I feel extremely privileged to have become a Parent Governor at Sandridge School this year, where both of my children started in Nursery and Reception September 2018.

Since my children started their education at Sandridge School, I have been overwhelmed by the encouragement and enthusiasm the teachers show towards the children, and parents, creating not only a lovely environment for them to learn in, but also a real sense of community spirit.

I believe that an effective Governing Body is vital to a school’s success, and as a parent I want to help and support the school as much as I can, to promote the interests of all the children within Sandridge School.

I have lived locally in Sandridge for the most of my life, and I am in touch with many parents at the school. My career when I left school was in the Marketing, Creative Design and Fashion, and Sales industry, but now I have chosen to be a full-time Mum. I hope that some of my skills will be useful to the Governing Body, providing the support they require to achieve outstanding results for the school.

I strive to be honest, hard working and sincere, aiming for excellence in all that I do, and I want to inspire the children, staff and parents at Sandridge to continue to excel in their education and work within the community. As a Parent Governor, I believe that our School staff and parents and the local community all have the same interests in creating an outstanding Primary School for the children.

The future success of Sandridge School is within our hands… let’s all ensure we provide and build a foundation of success for our children, and future generations and give the school as much support as possible.

I became a Governor of Sandridge Primary School in November 2018.

I have a genuine interest in the education sector through from primary to higher education.  I am a senior lecturer at the University of Hertfordshire and volunteer as a business mentor for Young Enterprise, a charity supporting school aged children to develop personal and business skills.  I have young children of my own currently going through the primary system, thus I have a strong understanding of the critical importance of the education environment to the development of young people and I am delighted to be able to contribute my skills to the role of Governor.

I also bring commercial and business skills to the board, I am qualified accountant with a professional background in business advisory work.

Originally from South Africa, I have made London my home for the last 19 years. Here, I have become a highly experienced, CIMA qualified senior finance professional with a proven track record of success in delivering team restructures, process improvement and system implementations. I now use these operational and strategic skills to provide coaching and mentoring to create and maintain effective and efficient teams as well as individual coaching to professionals and executives. When I’m not in my office I can be found outdoors on the hockey pitch or training for my next challenge…I’ve completed the London marathon, climbed Kilimanjaro, Machu Picchu and Everest Base Camp.

I was delighted to be invited to join the school governors as a co-opted member as a great way for me to contribute to the school community.  I have two children at the school, both of whom are really enjoying their time here and are thriving thanks to the dedication of the teachers and the friendly, nurturing environment created by everyone involved with the school.

In my professional life I am Chief Financial Officer of Royal London Asset Management.  This gives me experience of working in a heavily regulated environment, that together with my accountancy skills, I hope to be able to apply in the role as a governor.  I also hope to be able to learn new skills from undertaking this role in a completely different sector.

Working full time, I’m not often around the school in the daytime but governorship will allow me to play a role in maintaining the high standards the school has set.

After a long association with Sandridge School, I became a Parent Governor in February 2022.

Having lived in the local community for over twenty years, I have seen the school continue to evolve. I have witnessed its drive for high standards whilst, at the same time, establishing a school culture which works hard to nurture pupils and build community. As a parent with two children currently attending the school, I look forward to supporting the work of the Governing Body.

Professionally, I have enjoyed a thirty year career in Primary Education, both training and working in Hertfordshire schools. For the majority of this time I have been part of or led Senior Leadership Teams, which has involved working extensively in partnership with Governing Bodies.

Having dedicated my career to Primary Education, I have a passion for this formative and crucial stage of a child’s learning journey.  I have been part of many school staff teams who, like the team at Sandridge, have always worked so hard to meet the needs of our young people. I am well versed with the ever changing educational landscape and the strategic vision required to ensure schools adapt to this. I look forward to using my experience to contribute to Sandridge School through the work of the Governing Body.