Supply Teacher Of The Year Winner - Eddie Sarbeng

Eddie from Ghana has a background in teaching business studies and economics. But when he came to th

Supply Teacher Of The Year

Eddie Sarbeng

Nominated by Select Education, Reading

Eddies prestigious award was announced officially by the Recruitment and employment Confederation at a ceremony at the House of Commons on June 6th.

Eddie from Ghana has a background in teaching business studies and economics. But when he came to the UK in early 2005, he chose to teach in one of the more challenging environments in education a young offenders' institution.

In July 2005, Eddie started teaching basic literacy and numeracy skills and IT at an institution in Henley-on-Thames. With his mantra 'Show respect, gain respect', he has consistently shown enormous durability in a potentially hostile environment, his 'can-do' attitude making him extremely popular with fellow members of staff.

This approach resulted in one young offender seeking him out to shake his hand and to tell him he had done the right thing. This was after Eddie reported the boy for bullying which resulted in his removal to the institution's Intensive Support Unit, viewed by most of the offenders as a disciplinary measure.

Eddie, who lives in Bracknell, always finds new ways to motivate his pupils and in particular, he tells them how lucky they are living in the UK, because when living in Ghana, he had to walk three miles to school, often in bare feet.

'As Eddie moves from one education group to another, it means he is constantly building bridges, setting new boundaries and expectations with the young men in his charge,' says Select Education.

Congratulations Eddie!

Organised by the REC