EPeeps Kelly Barron | Teacher Consultant Lead

Bonjour! I’m Kelly, and I’m a Teacher Consultant Lead at Education Perfect, based in Perth, Western Australia! I’m originally from the North West of England, resided in the Canary Islands as a tween, lived and worked in Germany and Spain for a year as part of my degree, and travelled around Australia as a young adult! After this fantastic travel adventure, I settled down and worked as a Languages Teacher just outside of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, was also Head of Year and Assistant Head Teacher, before having my first child, who is now 8 years old!

Following a few life-changing events, we decided to reignite the Aussie fire, and emigrated to beautiful Western Australia where I worked as a French Teacher and Head of Department at an all girls private school. 

I loved using EP as a teacher and thoroughly enjoyed seeing the positive impact it had on student learning; Students would regularly ask, ‘are we using EP in class today, Madame’? The flexibility, ability to personalise resources and the data provided were integral to my success in the classroom, but after 14 years of chalk and talk, I was ready for a new challenge, and excited about the possibility of spreading the EP love and having an impact on a wider audience! 

When I’m not at EP, I enjoy spending time with my two beautiful sons, the great outdoors, walking, travelling, socialising and a good pinot noir, with a side of cheese!!

Why do you love working at EP?

The people! We are so lucky to work alongside such talented, open-minded, hard-working and kind individuals. I also love that no one day looks the same and the ever-changing environment in which we work! The fact I can make a difference to a teacher’s day in a positive way, which then filters through to their students, is also extremely motivating for me. Finally, I really do feel supported at EP and hugely appreciate the many well-being offerings.

What does a typical day look like for you in your role?

I wake up around 6:30 am, check and reply to various comms, get ready, have a much-needed coffee and some breaky, and then start to work through my ‘to do’ list, whether that is engaging with team members or teachers, offering support and communication updates. I may then attend an online meeting/s, act on anything pertinent from there, and depending on the day, respond to more emails and then hit the phones to connect with schools. It may be a day I’m in a school delivering PD, or at a Conference, so I ensure I’m fully prepped and ready for that, and then away I go in the car!

Tell us your favourite teacher/student story

I once taught a disaffected student, who hated learning a language, but slowly, bit by bit, and with lots of blood, sweat and a few tears later, he eventually saw the benefits and realised he really could achieve in my subject. He excelled in his exams, went on to university to study French, and is now a French Teacher, in France, in an international school! Just brilliant!

Favourite feature of the platform?

Now that’s a toughy! It’s between the ease of creating high quality listening and speaking activities from scratch via EP Studio, or, the ability to personalise EP’s ‘off the shelf’ resources to suit the varying needs of individual students.

What is your secret talent?

I enjoy a bit of karaoke on the quiet, and have been told I’m not a bad singer 😉 but I won’t give up my day job just yet!!

Where is somewhere you’d like to visit?

I’ve done quite a lot of travelling around France, Spain and Germany, but I’d love to travel around Croatia. I once had a flying visit and promised myself I’d return, as it was simply beautiful!

What advice would you pass on to a younger version of yourself?

Everything happens for a reason, trust your instincts, take a leap of faith in yourself, don’t be scared to fail, be kind, and forgive, as life is short!