For me the best thing about my job at Teacher Support Network is getting to meet the very people we support - teachers. So last night was a good opportunity for me to meet with the newly qualified teachers beginning their career in Sutton.

This was home territory for me having lived in Sutton for the three years so it was great to be able to hear all about the success of the authority and find out about all the ways they support new teachers.

For most of them it has been their first week in school, so it was a surprise to see so many people there - if only to take advantage of the free food and wine! Talking to them you can see how enthusiastic they are and how excited they are to finally be in the classroom.

Along with a quiz about the area we also heard from Kirsty Jerome the Executive Councillor for Schools and Education. Clearly proud of the success of Sutton schools Councillor Jerome took the opportunity to publicly thank all the teachers and headteachers of Sutton for all the hard work they do.

This is brilliant to hear as often I think people forget the massive contribution teachers make to society. I hope getting this encouragement and acknowledgment so early in their careers made the new teachers realise how valued they are.