I have been a school governor at Corbets Tey since 2006 and Chair of Governors since 2013. In July 2015 I became a National leader of Governance, providing advice and support to schools requiring assistance leading me to currently be the interim Chair of 2 Federated Primary schools in Havering also.
Prior to my retirement in 2016, I held senior management positions within the NHS for 18 years leading multidisciplinary teams, managing a workforce of between c500 – 1,400 staff and budgets of between £29 – £118m. I contributed to strategic decision making and policy formation at executive level firmly believing that effective collaboration and partnership with internal and external stakeholders would be of mutual benefit to all concerned.
I have been a member of the Local Authority Overview & Scrutiny Committee for Children & Learning representing Special Schools since 2008; an active member of a LA working group to strategically and operationally plan for a new 16-25 provision for young adults with special needs which opened in September 2016.
In October 2016 I opened a small supported living home, with another following in February 2023, where each home supports four young adults with learning disabilities and where our mission is to treat all our service users as valued individuals; to assist them in making their personal choices, support them in leading happy and fulfilling lives in a comfortable, modern home within the community and to continue to develop their maximum level of independence through lifelong learning.
Lastly and most importantly I am mum to Beth and Tom. Tom is a delightful young man who has Fragile X Syndrome, autism and complex learning disabilities.