EYFS Team

Hello my name is Miss Rankin. I am the Early Years Leader at Ryecroft Academy. I have worked in EYFS for many years and have a wealth of experience supporting children in Reception and Nursery. I started teaching in 2015 and throughout my time in education I have taught in Year 1, 2 and Reception. I am passionate about learning through play and providing children with lifelong memories and experiences. Building positive relationships with both children and parents is essential to a child’s education and is something I always try to do when families join our school. I believe in creating a safe, secure and settled environment where families feel welcomed. This supports us in developing a sense of community as soon as our youngest children start with us. My favourite area of provision is the reading area. I love telling stories and bringing them to life with puppets and silly character voices! Teaching children to read is magical, seeing children progress in reading and begin to enjoy stories is truly rewarding. My role of ECT mentor enables me to support new teachers and help them to grow in confidence and be the best they can be. Sharing my knowledge and experience to support new teachers, and seeing them progress in their careers is a particular highlight. Outside of school I am a proud Mum to a 2 year old, my little girl Clara. We enjoy the great outdoors and love nothing more than exploring local parks and woods, and trips to the seaside. We enjoy messy play and crafting. I enjoy listening to music, walks along the canal and the occasional game of bingo with my friends to wind down.

Hello, my name is Mrs Baxter, and I am an Early Career Teacher at Ryecroft Academy. I work across both Early Years and Key Stage One and have extensive experience in both phases.

I began my journey at Ryecroft Academy seven years ago as a volunteer before progressing into a classroom Teaching Assistant role and later undertaking my teacher training. Throughout my time at the academy, I have developed a strong understanding of early childhood education and inclusive practice.

In addition, I have worked as a one-to-one support, gaining valuable experience supporting children with SEND and adapting provision to meet individual needs. This experience has strengthened my ability to create nurturing, inclusive learning environments where all children can thrive.

I love being part of the Ryecroft team. Every day brings new challenges and rewards, and we work closely together to ensure a safe, welcoming environment where every child feels valued and supported to flourish.

My favourite area within provision is the creative area. I believe that early mark-making is a fundamental part of a child’s development, and I love seeing how children’s confidence and skills progress over time. I also enjoy the reading area, where I encourage children to use their imaginations and create their own stories.

Outside of school, I have two very active children, so I usually spend my weekends on the sidelines of a hockey or football pitch cheering them on. In my spare time, I also enjoy hiking and going camping with my family.

My name is Mrs Broxholme and I have been an Early Years Professional at Ryecroft Academy for over six years. I really enjoy being part of a wonderful, dynamic team at Ryecroft. During my time here, I have also worked as a one to one support and a class TA, both roles being rewarding and enjoyable, with each day bringing a new challenge or experience.

My favourite things to do when in provision are arts and crafts, construction, anything musical and I love reading and sharing stories. I love to help the children learn through fun activities and encourage them to be independent in their learning. Supporting children to overcome barriers to learning and see them flourish is what I am passionate about. It is a privilege to be part of their learning journey.

Outside of school, I live with my husband and our two children, Noah and Florentina. We have a pet dog named Percy. Life is very busy with football practise, dancing, gymnastics but we love to relax together and will often enjoy days out to new places or old favourites. Having travelled, we love to keep the travelling bug going and share new experiences as often as we can, with Noah and Florentina.

Hello, my name is Mrs Cappleman. I am one of the Vice Principals at Ryecroft Academy. I started teaching in 2011 and I have worked within The GORSE Academies Trust since 2015. Whilst working for GORSE, I have worked at Hillcrest Academy and Ryecroft Academy, as well as working for the GORSE SCITT as Director of Early Years. I also work alongside the Early Years Leaders within the trust as the Primary Partnership Lead for Early Years. Throughout my career, the majority of my teaching has taken place across Early Years and Key Stage 1, however, within my leadership capacity, I have been fortunate enough to work alongside colleagues and lead on various areas of responsibility across the full primary age range.

Having a degree that specialises in early childhood development as well as spending most of my career teaching and leading early years teams, working with our youngest children and their families is a huge passion of mine. I am deeply committed to ensuring that every child receives the very best education and support from the very start of their time with us. I believe that developing positive relationships, creating strong foundations, a nurturing environment and an engaging, purposeful curriculum is key to helping all children succeed, both personally and academically. When teaching, I strive to create exciting, meaningful experiences that enable children to learn through hands-on, real-life opportunities, focusing on play based learning. I hope to inspire children and help them to develop positive attitudes, meaningful memories and strong foundations for lifelong learning.

My favourite area of provision is the home corner, I love engaging in imaginative play with children, allowing them to make sense of the world around them and recreate everyday experiences. This area helps children develop their sense of self, allows them to explore and build positive relationships with others and provides endless opportunities for early language development,

In my spare time I love spending weekends with my family, we enjoying visiting local parks, the coast, baking and doing anything creative.

Hello, my name is Miss Grayson and I am a qualified teacher currently working in Nursery. This is my third year at the academy, I have previously taught in Reception here and I am excited to be teaching Nursery this year. As well as in schools, I also have experience working with children 16-18 who are NEET (not in education employment or training) and football coaching.

My favourite lesson to teach is phonics, it is very rewarding watching the children learn all the letter sounds and eventually learning to read and write. During provision, I enjoy engaging in role play, encouraging children to explore different roles and characters. I also really enjoy anything creative; making stories, drawing and building, it is lovely to see what the children create with their imaginations. Early Years is my favourite phase to work in and it is amazing to see the children learn and flourish through play, it is a pleasure to be a part of their learning journey.

