Modest Nikki has been a true inspiration

LEAVING on a high . . . outgoing PRU head Nikki Shaw (right) and her successor Lynda Thompson

A DEDICATED head teacher who helped make Oldham’s Pupil Referral Unit one of the best in the country is leaving.

Nikki Shaw is departing after 12 years in which the PRU has transformed the lives of some of the borough’s most vulnerable pupils — from excluded youngsters to teenage mums.

She is setting up her own education consultancy company to local authorities — called Nikki Shaw Ltd — while spending more time with her family. One of her deputies, Lynda Thompson, is taking over at the unit, believed to be one of the first in the country to sweep the board with top grades of “outstanding” in an Ofsted inspection last year.

Pupils who have been excluded from school, are at risk of exclusion, or have social, emotional and behavioural difficulties attend a pupil support centre in Broadbent Road, Watersheddings, while pregnant girls, young mums and pupils with mental-health problems attend a specialist learning centre in Dean Street, Failsworth.

Inspectors said its GCSE results are exceptionally high for a PRU and rising annually. Mrs Shaw was praised for her outstanding vision.

The unit went on to win a Pride in Oldham award.

Modest Mrs Shaw (47) said: “I’m fortunate to be leaving on such a high.

“Pride was such a high accolade and I was so flattered. There’s nothing better than being nominated for something by the people you work with.

“I have to be grateful for the people around me who made it possible. You are only as good as the team around you and our staff have been outstanding.

“I feel very mixed emotions. I’m sad to be leaving but also excited to be embarking on a new career opportunity. I’m really confident the PRU will continue to go from strength to strength.”

Mrs Shaw has worked for Oldham Council for 20 years, as a teacher at Werneth and Alexandra Park junior schools before joining the PRU in 1998, two years after it formed and was then known as the Pupil Re-instatement Service.

It had six members of staff at the time — now there’s 90.

Mrs Shaw added: “It’s an example of the investment from Oldham Council in vulnerable children. I have had an absolutely fantastic career in teaching and working directly with children and their families.”

Mrs Shaw says working 12 to 14 hours a day is not sustainable long-term and she wants to spend more time with husband Gordon, an Oldham Sixth Form College teacher, and their three sons.

She thanked everyone who has supported her, particularly Councillor Kay Knox and PRU senior deputy head Chris Peirson.

Councillor Knox paid tribute to Mrs Shaw’s energy and enthusiasm.

“She was an absolutely inspirational head teacher and will be missed but we feel very sure it is in very capable hands.”

Pupils will move into a new £4.7 million school in Chadderton in 2013 under Oldham’s £230 million Building Schools for the Future programme.