Chair of Governors
19th October 2022
It is with immense sadness that we have to inform you of the sudden and unexpected death of our Chair of Governors, Ms Louise Davies.
This has come as a huge shock to us all as Ms Davies was very active in her post as Chair and was only taken ill over the weekend. Our thoughts and prayers are with her family, friends and fellow Governors/colleagues.
As a Governing Body, we have been incredibly fortunate to have had Ms Davies on our board, initially as a Governor and subsequently as the Chair. Her commitment to our school has been second to none and she has worked tirelessly during her time with us to ensure the school has been well run and managed. We are going to miss her immensely.
The Governing Board currently has three Vice Chairs, who will work together with the Head Teacher and the other Governors, to continue Ms Davies’ good work.
We will notify you of the future Chair of Governors once an appointment has been made.
Co-Vice GB Chair, Chair of Premises Committee, Parent Governor
I joined the Governing Body in September 2021. My son Joshua joined the school in September 2020 and I quickly decided that I would like to be a part of helping to shape the school's future.
I am from Sussex and moved to Upper Beeding in 2018. I love being part of a community and look forward to working within it.
My degree was in Italian and I'm passionate about foreign languages. I lived and worked for several years in Italy and speak the language fluently. My earlier career was in the travel industry when I was able to visit a lot of beautiful places. I now work in Hove in Project Management which involves a lot of planning, financial and legal work.
Co-Vice GB Chair, Chair of Quality and Standards Committee, Local Authority Governor
I re-joined the Governing Body in 2020 having previously been a Governor at the school for several years until 2015. I live in Bramber with my wife Tina and both our daughters enjoyed an excellent early education at the school (a little while ago as they’re both in their 20s now).
Originally from Manchester, I went to university in Bristol before qualifying as a Chartered Accountant in London. We moved to Sussex in 2000 when I started work at American Express. In my first stint as a Governor, I focused primarily on the school finances and academic standards.
I’m now retired and so have time to indulge my passions of fell-walking - the South Downs are a perfect training ground - and playing tennis, which still leaves time to contribute to UBPS which I think is a wonderful local school. I’m currently on the Finance, Pay and Performance Committee, and the Quality and Standards Committee.
Co-Vice GB Chair, Chair of Finance, Pay and Performance Committee, Co-Opted Governor
I am a Community Governor who is interested in the shape of present and possible future cooperation agreements between primary schools. Educated originally in economics and finance, I am a solicitor who specialised in crime and civil litigation. Now, I only do some voluntary work including school admission appeal hearings. My wife and I live in Storrington so we can run and walk upon the Downs as often as possible.
Chair of Pupil Welfare Committee, Parent Governor
I joined the Governing Body in 2021 following my daughter’s first school year at UBPS.
I grew up in Dorset, and have always enjoyed living in the countryside. I went to study Politics in Cambridge and continued there to do a PGCE and Masters in Primary Teaching, then worked in schools in Cambridgeshire and London.
After having my daughter and son, we moved to West Sussex to be nearer to family, and have been very happy settling in this beautiful part of the world. I enjoy reading, music and spending time with my family, and have a keen interest in schools and primary education. I am looking forward to being involved in governing UBPS and contributing to the local community in this way.
Staff Governor
I joined Upper Beeding Primary School in January 2013 and work in the School Office. The children here receive an excellent education in an incredibly special, nurturing environment. I absolutely love my job and feel very privileged to be part of such a wonderful school.
I was born in Eastbourne and then spent my childhood and school years in Horsham. I have always lived in Sussex except for two years during my twenties when I spent time near Stuttgart in Germany. I have a secretarial background and before I had my children I worked in a private bank, estate agency and for a national housebuilder. I worked part-time whilst bringing up my five children and returned to full-time work when my youngest child started school.
I now live in a village not far from Upper Beeding with my younger three children and pet dog, Joey. We often enjoy long walks over the South Downs or along the coast; we really do live in a beautiful part of the country. I have a very keen interest in health and nutrition and also enjoy keeping fit.
As well as being Staff Governor, I am also a member of the Pupil Welfare Committee.
Co-Opted Governor
I joined the school Governing Body in March 2018.
I spent my working life in the education sector, the first 10 years as a classroom teacher, followed by various jobs in the education office of a London Borough. I finished up helping schools to meet the needs of children who needed some extra support to make the best of their time in school.
I have 2 grandchildren at Upper Beeding, and was happy to be asked to support the school which rightly has a great reputation for getting the best for all the children attending, realising that children only have one shot at getting a good start in their education and so in life.
Co-Opted Governor
I have been involved with children and families in different roles for a majority of my adult working life, and to a degree, since retiring.
From my early 20’s, after qualifying, I taught children classical ballet, tap and modern dance. Initially this was part time. I worked in customer service roles to pay the bills! Subsequently I taught dance full time, including dance and exercise to adults.
When I was considering careers social work was a preference, but I considered I lacked life experience, so didn’t train until I was nearly 40, having realised I would need to change from my dance career before my body completely seized up!
I was involved with safe guarding working with the police, then moved into working with foster families, realising the importance of their role in relation to positive outcomes for children in care. For 8 years of my social work career I worked with a small team of specially trained foster carers, child psychologists from the Maudsley hospital, and a research team from Eugene Oregon USA. Our work focused on improving the life chances for very emotionally damaged young children. I ended my career managing a team in adoption support services.
Work was all consuming but I did manage to learn ballroom and Latin dancing, which was a life ambition as my classical training didn’t include these genres of dance. This gave me space to escape from many challenging and sometimes traumatic cases during my working week.
I have also been a Parish Councillor. Since retiring I have been involved with Citizens Advice, charity shop voluntary work, and more recently, listening to children read at the school.
Head Teacher Governor
KS2 Assistant Head / Associate Member
I joined the teaching team at Upper Beeding Primary in 2006. During my previous teaching experiences, I have taught in KS1 and KS2 as well as working as a Mathematics Consultant in Croydon where I was responsible for overseeing 20 schools.
Before becoming a teacher, I worked for various retail stores as a Manager and Concept Designer. In my spare time I enjoy gardening, spending time with my family and going to music concerts and festivals. My son, Max, takes up most of any spare time I have with his sporting endeavours!
Finance Manager / Associate Member
Premises Manager / Associate Member
SENCo / Associate Member
Co-Opted Governor
Co-Opted Governor
Co-Opted Governor
Co-Opted Governor