Geoff Moorcroft has been appointed by the Department of Education as a Primary School Appointment Adviser.
Mr Moorcroft joins the advisory team at St George’s Court on a three-year secondment from April 2010.
The position first become available when Martin Barrow was appointed Head of the Education Improvement Service/Senior Adviser in January 2009.
Mr Barrow's previous role, Co-ordinating Adviser for Primary Education, was similar but not identical in scope to the one taken up by Mr Moorcroft.
Mr Moorcroft has been seconded on a part-time basis over the last two years with a remit to develop work that promotes children’s thinking and reasoning skills and he will maintain this responsibility while also overseeing provision for Newly Qualified Teachers, acting as a Link Adviser to a group of schools and coordinating approaches to curriculum development in primary schools.
Mr Moorcroft started his teaching career at Rushen Primary School. He moved to become the Deputy Head of Scoill Phurt le Moirrey in Port St Mary when it opened in 1994 and took over as the school’s Headteacher when the previous Head, Carole Best, retired in 2006. He has also undertaken several other secondments to the Department of Education.
He will relinquish the headship and the Department will shortly advertise for a replacement at the 140 pupil school.
Originally from Liverpool, Mr Moorcroft came to live in the Isle of Man in 1989. He is married, with three children and enjoys travel, walking, reading and the theatre.
Mr Moorcroft said of his appointment, "I am very much looking forward to this exciting opportunity. It will be difficult to leave Scoill Phurt le Moirrey – everyone there has worked hard to create a thriving school community – but the challenges of this new post are important ones and I know I will enjoy supporting schools, to provide the best possible opportunities for pupils."
Mr Barrow commented, "Geoff has been a respected and successful headteacher and he brings that experience to his new role, together with a track record of developing innovative approaches to learning both in a school context and also through developing the Philosophy for Children model across all phases of education on the Island.
"His appointment also allows us to streamline the advisory team by removing the need to employ external consultants from the UK on a regular basis."
