Governance

My name is Andrew, and I have been a governor at Mayfield School since 2019. Before that I was a governor at an infant school in Havant for 12 years. I find being a governor, and being involved in education, motivating and inspiring. I am the Chair of Governors, and you can read a bit more about what that means here on this page. I am also the Health & Safety Governor.

Outside of school, I work for Abri, a large housing provider who own and manage over 50,000 homes and various community assets, serving 114,000 customers. My work is quite analytical and involves finding solutions that can be supported by KPI and data sets. I also have line management and budget experience, all great transferrable skills to be a governor.

Life is pretty busy but in my spare time, I enjoy cold water swimming. It's amazing what a difference just a couple of minutes swimming in the sea can make - especially in February.

I am a retired nurse leader with 36 years of experience in the NHS, where I worked across acute, community, and regional roles, including deputy and executive director positions in nursing and quality. My career has included clinical practice, clinical governance, patient safety, and safeguarding, as well as representing the NHS on adult and children’s safeguarding boards across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. After taking early retirement for health reasons, I wanted to continue contributing to my local community, and becoming a school governor felt like a meaningful way to do that.

I bring extensive experience in governance, safeguarding, and quality improvement, while also looking forward to learning more about the education sector.

I have been a school governor at Mayfield School for the past seven years, a role I have found both rewarding and enriching. As a parent of two children who attend the school, I am personally invested in its success and passionate about supporting its strategic direction, championing high standards, and helping ensure every student has the best possible environment in which to thrive.

Alongside this, I have built a successful career as a Project Manager, specialising in leading complex, cross-functional projects and delivering results in fast-paced, commercial environments. I bring this experience into my governance role, particularly in areas such as planning, risk management, and continuous improvement. I am passionate about using my professional skills to give back to the community and make a positive, lasting impact on young people’s lives.

I’ve lived in Portsmouth for the past 31 years. I’m a father of three, all of whom attended Mayfield School, and I work in IT.

I applied to become a governor at Mayfield School in 2018, shortly after leaving the Hampshire County Council Youth Service, where I worked as a youth worker for over ten years. I believe that this experience enables me to make a positive contribution to Mayfield and help ensure the best possible outcomes for all pupils.

After graduating from Portsmouth University, I have lived and worked in Portsmouth for nearly 20 years. I am a father of two young children (3 and 6 years old) and work in IT. My hobbies are to play music on the piano and guitar, and love nothing more than walking along the beach.

I wanted to become a parent governor primarily to be more actively involved in my child's education and future. I care deeply about contributing to the school community and helping shape the environment where my child, along with their peers, can thrive. I believe that by having a voice in the decision-making process, I can help support the school’s continued growth and success.

Additionally, I saw this as an opportunity for personal development. Being a parent governor allows me to broaden my skills, particularly in areas such as governance, collaboration, and strategic thinking. It also gives me valuable insight into the education system, which I feel will benefit me both personally and professionally.

I have worked in employment, education and training for over 20 years, the last 10 years working in secondary education, focusing on raising aspiration in young people. My passion is working with harder to engage young people, motivating and supporting them to thrive and succeed. I have two children in the secondary section of Mayfield who have been attending the school since Year R and want to support the school on their path of continued improvement.

I bring to the role of Parent Governor a thorough understanding of the issues experienced by both education settings and young people, strong communication skills, a commitment to learn from others and a real desire to build positive outcomes for all students at Mayfield School.

I applied to become a governor at Mayfield to have a stronger contribution to making Mayfield the best it can be. As a member of staff, I am very passionate about the future of the school and the direction in which it is building. Having been at the school since 2017, I have seen the school go through a fair amount of change. We are currently on a path of improvement, and I feel as a school we have a big opportunity to establish a strong sense of community, particularly with our all-through status. I became a staff governor as I would like to play a bigger role in that journey, through contributing to academy committee meetings and helping to decide the strategic direction of the school. I have developed strong relationships with staff across the school and feel it is important that staff have a voice in the decisions made about the school.