National Success For Oor Sheelagh

One of our recently retired members of staff has scooped a prestigious national award.

Sheelagh Rusby, who has nearly four decades of experience in education and learning roles ranging from home economics teacher to quality improvement officer received the Gold winner Award for Lifetime Achievement at the 2023 Pearson National Teaching Awards, considered the 'Oscars' of the teaching profession, held in London last weekend.

Sheelagh was nominated and selected as the gold award winner amongst thousands of nominees based on her inspirational teaching, contributions to her school and community, and influence among colleagues, as assessed by judges.

Sheelagh dedicated her working life to education before she retired this year. She started her career as a home economics teacher in the Western Isles, where she was instrumental in developing the subject’s curriculum. Throughout her career, she developed home economic qualifications that were delivered through four different Scottish exam systems, published a book chapter and contributed to the Scottish Educational Research Association Conference twice. Sheelagh championed community schools, enterprising schools, rural skills, and developed the young workforce before these terms became part of the more recent educational ‘lingo’. Here at Dumfries and Galloway Council, she created the “Savour the Flavour” programme which brought chefs into schools to deliver masterclasses. Within a year, six chefs were teaching practical cookery and hospitality skills to young people across the council. Her most recent role was supporting the education system through Local Authority and Regional Improvement Collaboratives.

The awards celebrate the transformative impact of education, shining a spotlight on the pivotal roles of teachers, support staff, colleges, schools and early years educators.

Chairman of Dumfries and Galloway Council’s Education & Learning Committee, Cllr Richard Brodie said:

“This is an amazing achievement, to be considered the best in the UK is something Sheelagh should be immensely proud of. Sheelagh was a dedicated, hard-working and extremely valued member of our teaching profession for a long time here in D&G and oversaw many changes in the way the school day and examinations are delivered. I wish Sheelagh all the best for her retirement, it is richly deserved.”

Vice Chair, Cllr Maureen Johnstone echoed Richard’s comments. She said:

“Sheelagh is an inspiration to everyone she worked with. In our original application for the award, we made a short film for Sheelagh, and the way her former pupils and colleagues speak about Sheelagh, in such high esteem is a key guide as to how well thought of she is within education and learning circles. This is rightful recognition of an outstanding career.

You can see the original film we put together as part of the application pack at https://youtu.be/hBBUQZcOei4