Teaching assistant at Ightenhill Primary School retires after spending nearly four decades helping more than 1,000 Burnley children

Jayne Orr (née Gardner) said an emotional farewell to staff and pupils at Ightenhill Primary School earlier in the summer as they signed her overall to mark an end to 36 years’ continuous service.

Jayne, a member of Life Church, has taken early retirement at age 58 to help care for her 96-year-old mother.

Her husband Michael said: “Jayne has helped over 1,000 children in their education and she would like to say a great big thank you to them for making her career choice such a happy, funny and at times challenging 37 years. She also would like to mention all her colleagues who helped her along the way and gave her a very emotional and loving send off.”

As a child, Jayne was inspired to follow in her mum Pat Gardner’s footsteps and become a nursery nurse after helping out at the crèche where she worked at The Thompson's Centre in Burnley. After leaving school, she studied childcare at Burnley College for two years, landed her first job in a playgroup, then became a nanny in Read.

She later worked as a nursery nurse at Ightenhill Hill Primary School in 1987 where she remained until the end of her career.

Michael added: “She has many fond memories of working there, especially making friends with the children and helping them to become independent members in the classroom. Jayne made it fun to learn and had her own room set up so they could learn through play.

“She felt it was so rewarding to watch the children develop and eventually see them go off to big school. Jayne feels it was amazing when the children would recall their memories of times in the reception class and the fond memories they had. Even many years after they had left school, Jayne would get recognised around town and the children would ask how she was doing. Some of them even had children of their own, who also attended Ightenhill.

"If she had not taken early retirement at 58, Jayne is sure she would or could have been teaching grandchildren or even great-grandchildren of the first children she taught.”