Mavis Grant
{{Short description|British teacher (born 1948)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Mavis Grant
| image =
| alt =
| caption =
| birth_name =
| birth_date ={{birth date and age|1948|02|1|df=y}}
| birth_place =
| death_date =
| death_place =
| nationality = British
| other_names =
| occupation = Teacher
| years_active =
| known_for =
| notable_works =
}}
Dame Mavis Grant, DBE (née Edgar; born 1948) is a retired British teacher.
Personal life
Born in 1948 to Joseph S. Edgar and his wife, Edna M. (née Hewson), she married Roger M. Grant in 1970. She attended the Northumberland College of Education and received a Certificate of Education and an Advanced Certificate in Education Studies. She began her teaching career in 1969; in 1978, she became Deputy Headteacher at Cowgate Primary School in Newcastle upon Tyne. In 1984, she moved to the city's Mary Trevelyan Primary School as head teacher, serving until 1999, when she took up the same role at Newcastle's Canning Street Primary School.
Career
Grant campaigned for security measures and protection in schools for teachers and students, and panic buttons (for summoning police) were installed in nearly all 120 schools in Newcastle.{{Cite news|title=Children of hate attack on two fronts: pupils sexually harass teachers|last=Hymas|first=Charles|date=27 March 1994|work=The Sunday Times|last2=Marks|first2=Adrian}} The campaign was prompted by an incident where Grant was assaulted by the mother of a pupil in 1991, who objected to a letter she had received regarding the student's behaviour.{{Cite news|title=Technology keeps the teacher's door open|last=Hymas|first=Charles|date=28 November 2003|work=The Sunday Times}}{{Cite news|title=Modern morality 2: best practice: case 2: They're tackling truancy together|last=Hetherington|first=Peter|date=3 November 1996|work=The Observer|page=27}} The assault resulted in a prosecution and suspended sentence.{{Cite news|title=To sir, with love - a panic button|last=Strickland|first=Sarah|date=30 December 1993|work=The Independent - London}}
In March 1994, she highlighted the importance of mutual respect in managing students, and noted concerns around budget cuts and limited student access to educational psychologists.{{Cite news|title=Schools report - sad, bad and heading for a fall|last=O'Connor|first=Maureen|date=13 March 1994|work=The Observer}} Grant retired from teaching in 2008.[http://www.ukwhoswho.com/view/article/oupww/whoswho/U17871 "Grant, Dame Mavis"], Who's Who 2017 (A & C Black; online edition, Oxford University Press, November 2016); retrieved 18 November 2017.
Recognition
In 1998, the Mary Trevelyan Primary School trialed a new project as part of the national literacy strategy, organised by Education Secretary David Blunkett. The school scored a dramatic improvement in reading standards, and Grant was singled out for her good leadership in the initiative.{{Cite news|title=Reading revolution|last=Garner|first=Richard|date=31 December 1998|work=Mirror|page=29}} In January 1999, she said it was the most successful project during her time at the school,{{Cite news|title=Reading scheme heading for a happy ending|last=Brace|first=Alison|date=10 January 1999|work=The Sunday Times}} and in February that same year, Ofsted named it as one of England's "most-improved schools".{{Cite news|title=Pushing back boundaries for school governors|last=Tytler|first=David|date=5 February 1999|work=The Times|page=43}}
In 1999, she was appointed a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire "for services to education".[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/special_report/1998/06/98/queens_birthday_honours/366667.stm "The Queen's Birthday Honours: Civil List – CBE, GBE, DBE and KBE"], BBC News, 12 June 1999. Retrieved 18 November 2017. Her DBE was recognition for her work as head teacher at Mary Trevelyan Primary School, which was situated in a deprived area of Newcastle; 88% of its pupils were entitled to free school meals. The appointment also recognised her work as a government adviser policy and curriculum matters, including a curriculum review on teaching citizenship. She was also appointed by the Department for Education to an independent inquiry into the marking of the 1999 SATs tests for 11-year-olds.[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/special_report/1999/06/99/queens_birthday_honours/367048.stm "'Ordinary headteacher' made a dame"], BBC News, 12 June 1999; retrieved 18 December 2017.
References
{{Reflist|30em}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grant, Mavis}}
Category:Schoolteachers from Tyne and Wear