Emma, Our Joyful Explorer

Every now and then, someone joins a school who makes you stop and think differently about what education could look like. For us, that person was Emma.

She didn’t come to us as a teacher. She came as an occupational therapist, working in our school as a counsellor. From the start she had a fantastic connection with the Trekkers. She knew instinctively what could be done. She could see past the bureaucracy, past the paperwork and the boxes that had to be ticked to unlock funding, and straight into what would actually make a difference for the kids.

“She could see past the bureaucracy and into what really mattered for the kids.”

A spark that couldn’t be ignored

Emma’s sense of joy for working with children was obvious. The way she worked with the younger ones, especially, was remarkable. They felt seen, supported, and understood. It was what juniors need the most as they begin their learning journeys.

One day, in the middle of a discussion about the future of the school, I asked her almost off the cuff: “Have you ever thought about being a teacher?”

You could see it land. She was taken aback at first. But then she thought deeply. And then she got serious.

We did the research and discovered she could train while working in our school. So she did. She studied at night, after her own children were in bed. She worked in classrooms during the day. She balanced being a mum, a counsellor, and a trainee teacher all at once.

It was relentless, but she carried it with determination and grace.

Becoming a teacher

After a year of study and practice, Emma qualified as a beginning teacher. She started her first six months with us teaching the seniors, before successfully applying for and winning the permanent junior teacher role in our school.

That is not just a career shift. That is a life shift. And it speaks to Emma’s courage, her perseverance, and her belief that working with children is a calling worth reshaping her life for.

She did not take the easy path. She chose the demanding one, the one that asked her to sacrifice evenings, weekends, and family time. And in doing so, she has given the school a teacher who understands not just the curriculum, but the children at the heart of it.

Believing the best

In her classroom now, Emma believes the best in every child. She carries a positivity that is infectious. She wants the Trekkers to succeed, and she makes learning exciting. A walk through the school boundaries can become an adventure. A simple moment can spark a story. She helps the children see their own world as full of wonder.

This is not just teaching. This is joy.

“She turns ordinary moments into adventures and stories.”

And that joy is not trivial. For juniors, joy is the gateway to learning. If they can delight in the world, if they can feel safe and excited, then reading, writing, and counting become invitations instead of hurdles. Emma knows this instinctively, and she builds it into her practice every day.

The challenge

Emma’s journey also makes me reflect on the wider challenge facing education. The further you go through the system, the more prescriptive it becomes. There is more paperwork. More bureaucracy. More rules about how things must look. It is the same in many professions.

But what schools, workplaces, and families really need are people who can see past the forms and boxes, and instead focus on what actually makes a difference. We need people who are willing to think differently, to carry joy, to bring imagination into spaces where bureaucracy so easily crushes it.

Emma is one of those people. She reminds us that leadership is not about following prescriptions, but about seeing possibility. It is about knowing when to meet the requirement, but also when to step outside the lines to do what is right for the children in front of you.

“Leadership is not about prescriptions, it is about seeing possibility.”

A personal reflection

For me, Emma is a reminder that sometimes the best teachers don’t begin their careers in classrooms. They begin by caring. By listening. By noticing. They begin by working with children and finding joy there.

And when you see that spark, you have to make space for it. Because when someone like Emma steps into teaching, schools become richer places.

She is now a permanent part of our team, a permanent junior teacher, and a permanent reminder of why we do this work.

Maybe that’s the lesson: that joy, imagination, and belief in children are not extras to teaching. They are the heart of it. And Emma carries them with her every day.