Mrs A Yilmaz (Head Teacher)

I have been in the privileged position of being Headteacher of Riverside Primary School since January, 2011.

I qualified as a teacher in 1992 with a Bachelor of Education degree with Honours. I was one of the first students to graduate from the newly formed Northumbria University.

After beginning my career in Cambridgeshire, I spent five years teaching in London, firstly in Westminster and then Lambeth before returning to my native North East.

I began my career at this school as a Year 6 teacher at Meadow Well Primary School in 1998, then was promoted to Deputy Headteacher in 2000 and we then relocated to the current site next to the Riverside Centre.

As Headteacher, I work closely with the Senior Leadership team to lead the strategic direction of the school as decided by the Governing Body. Together with Governors, we decide on priorities for the School Improvement Plan and address the strategies for school improvement through rigorous self evaluation.

What I value most about the role of Headteacher is ensuring we meet the needs of our pupils, our families and the community. What I find most reassuring about what we do is welcoming the children of those pupils I taught in Year 6 at Meadow Well Primary all those years ago!

Stephen Lonsdale (Chair of Governors)

I was elected as a co-opted governor at Riverside in February 2019.  I am currently Head of a primary school in Newcastle upon Tyne after having worked in North Tyneside as a class teacher and Specialist Leader of Education and Bradford as Vice Principal of an inner-city school.

As governor at Riverside, I am able to draw from my own experiences of working in a number of schools to both support and challenge the leadership team.  I am committed to securing high standards and outcomes for all children, regardless of background, a vision that I share with all stakeholders at Riverside.

Nicki Garner (Co-opted Governor)

My name is Nicki Garner and I am currently the Locality Manager for the Central team based in the Riverside Children Centre. I also have overall responsibility for the Ready for School Centre which is based in the Riverside Centre.

I qualified as a Nursery Nurse in 1981. In 2010 I graduated with a 1^st Class Honours degree in Early Years Professional studies, and in 2015 I successfully completed the National Professional Qualification for Integrated Centre Leadership (NPQICL).

I have worked in Local Authority day care since 1981 and until 2015 I managed the Riverside Nursery working in close partnership with parents and other professionals to support families in our Community.

I decided that I would like to be a local authority governor for Riverside Primary School as I work in the Riverside Children Centre and as we are neighbours we work with many of the same children and families from our local community. 

Being a governor will help us all work together to support families better. I have been appointed as the Safeguarding governor for Riverside and am looking forward to meeting both children and families within this role.

Karen Baldwin (Parent Governor)

I am Mum to Eva who joined Riverside Nursery in 2016 and who is now in Year 2.

Almost 2 years ago, I became a volunteer parent reader, helping and listening to all of the children read throughout the school. Since the summer of 2019, what started out as an hour or two every week has now become 4 afternoons throughout the lower years and a little extra working 1-1 in the mornings and I thoroughly enjoy every moment of it!  There isn’t a prouder moment, knowing that I have encouraged a child to read at both school and home, when I hear them talking about their new book in the school yard.

In July 2019, I then became a Parent Governor. It’s a role I was very nervous about, especially attending our first meeting, but I soon felt welcome and realised I had nothing to be nervous about. As a Parent Governor, I hope I can always help make the best decisions and help keep our school as good as it is, if not better.

I left school with 3 GCSE’s and have NVQs in Business Administration and Door Management.  I have also completed the ‘Ready to Go - Caring for Children’ course through Adult Learning in 2016 and a Safeguarding course in September 2019, both of which gave me a better understanding of young children. I am very interested in furthering my learning and hope to embark on another training course in the future which I believe will support me even more in my role as a Parent Governor of Riverside Primary School.  

Karen Ampleford (Parent Governor)

I am a full time mother to four children, the youngest two of which are both pupils at Riverside Primary School. I became a parent at Riverside in January 2015 when my son, who has recently left Riverside for High School, joined Year 2.

Moving to North Tyneside from a small rural village was quite intimidating and choosing the right school for my son, who was used to a very small school of only 38 pupils, was very important to me. From the very first visit, Riverside’s calming and welcoming atmosphere left a very positive imprint on me and  I am as confident now as I was then that I made the right choice for my children.

I left school with 9 GCSE's and went on to study A - Level Literature, Philosophy and Psychology. I then went on to enjoy a career within the Care Sector and hold a NVQ Level 3 in Promoting Independence in Vulnerable Adults.

Over the last two years, I have been a Parent Helper at Riverside, listening to and supporting children with reading. I currently commit to two afternoons per week working with KS2 classes - and it is something that truly gives me a lot of pleasure... the children at Riverside are such a fantastic bunch! Reading is something I believe to be very important. Being able to read well will not only help our children in every subject they are taught throughout their education but is also very important in their future adult lives. I love engaging with the children over their latest book, and being able to give them the support and the encouragement they need to develop their reading skills is something I take great personal pride in.

I am very fond of Riverside Primary School and becoming a Parent Governor recently (October 2019) is something I'm very excited about. Having only attended one meeting so far,  I have been left fascinated by how the robust team of governors discuss at length and scrutinise the integral running of the school to ensure the best outcomes are achieved for all our children here at Riverside.

I look forward to the years ahead as part of this team and take my commitment within this role very seriously.