Dear Umberleigh families,
Some weeks ago, with the heaviest heart, I accepted the resignation of Miss Smith from her role as Head of School at Umberleigh. She has already written to you to explain her desire to focus entirely on teaching and I know many of you have sent your best wishes to her. I know there will be some lucky children benefitting from her passion, energy and expertise in the near future.
Finding this special school a worthy successor has been a focus of TEAM and I am delighted to confirm that Mr Ben Hookes was appointed to the role of Head of School just before the half-term break.
Mr Hookes has most recently been a School Improvement Lead at Woolacombe School, and his passion for Umberleigh school was obvious and inspiring. It is a school much like the one he attended, and he impressed Governors and Trustees with his knowledge of the school and vision for the future. I also got some very positive feedback from your children, who described him as “kind”, “funny” and “someone who loves nature”. I was also reassured that Miss Smith described him as the perfect person to hand over to.
Mr Hookes is looking forward to coming in over the next half-term to get to know the school and starting formally in September. He will write to you soon to introduce himself and I would like to warmly welcome him to our family of TEAM schools, where I am sure he will be very happy.
All my very best,
Dan Polak
Acting CEO