Outside of school I enjoy spending time with my family and going for long walks, we also enjoy camping. I love to read; I could spend all day reading a good book. I have also recently started painting, although I still need a lot of practice.

I am Mr Raine, the PE Teacher and School Sport Coordinator at Ryecroft Academy. Due to my role, I have the privilege of working across the academy delivering curriculum PE lessons to all year groups (Rec – Y6). I am incredibly passionate about physical education and sport and have thoroughly enjoyed working with our pupils over the last couple of years as they continue their physical development journey. Away from curriculum lessons, I am heavily involved in the running of our sporting extracurricular programme, including GORSE Games, Primary GORSE Volleyball League, Primary Karate Gradings and other sporting events and activities. Outside of school, I enjoy spending time outdoors, going for walks and exploring new places. I also have a keen interest in music where I can play a number of instruments.

Hello, my name is Miss Eccles. I am currently working in Nursery as a Level 3 Teaching Assistant, I really enjoy working with all the Friendly Frogs. Before I worked at Rycroft, I worked at a school in Halifax working with children from Nursery up to Year 6. This gave me lots of experience working within Early Years, however it was just too far away from where I live!

Working in Nursery, everyday is different. Each day is a new opportunity to really engage with the children using all the fantastic provision we have. It also gives us a chance to really build our learning up to be the best that we can be.

Outside of school, I love to go concerts all across the country and I love going to the cinema to watch new films (especially Marvel films). I also enjoy traveling to new places, in the UK or outside the UK.

Hello, name is Miss Brewis. I joined Ryecroft Academy in October 2023 working in Early Years as a Teaching Assistant. I have a level 3 qualification in Children’s Care, Learning and Development. I have worked in private day nurseries for many years with ages ranging from 3 months old to 5 years old. My passion is helping the young children grow and develop, helping them to learn new things & engage in new experiences. I’m also a parent to twin girls who also attend Ryecroft Academy. On our weekends, we enjoy swimming lessons and going out to explore new places, have fun with our friends and playing Uno on a Sunday evening with all our family. I'm looking forward to being a part of your children's development and helping them to become the very best they can be.

Hello, I'm Mrs Young and I am Level 3 teaching assistant working in Reception. I am a qualified teacher and have taught across all key stages throughout my career, but my favourite times have been working in EYFS. I began my teaching 29 years ago and spent the first 11 years working in London before moving up to Yorkshire 18 years ago. Since then, I have worked as a Reception teacher and have really enjoyed my time shaping the minds of the young children in my care. I am passionate about Early Years and the important role we play as practitioners in helping children build the building blocks they need to gain the most from their educational experiences. I value the importance of communication and see it as the most important tool we can equip our young people with as it underpins all other areas of learning. I'm excited about being part of the Ryecroft team and I'm looking forward to bringing my passion and experience to my new role.

Outside of school I enjoy walking, going to the theatre and getting lost in a good book. I'm married with two children, and we have three cats who keep me very busy and give the best cuddles!

Hi, my name is Miss Butler and I am a Teaching Assistant in Early Years. I have been a Teaching Assistant for 16 years, working with children from Nursery to Year 3 and I hold a Level 3 qualification.

My favourite area of provision in the classroom is the creative area. I love to make crafts with the children and seeing what they can create using their wonderful imaginations!

Outside of school, I am a mum of one. We enjoy being outdoors, going for long walks and visiting new places.

Hello, I'm Miss Bull, and I am a Teaching Assistant in Early Years. After spending the last 15 years in hospitality and management, I've found a new passion in the world of education. During the COVID-19 pandemic, I discovered my love for teaching and learning while homeschooling my daughter. Seeing her growth and development with the resources provided by her school inspired me to pursue a career in education, leading me to complete a Teaching Assistant diploma. Additionally, I am a certified First Aid at Work professional.

My passion lies in helping and inspiring the young minds of our future. I take pride in nurturing their work, efforts, and unique personalities as they grow and learn. I aim to bring joy to the classroom with my quirky outfits, cheerful personality, and artistic flair. Whether it's creating secret missions for our little agents or splashing paint onto paper, I love to make learning fun and engaging.

Outside of school, I enjoy spending time outdoors with my two daughters. We love going on walks, gardening, and crafting projects like window painting, making bird feeders, or building insect hotels.

Being a part of Ryecroft Academy as a Teaching Assistant has brought me immense happiness, and I’ve realised that this is truly my dream job.

Hi my name is Miss Shirtliff, I joined Ryecroft Academy as a Level 2 Teaching Assistant in January 2023, I have Experience in both Nursery and Ks1 since starting at Ryecroft.

I am really looking forward to working in Friendly Frogs and watching children grow and develop. I love all aspects on nursery, especially the creative area, I love seeing the children's faces of excitement when they have created a piece of art.

Outside of school I have two children ages 9 and 14, we love going on scenic walks and doing lots of fun activities together.

Hi, my name is Mrs Lian, I joined Ryecroft academy in 2023 and work as a HLTA throughout school and a SALT teaching assistant also. I am level 3 qualified and worked at a children's centre for 10 years with children aged 3 months to 5 years. I decided to take a break from working in childcare to raise my own family of 3 children.

Since my children all attend school now, I made the decision to start working again and I look forward to working at Ryecroft helping the children develop and grow throughout their first year in school. My favourite area to play in the classroom is in the creative area, I love being creative and making crafts with the children. Outside of school I love to bake with my children and we also enjoy going for family walks around the local area to parks and post hill.