Miss Sarah Cullen

Miss Sarah joined the Mini Dragons team at DBS in August 2023. She values the importance of creating a calm, safe and supportive environment where the children feel cared for, have a sense of belonging and develop an understanding of both their own emotions and those of others.  An important part of this is developing positive relationships with their families so we can all work together to help each child develop their confidence and independence as they start their school journey at DBS.

Miss Sarah was delighted to become Head of Mini Dragons in February 2024 and to lead such a wonderful team of teachers and learning assistants who all work so hard and always put the children’s wellbeing at the heart of everything they do.

Miss Sarah is originally from Bath in England.  After a career working on cruise ships and in hotels, Miss Sarah moved into teaching 22 years ago after the birth of her daughter.  She initially gained a teaching qualification in Further Education, but an opportunity to work in Early Years at the International School of Como, in Italy led to great passion for the early years.  She then returned to the UK where she completed her BA in Early Years with the Open University, and then gained her PGCE with Early Years Teacher Status at Bath Spa University in 2017, focussing on child development from birth to five years old. 

Throughout her career, Miss Sarah has always worked in schools with a large community of multilingual children and in her last setting was part of a team who worked on developing policy and practice in this area. 

At the beginning of 2023, Miss Sarah completed an MA in Professional Practice at Bath Spa University.  As part of her MA, Miss Sarah carried out an action research project into the benefits of promoting children’s physical activity in school and at home.  Then for her dissertation, she focused on the importance of sensory learning in child development, so she loves her classrooms to be full of opportunities for movement, music and sensory exploration.  The dissertation has broadened her understanding of the senses which she believes has enhanced her ability to attune to the unique characteristics of every child she works with.