwell to drive due to my own health conditions, Christine takes my daughter to school and has used provisions to fund breakfast and after school club for my daughter when needed at short notice which has been a lifeline for myself. Her empathy towards the children and families at Bythams is life changing. She knows when things aren't ok and acts quickly to support in any way she can.
Christine goes above and beyond in her role on a daily basis and without her I fear my daughter would have not been able to cope being in a mainstream school. Another example being that, my daughter was very attached to her school coat she'd had for years, but sadly the zip had broken and it was becoming too small for her.
Christine kindly offered to use the furry hood to create a keepsake toy for my daughter which she absolutely adores and I'm so grateful to Christine for taking the time to do this for my daughter which was extremely thoughtful of her. Her support following my daughters community paediatrician referral has been outstanding.
Christine has met with myself and my daughter for both of my daughters appointments even on her days off. She genuinely cares and her support, initiative and professionalism helped both my daughter and myself. Her dedication to understanding the process of the referral is truly admirable and her initiative to take my daughter out of ear shot when the community paed asked some personal and adult questions was very much respected and appreciated. I fear, my daughter would have absorbed inappropriate information or I would have been unable to answer appropriately otherwise.
I simply cannot commend her enough which is why I feel strongly about nominating her for this award after everything she has done and continues to do in her role at The Bythams School assisting my daughter, myself, all the children and families and even the wider rural community doing all she can to help others.
In the space of time she's been at the school, she has helped on countless times, certainly too many to list in this typing box! Thank you Christine