Local Governing Body

I was elected as Parent Governor in June 2014. I have one son Robert who has gone all the way through Ambleside School from Nursery to year 6 and is now at Kendal College. Since he left the school my role has switched to one of a Foundation Governor. I was elected to the Chair of our Local Governing Body in 2018.

As Chair i regularly meet with Sarah Carrick and I really enjoy any opportunity to get into school and get involved with school life. We work closely with The Good Shepherd Trust.

I trained as a teacher at Charlotte Mason a long, long time ago and fell in love with Ambleside and never left! I taught Key Stage 1 in Coniston and Dalton in Furness for 13 years which I really enjoyed. I now work part time at Ambleside Health Centre.

I feel passionately about the school and its role within the community of Ambleside. I am extremely proud to be part of a very positive and hardworking management team that have a clear vision for the school, where every child will reach their full potential through a well planned, exciting and creative curriculum.

I was appointed as a Foundation Governor in 2016 and commenced duties at the start of the autumn term.

I have always had an interest in education, believing that with the right foundation in early years, it forms the basis forthe children to have improved options and opportunities in the future.

My professional life allowed me to encourage, support and sponsor young people in further education. This included the supervision of apprenticeships, NVQs, and professional accounting qualifications whilst also acting as a mentor to some students.

Prior to retirement, I worked in industry for 40 yrs where I ultimately held a senior financial position. I bring this varied financial experience to the role of Governor and will endeavour to ensure that funding and expenditure is matched to the needs of the children so that each individual child has the opportunity to reach their potential.

Outside of the financial aspect, I think it is important that the children receive a good all-round education giving them the confidence to apply themselves in future life. Therefore through my role as a Governor I will be involved in the life of the school wherever appropriate.

When I was appointed as Headteacher here at Ambleside Church of England Primary School in September 2014, by virtue of that appointment, I also became a member of the Governing Body. I have been a teacher since the Year 2000, having completed my training here in Ambleside at what was then St Martin’s College. I then taught in a number of primary schools in the Furness area.

My role as a Governor is to share in making the joint strategic decisions in the running of the school and to advise the Governing Body based on my knowledge and experience. I also share information with the Governors to make sure that they have a clear picture of how the school is performing, celebrating areas of success and highlighting development work that needs to be addressed.

Among the many demands and challenges of running a school, I always try to place children’s best interests at the heart of everything I do.

I moved to Ambleside and St Mary’s Parish in 2011 and became a Foundation Governor in 2016. I first developed an interest in education when I was a young woman as a volunteer teacher in a secondary school in Ivory Coast. My particular interest in English as an Additional Language and Multicultural Education has developed over a long career in Adult and Further Education first as teacher of EAL and later Head of Department in West London. Since retiring I have worked with a charity supporting a Church of Uganda primary school and hope that I will be able to share the insights and experiences gained on the annual visit to Uganda to benefit the school here.

In autumn 2016 I took on the role of governor with a particular responsibility for Health and Safety, a new and challenging role for me. I now look forward to working with others to maintain a safe and happy school environment that truly reflects our Christian values whilst fostering understanding and respect for other religions and cultures and in which every child can realize their full potential.

In July 2016 I became a Foundation Governor. The role I have as a Governor is with the school buildings and health and safety issues.
My interest in education is as a Secondary and Primary school teacher.

I hope I will be able to help the school build on the successful improvement the school has achieved. My links as a Lakes Parish Councillor and Trustee of Kelsick Education Foundation and the community I hope will be or benefit to the school.

I want the school to be able to give all the children a positive and uplifting experience at this time in their education.

I became a Foundation Governor in the Autumn Term of 2015. I have long been interested in Ambleside Primary School as both my sons were pupils here during the period from 1983 to 1993. I was a parent governor for some years, being involved in the process of the Infant and Junior schools merging to form the Primary School.

Having taught in Primary schools in Preston, Birmingham and Coniston before my children were born I have a special interest in Primary Education. These formative years in a child’s life benefit enormously from being spent in a close-knit community. I hope to use my membership of the congregation of St. Mary’s Church to further links between the school and the church.

My hope for every child in this school is that they have the opportunity and the encouragement to fulfil their potential.
Everything I have seen so far points to this being within their grasp.

All throughout my childhood, I always aspired to be a primary school teacher. I have lived in the area all of my life until I decided to attend Northumbria University to study BA English Language Studies for 3 years in 2010. I then went on to study for my Primary PGCE through School Direct at Burton Morewood CE Primary School and graduated in 2014. Whilst carrying out my PGCE, I always dreamed of getting a teaching job in the South Lakes but I knew it was going to be a challenge as who wouldn’t want to teach in such a beautiful area of the world? I ended up getting my first teaching post at Kirkby Stephen Primary School, teaching both Year 6 and Year 2. However, the commute was taking its toll so when this post came up at Ambleside, I had to apply and now I’m in my sixth year of teaching Year 5 and 6. I love to learn and that’s one of the things that I love about teaching as there isn’t a day that goes by where you stop learning!

I decided to put myself forward as a staff governor so I can contribute my ideas to help make the children be as successful as they can be. As I teach the children every day, I am able to witness their successes, areas for improvement and also listen to their ideas and suggestions for what they would like to see in school.

I retired from teaching in July 2016, since then I have been a volunteer at school and have become a Community Governor. I have worked as a teacher most of my adult life in primary, secondary and special schools within Lancashire and Cumbria.

During my career I taught Maths and specialised in working with pupils who have emotional, behavioural and social difficulties. I believe learning is a lidelong process and this led me to train as a counsellor and study a masters degree in Education to enhance my own practice.

I have lived in Ambleside for over 30 years and love being a part of this community. I am passionate about giving the best education and opportunities to every child and hope that, as a governor, I can work with and support the staff to this end. 

I bacame a Foundation Governor in 2018 and am now combining my interest in language with my role as lead governor for English throughout the school. Having taught in Primary Schools, mostly in Bolton, until my move to Ambleside in 2001, I have a long-established interest in Primary Education. Since moving to Cumbria I have also been involved in Adult Education, working with parent groups in schools and also with the inmates of HMP Haverigg.

In my spare time I enjoy gardening, walking, playing badminton and reading.

I have been grateful for the opportunity to be involved with Primary Education once again and to be able to witness Ambleside Primary School pupils acheive their full potential during their time spent here. 

Mum to Thomas who started Year 1 in September 2017, I have lived in Cumbria for the past 15 years. I currently work in the NHS as a Clinical Psychologist, working with adults who experience persistent physical symptoms, prior to this I worked in child and adolescent mental health.

When i'm not busy working or running after Thomas, I enjoy running in the fells and being outdoors!