I am a skilled English teacher and school leader with over 13 years of experience teaching in secondary schools across Manchester and Salford.I began my career on TeachFirst in 2009. I graduated with my PGCE in 2010 and a Masters in Education and Leadership from The University of Manchester in 2012. From middle management experience (five years as Head of English) to whole school initiatives (four years as an assistant head teacher) I have experience in identifying achievement gaps, creating strategic plans to plug them, monitoring progress and evaluating impact.My strengths lie in improving teaching and learning, improving pupil outcomes for subgroups and/or cohorts and developing and delivering department/ whole-school strategic improvement plans. My passion lies in my ultimate belief that everyone deserves the absolute best from their schooling, and that no child should be disadvantaged because of their socio-economic background. I have a personal and professional interest in English Literature and want all children to experience the joy of reading and to be able to communicate their own ideas. I am a Secondary English specialist with experience in developing a challenging and diverse curriculum to engage learners and develop cultural capital and utilizing assessment and metacognition to enhance learning. I have loved working with and writing for Oxford University Press in the development of their Smart Curriculum.Examples of how I have successfully driven whole school improvement through literacy are available through my featured links.I've consulted with a number of organisations such as Teach First and worked in schools in conjunction with Keynotes Education to contribute resources and training on literacy and strategic approach to curriculum planning and assessment.I am a director at The Story Project: supporting the strategic development of the program as we grow our reach into more schools and developing the secondary program of this exciting company with the aim of supporting students to develop literacy skills and their own mental health and wellbeing. I am proud to be an active participant of the Be Her Lead community to promote the aspiration of girls in secondary education. I have a keen interest in the developing secondary offerings of the RSE curriculum to ensure it is relevant, inclusive and supports the needs of young people.I'm a keen education writer too, so please get in touch if I can contribute to your publication or connect to hear how I can support your school's needs.Email: sarah.eggleton@teachfirst.org.uk