Parent Governor Nomination | Kimberleyschool

Sarah Forster

I have worked in the pharmaceutical industry for almost 30yrs, within quality control, quality assurance and now as a quality consultant.

The primary focus of my current role is patient safety and identifying controls that are in place, highlight gaps in a process and suggest mitigating action to ensure product quality is maintained.

I have been looking for an opportunity to take on some new responsibilities and challenges. I feel the parent governor role would be a challenging but rewarding experience, and a chance for me to use the skills that I have gained throughout my career.

I have time to dedicate to this role and believe the skills I've gained are very much transferable to the parent governor role such as a high attention to detail, perseverance and patience when faced with obstacles or challenges, and the ability to respond in a constructive manner to achieve a mutually agreeable way forward.

I am a keen walker and very much enjoy exploring the countryside, which stems from taking part in the Duke of Edinburgh scheme at my secondary school.

I very much enjoyed my time at school which wasn't as smooth a ride as it could have been with having two back operations during my secondary school years. I received the very best support during this time from my school.

I look forward to the prospect of working alongside the governing body and passing on my knowledge and experiences and to ensure support is available to all students whatever the challenges they may face, and enable them to achieve their full potential.

Julie Wain

I spent over 6 years as a Governor for a primary school so feel well equipped to quickly transition to TKS's Governing Body, having already established an understanding of how schools work, Academy governance and the commitment required from myself. Moving to a secondary school will enable me to broaden my learning.

As a Chartered Accountant I have spent many years in senior finance roles which leads to good inter-personal skills and a depth of effective governance experience that I could apply to the TKS board. I would bring challenge as well as support and seek to hold the school leadership to account for the day to day running of the school.

I have two children, the eldest of which is now in year 8 at TKS. Therefore I have a personal long term vested interest in supporting the board with their strategy and ambitions to ensure the school is a safe place for our children to achieve or surpass their academic and social potential.

Ruth Dodds

I am a parent of a year 8 child and will hopefully have a second child joining in year 7 in September 2025.

As my children are at the beginning of life in the school, I wish to invest my time and commitment and support the school and the

governing body. I believe I can bring skills and experience to the governing body. I am a very experienced team manager and social worker in adult social care. With that I can demonstrate experience and skills in the following areas:

1. I am responsible for an annual budget in excess of £23 million. I manage that budget on a monthly and annual basis and have significant experience of both long-term strategic analysis and short-term reactionary spending. I am experienced in understanding the need for extracting value with allocated spending.

2. I am direct line manager of a team of 30 staff and have a high level of experience dealing with complex disciplinary and grievance procedures. I have also dealt extensively with complex Human Resources issues including recruitment and requests to changes in workers and service provider contracts.

3. As a Social Worker I have extensive experience of safeguarding and working within safeguarding protocols. As part of my role, I routinely act as Safeguarding manager and have responsibility for coordinating strategy plans, overseeing safeguarding investigations and ensuing that outcomes are achieved.

4. My role has providing me with extensive experience of inter-agency working and roles and responsibilities which I understand is integral to the modern school environment.

5. I have sat on a board of Trustee’s at a disability charity and therefore have experience of governance in that role.

Lee Blackbeard

With over 20 years in the financial and insurance sectors, I bring a strong background in business project management and a passion for education. My experience in managing complex projects and leading cross-functional teams equips me to navigate challenges and drive positive outcomes, skills directly transferable to the role of a school governor.

I have actively promoted diversity and inclusion in my current role and am eager to bring this dedication to the school, ensuring every student thrives. Having supported my eldest daughter through her A Levels, I understand the school's crucial role in both academic and life skills development.

My experience working with various departments in a corporate setting has given me a holistic understanding of organisational dynamics. I am confident in my ability to communicate effectively and build strong relationships, enabling collaboration with fellow governors, staff, and parents to achieve our shared goals.

I am committed to supporting the school's mission and ensuring the best outcomes for our students.

James Byron

My Daughter is in Year 7 and my Son is in Year 9, my Wife and I have 2 dogs and my favourite time of year is Christmas and our Family holidays.

I trained as a Geologist (yes I collect rocks, well mainly fossils and could talk for hours about them and places to find them). Now I work in Construction supporting Architects nationally on large developments overcoming on-site issues, forming details and ensuring regulations are met.

Why is all this relevant to being a Parent Governor, well if you are still reading. The skills I have learnt to-date with my family and through my

work, I am very driven and committed in what I believe and I want to use this as a governor to benefitting the school and everyone within it. #

Being from a very large multinational company, I can offer insights with processes, innovative techniques and health and safety. Being very data driven, I have an attention to detail to challenge and critique. I am inquisitive and a good listener, wanting to hear what everyone has to say.

I am patient (as much as possible with 2 dogs an 11 year old and a 13 year old can be!). I have to be creative with work looking at solutions to complex details and I have a willingness and ability to learn with continued professional development and currently working through a Fire Engineering course.

Lucy Wardle

I spent over 6 years as a Governor for a primary school so feel well equipped to quickly transition to TKS's Governing Body, having already established an understanding of how schools work, Academy governance and the commitment required from myself. Moving to a secondary school will enable me to broaden my learning.

As a Chartered Accountant I have spent many years in senior finance roles which leads to good inter-personal skills and a depth of effective governance experience that I could apply to the TKS board. I would bring challenge as well as support and seek to hold the school leadership to account for the day to day running of the school.

I have two children, the eldest of which is now in year 8 at TKS. Therefore I have a personal long term vested interest in supporting the board with their strategy and ambitions to ensure the school is a safe place for our children to achieve or surpass their academic and social potential.

Emma Jayne Green

As someone who has put two SENs children through The Kimberley School I believe I can bring my own positive experiences of The Kimberley School to the role. Due to my son's SENs I have regular interactions with the staff and I'm always respectful and work with and support the school as I understand the importance of the school's role in a child's life and will always advocate to work with and support the school and understand value of and importance of education, but I'm also able to raise concerns respectfully where necessary too and like to find solutions where necessary.

I'm good at Teamwork, communicating with and listening to others and discussing other points of views in a respectful manner whilst still being honest myself and open to others views and needs. Being the parent of two BAME children with SENs, I'm also passionate about inclusion and diversity and believing every child should have a voice, The Kimberley School were so supportive when my eldest came out as Non Binary and continue to support my son as he navigates GCSES etc I'd like to be able to give something back to the school.

We Respect. We are Proud. We Succeed.

Parent Governor Nominees

Sarah Forster

Julie Wain

Ruth Dodds

Lee Blackbeard

James Byron

Lucy Wardle

Emma Jayne Green