The Roots team put children at the heart of all our decisions. From developing provision for children with SEN to curriculum design and implementation, we bring together a diverse set of skills to create educational excellence. We are always ready to make the changes needed to give children the start they deserve. Our headteachers, Gemma and Hayley, successfully federated the three nurseries resulting in the rapid improvement of one of the settings. They know how to make the tough decisions early years need to thrive. Find out more about them below
Executive Headteacher
Gemma Williamson
.jpg)
Gemma is an experienced leader who, prior to the Federation of the three Nursery schools, She was originally the sole Headteacher of Muriel Green Nursery School in St Albans. Gemma has vast experience in Early Years leadership. She led the Foundation Stage at Laurence Haines primary school in Watford and was selected by the Local Authority to be a Leading Teacher. In this role she supported other schools across the County with improving their Early Years provision. She took on the Headship at Muriel Green Nursery in 2017 and at the same time achieved the national SENDCo award (Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator) Gemma began working at Oxhey Early Years in a consultancy role in January 2021 supporting the Headteachers in post at the time. She then had the vision to offer an opportunity for Heath Lane Nursery school in Hemel Hempstead to work in a collaboration. Gemma sits on the governing bodies of two maintained primary schools in Hertfordshire to ensure that she is up to date with educational ….beyond the early years. She also sits on a number of boards representing the voice of maintained nursery schools. Gemma is the SENCo for the schools and takes a lead on the business side.
Consultancy Team
Annette Norris - Head of School (Oxhey)
Annette joins the Federation with a background spanning 22 years in education. However, she started her Early Years journey long before this, working in daycare nurseries in her hometown of Carlisle. Annette relocated to the South and has worked across three schools in Essex, In her first school she was promoted quite quickly to Early Years Phase Leader; in her second school she was employed as the Assistant Head teacher for Early Years and Key Stage1 and more recently a seven year Headship of a Primary School with Nursery attached. Annette is a passionate and dedicated leader, she comes from a long line of school development success. She has supported Primary schools and Early Years centres to ensure provision and education is of a high quality through training and development. Annette Joins the Federation as Head of School for Oxhey Nursery School.
Kirstie Viner - Head of School (Muriel Green)
.jpg)
Kirstie has been teaching for over 13 years across schools in both London and Hertfordshire. She specialises in the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) and has a wealth of experience working with young children at the very start of their learning journey. Throughout her career, Kirstie has taught in both Nursery and Reception classes, led Early Years provision as an EYFS Leader, and is an experienced Assistant Head Teacher. She is passionate about creating exciting, nurturing, and purposeful learning environments that give every child the best possible start to their education.
Clare Herbert- Head of School (Heath Lane) & Inclusion Leader
Clare has worked in primary education for over 20 years. She began her career in Newcastle and Atlanta, USA, although she has spent most of her time in Hertfordshire schools. She worked as a senior leader and head teacher in several schools. She has also worked to support teachers across schools in Hertfordshire as an Advanced Skills Teacher and a Continued Professional Development Lead.
Clare holds a doctorate in education from The University of Cambridge. Her research focuses upon school improvement, in particular developing professional capital through the Lesson Study cycle. She has supported many teachers to further their academic studies and has tutored on the HertsCam masters program.
Clare is passionate about inclusion and supporting children and their families to experience success. She prioritises this through her roles as Head of School at Heath Lane Nursery and Inclusion Leader for Roots Federation.
Central Team
Mandy West
Finance Manager
Mandy has worked in finance all her adult life and joined the federation administration team in September 2022 working across all three setting. Prior to this Mandy worked for a short period at Herts For Learning as a School Financial Adviser where she worked alongside both Muriel Green and Heath Lane Schools in addition to other schools in Hertfordshire. Before that she worked in industry where she spent the previous 27 year's working within the Finance Team at the Head Offices of a global engineering manufacturing company where she held the position of Head Office Accountant.
Michelle Shearer
Lead Administrator
With a diverse background spanning finance and admin roles in education and the mobile phone sector, I've spent the last 5 years mastering the art of catering. Beginning my journey at Woolworths, I've developed a wide spread set of skills to support the varied roles of the team within the Federation. Personally, I cherish my role as a mum to two boys and a proud houseplant enthusiast.
