Gurpreet Kaur - Head Teacher

Gurpreet Kaur, Head Teacher, Nishkam Primary School, has 13 years of experience gained in schools in Scotland and the West Midlands. With a background as a Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator, a Newly Qualified Teacher (NQT) mentor, Assistant Headteacher, Mathematics Co-ordinator and a Behaviour lead, she has developed and strengthened her skills and knowledge in teaching and learning and leadership.

Gurpreet joined Nishkam Primary School when it opened in 2011 and has supported the growth of the school and strengthened the partnerships the school has with parents and the wider community.  
As a Headteacher, Gurpreet’s priority is to ensure the highest quality of education so that all children, regardless of their starting points, receive the very best offer. This drive has helped to ensure that our children achieve well and make substantial progress from their starting points.

Gurpreet is a firm believer that everyone should strive for excellence in academia as well as personal and spiritual development which sits at the heart of our Nishkam vision and permeates throughout the school.

Mrs Cooke - Deputy Head teacher

Mrs Cooke, Deputy Head teacher, Nishkam Primary School, Mrs Cooke has 13 years of experience gained in both faith and non-faith schools across the West Midlands.

Studying Initial Teacher Training for 4 years at Newman University, Mrs Cooke gained a wealth of pedagogical understanding and practice. With her academic background in English and the arts, and her wealth of knowledge within pedagogical practices, she began her early stages of her career being a creative and inspiring KS2 practitioner.

With experience teaching across all key stages and a drive and passion for high quality teaching and education, Mrs Cooke naturally moved into leadership. As well as leading a range of subjects, such as Science, Art, Maths and outdoor learning, Mrs Cooke also managed a team of staff as a Key Stage 2 Phase Leader before becoming an Assistant Headteacher. Alongside her teaching and leadership roles, Mrs Cooke was a Specialist Leader of Education with Blue Sky Teaching Alliance in Coventry.  Through this system leadership, she provided external training, support and consultancy work to other schools in the West Midlands in ‘Mastery Maths’. 

In 2018, Mrs Cooke joined Nishkam Primary School Birmingham as an Assistant Headteacher. Currently, Mrs Cooke is the Deputy Headteacher and SENCO of Nishkam Primary School Birmingham. This role has enabled her to lead on curriculum development and Special Educational Needs within the school, and to be part of a successful senior leadership team who strive for excellence through the Trust’s vision of a faith-inspired, virtues-led education.

Mrs Cooke personally believes that teaching is a vocation and a service to others. She believes that schools should have a holistic approach to education; where children should achieve and excel not only academically, but socially, personally and spiritually. A philosophy that she has held greatly throughout her career is: “When there is joy in what they are doing, they learn to love learning.” Mrs Cooke believes children should enjoy their education and will reach excellence through this love of learning. 

Mrs E Glypti - Assistant Head Teacher

Mrs E Glypti, Assistant Head Teacher, Nishkam Primary School, Mrs Glypti is an experienced teacher with a 17-year teaching background gained in schools in Greece and the West Midlands. During this time, she has successfully raised pupils’  academic achievements, led a variety of subjects such as Maths, Art, DT and Outdoor learning, introduced new curriculums, promoted whole school initiatives and volunteered as a parent governor in an Outstanding Secondary School.

Gaining a degree in English Language and Literature, Mrs Glypti began her early stages of her career being an EFL practitioner; therefore, she developed a real passion for a pedagogical philosophy of taking a hands-on and enthusiastic approach to teaching and creating a learning environment that is characterised by empathy, mutual support and, above all, inclusion of all pupils and opportunities to develop their cultural capital.

In her previous role as a Curriculum Co-ordinator and KS2 Phase Leader, Mrs Glypti has a proven track record of successfully improving learning and teaching to continually sustain positive outcomes for students. Amongst other initiatives, as a trained Forest School and Outdoor Learning Practitioner, she supported the school to achieve Platinum Status for the Sustainable Schools Programme in Birmingham.

Mrs Glypti is a strong supporter of Nishkam’s educational ideals: the focus on academic and spiritual excellence and the balanced education of the child as a whole. The virtues-led ethos and the strong sense of community between students, parents, teachers, and administration is what makes Nishkam a special place to teach. She is looking forward to a long career at Nishkam as part of the community.

Sophie Worthington - Assistant Headteacher

Mrs S Worthington, Assistant Head Teacher, Nishkam Primary School, Sophie started her journey as a class teacher in Leeds. As a consistently outstanding practitioner, she was used as a model of outstanding practice both within the school she was teaching and by other schools in the local area from as early as her NQT year.  A year later Sophie relocated to Nottingham where she was appointed as a Year 6 Teacher, Key Stage Two Co-Ordinator and English Lead. In her role as Key Stage Two and English Lead, Sophie was a driving force when implementing the new National Curriculum objectives and with the design of the school assessment system and has a track record for improving the progress and attainment of pupils in Reading and Writing.

Shortly after starting, Sophie was asked to work within the local authority where she was able to introduce, share and support with the implementation of effective strategies to improve teaching and learning in not only her school, but other schools across Nottinghamshire.

As part of this role, Sophie was regularly observed by other professionals from within the local authority to share outstanding practice and support their development as teachers.

As a Specialist Leader of Education (SLE) Sophie continued to support various schools in developing their practice. In addition, Sophie was asked to speak at one of Nottinghamshire’s largest teach meets – where over 30 primary schools attended- sharing her expertise on Assessment for learning (AFL) and questioning, feedback and marking and leaders of learning.

In addition to her SLE role, Sophie was lucky enough to be put forward as a knowledgeable teacher; delivering training through the Raising Achievement Network which specialised in marking and feedback. Sophie was observed by other practitioners regularly over the course of six months to help develop aspiring middle leaders.

As a reflective practitioner, Sophie strives to continually develop whilst facilitating and learning from others. Education is ever changing, and teachers need to lead from the front and not be afraid to take risks. Sophie believes that fostering a love of learning amongst children, and adults alike, is an essential part of her role and fundamental for the development of teaching and learning.