Hi Everyone!  I am very proud to be Chair of Governors at Ryhope Junior School.  I have also been a primary teacher for 19 years and have moved on to being a lecturer for teacher training now.  I love my role, supporting and developing Ryhope Junior School, alongside the amazing senior leadership, teaching and support staff, fantastic children, parents and every single member of staff who dedicate their time and hearts to our ever growing school.

We also have a very knowledgeable, committed and supportive governor team who equally love to be involved and continue to help Ryhope Juniors to develop and thrive.

I was born in Ryhope and attended Ryhope Junior School as a boy, although the building has long since been demolished! I have two sons, both of whom are former pupils of the school. My youngest son Ethan, now attends Venerable Bede Academy, and my eldest Lewis, is studying to be an architect.  I’m a CTO for an IT services company which involves me advising companies and government agencies on their IT strategy and the adoption of technology and IT solutions. I’m hoping to utilise these skills in my role as a school governor.  

I grew up in Ryhope and attended Ryhope Infants and Juniors in the 1980s.  From there, I went to Southmoor Secondary School and Sunderland College.  My earlier experiences at Ryhope Junior School certainly had a positive effect on my life plans – I studied Primary Education at university and have taught in junior schools for 20 years!  This included 15 years working in another junior school in Sunderland.

I am no longer a teacher.  I changed careers in 2018 and am now a civil servant.  I do, however, miss being part of a school community and it has been a pleasure to return to Ryhope Juniors.  I hope I can contribute positively so that today’s pupils have the same positive experiences I had!

I’m  a parent of three – two adult sons, Louis and Jude, and a teenage daughter, Autumn – two of whom have attended Ryhope Junior school. I grew up in Hertfordshire and went to the University of Leeds way back in 1990 to read human geography. I later moved to Sunderland in 2000 and to Ryhope in 2016. I have had a variety of jobs from tutor to breastfeeding support worker and I am currently a lay minister in the Church of England serving the parish of St Paul’s in Ryhope. I am also the parish safeguarding officer which helps with my role as safeguarding link governor.

Having been a class teacher at Ryhope Junior School since 2014, I joined the governing body in 2018 as a staff governor and have relished the different role. Being a governor has given me an insight into the workings of the school that you do not get as a teacher. 

I am able to give the voice of the staff within the governor meetings but also explain ideas to parent and co-opted governor as and when needed. 

I am looking forward to continuing this role having been elected for the next two years as there is such a positive atmosphere in the school. Everything is centred around celebrating our children’s achievements and ensuring they are well prepared for their next steps.

Hi, I have lived in Ryhope all my adult life and I am a parent of 3 children. My two girls attended Ryhope Junior School, and they loved their time here. Previously, I was a parent governor but after the girls moved to secondary school, I still wanted to be part of the school, so I became a co-opted governor.

I was a primary school teacher for 22 years and a SENDCo for 6 years before leaving teaching in 2019 to become a director of a limited company and spend more time with my family. My teaching experience and my passion for improving outcomes for SEND pupils helps me in my role as SEND link governor.

I love being part of the governing body and I am proud to be part of such a strong team supporting and developing this amazing school. I have a hands-on approach to my role, so I am often in school, supporting with events, school trips and meetings with the SENDCo. It is lovely to experience first-hand, the wonderful atmosphere and love of learning in school.

As a teacher with over 30 years of secondary school experience, latterly as a Head of Drama, I am delighted to be a governor at Ryhope Junior School. As a councillor for Ryhope I feel it is important to get an insight into the workings of a school that you do not have as a parent or teacher, whilst being able to support the development of the school for the benefit of the children who attend.

My own further educational journey started with the University of Durham where I studied English Literature. Newcastle University was where I studied teacher training for English and Drama. At the RSC I completed the Prince of Wales’ trust teaching Shakespeare through Drama course, and finally Sunderland University is where I completed my MA in Literature and Film.

I hope that I can make a positive contribution to the running of Ryhope Juniors, and the positive and warm atmosphere that pervade the school.

I’m a teacher of Geography and Head of the Humanities faculty at Southmoor Academy in Sunderland. Before teaching, I studied Geography at university before specialising with Masters degrees in Polar and Alpine Change and Arctic Glaciers and Landscapes. I completed my PhD in 2018 whilst also training to become a teacher at Whitburn C of E Academy. I came to Southmoor during the COVID pandemic in 2020 as Head of Geography and teach across Key Stages 3, 4 and 5. Recently, I have been working on a new curriculum to help develop our incoming Year 7 students as self-regulated learners and support them to meet the floor standards in literacy and numeracy. I’m really keen to continue developing my own knowledge of the transition from primary into secondary school and hope that I can use my experience of secondary and higher education to support Ryhope Junior School as governor. Having only recently joined the governors, there’s still a lot for me to learn but I’m always amazed at the hard work and positive relationships I see when I visit the school.