Our Governors

I am a primary school teacher who trained in Australia. I have had experience working in a number of schools in roles that include classroom teaching, performing arts coordinator, sports coach, mental health team member and head of Science. I made the move to London in 2017 for a new challenge and am currently working as a Key Stage 1 teacher in an independent prep school in the South East. Being encouraged to take on a governor role by my head teacher, I am keen to broaden my experience in different school settings and be able to share my expertise as well as offer my support to the Haseltine and Fairlawn federation to help these schools continue to thrive.

I’m Chris Weeks, an associate member of the Resources Committee. I’ve been working in communications for an international children’s charity for the past ten years, based in the Middle East and Asia for some of that time, before returning to London two years ago. As an adoptive parent, I’m passionate about creating an environment where all children, no matter what their background or start in life, can achieve their full potential.

I am a local parent who wanted to get involved in the overall running of th​e school my children attend. I wanted to understand the challenges facing the teachers, how the schools are inclusive to all, how pupils with special needs have these met, how community can support the school and what I can do, both as a parent and a professional, to support the school.

My name is Tom Barrett and I am a coopted Governor.  I’ve worked in local government for 17 years in roles focussing on governance, scrutiny, strategy, programme management, children’s social care improvement and health and social care integration.  I’ve spent the last 13 years doing this in a South London local authority.  I hope that my understanding of local authority governance and the safeguarding landscape will enable me to be a valuable member of the governing body and contribute to improvement across both schools and their communities.

I have been a class teacher for seven years. This is my 4th year at Fairlawn. Having taught in both Key Stages I am currently a Year 4 teacher. I am also part of the Senior Leadership Team, the Lower Key Stage 2 phase leader and maths lead for the whole school. I have completed an intensive one year training programme and am now a designated  Maths Mastery Specialist Teacher for the South East London Maths Hub. I am supporting seven SE London schools on their maths mastery journey. Last year I was designated as a Specialist Leader of Education and have completed my core training.  Together with Haseltine’s maths lead, I have planned and delivered staff meetings and INSET across both schools. As staff governor, I look forward to further developing my relationship with both school communities and I am committed to supporting all children with their learning.

I am a qualified Chartered Accountant working in the media for over 20 years initially in accounting and production management then for 10 years at Board level overseeing Finance, HR, Legal, Health & Safety, IT, Facilities and Operations. I have set up a consultancy specialising in troubleshooting struggling organisations and facilitating growth.  More recently my social conscience has kicked in and I have taken a Higher Education Certificate in Health and Social Care, become a Trustee of a neonatal baby charity and my day job is now as Head of Finance and Operations and Safeguarding Lead for a child refugee charity.   I have grass roots and continued involvement in the PTA and Parent Forum at Fairlawn; both groups are committed to enriching children’s education and relations between parents and teachers.  In my capacity as Link Governor for Community Engagement and Communications I hope to explore those relationships and goals further with both Haseltine and Fairlawn. I understand my role of governor is to to supportively challenge the Federation’s Management team to ensure they are the best they can be.

I am a co-opted Governor for the Fairlawn and Haseltine Federation. I am currently a strategy advisor at the Crown Prosecution Service. I previously worked in communications and policy for the Department for Education in areas including school food, equalities , primary assessment, apprenticeships and SEND.  Prior to this I worked as a production journalist and sub-editor on both national and regional newspapers. Outside of my day job I have worked with a number of community projects in education, including teaching English as a second language to children in Cambridge, computer tutoring for the elderly, a literacy project in Hackney and most recently working as a voluntary tutor for bright A-level students from disadvantaged backgrounds, to support their university aims.

I became a governor in the Summer of 2017 because I am keen to support a school in my local community. I live in Lewisham and have three boys across the primary age range. Professionally, I have been in the Education Sector for 15 years and have had a number of different roles in Primary Education. I am currently the Head teacher of a large primary academy in a neighbouring London borough so know first-hand that Governors play an important role in the school, exercising their powers and responsibilities in partnership with school leadership and staff. Although they are not involved in the day-to-day management of the school, they play a large role in planning for the school’s future at a strategic level. Governors act as a critical friend to the school, offering support and advice; ensuring the school improvement agenda is high and heading in the right direction. The Fairlawn and Haseltine Federation has a strong and active team of governors who bring a range of skills and expertise that is valuable in making the two schools such great places to educate your children.

Maria is Chair of The Fairlawn and Haseltine Primary Schools Federation Governing Body. She is Link Governor for Computing, Governor Training and Numeracy. She has served on the Haseltine Primary School Governing Body since July 2009 and Fairlawn Primary School Governing Body since November 2012. During this time, she has obtained governance experience in sub-committee chairing, finance management, handling appeals and staff recruitment.

Her employment experience is in consulting and strategy across the capital markets industry including actuarial consulting, investment banking and investment management. Her interests as a governor lie in helping ensure decisions align to strategic intent and that resources are allocated with short, immediate and long-term priorities in view for the schools.
She attends regular governor training and recently partook in ‘Writing an Effective SEF and SIP’ and ‘Managing Schools Finance – Meeting the Financial Challenge’.

“I am very proud to have been a governor since September 2015. Since taking on this role, I have learnt so much from training, teachers and colleagues and I continue to do so.

I have a professional background in employment law and litigation which serves me well as a governor – especially when considering access, Data Protection and appraisal related matters. I am expanding my experience into museum based training and education with an MA in Museum Studies and a role at a local gallery working across their family, young and older people’s programmes. This has given me greater understanding of safeguarding issues and direct experience of working with children and young people.

I have two children who attend Fairlawn and love it and I want to see the school go from strength to strength.”

I am a co-opted Governor for the Fairlawn and Haseltine Federation. I am also the link Governor for Health and Safety. I am a chartered town planner with experience in the public and private sector. I work for a housing association providing new homes across London.

I am committed to working with staff, parents and the local community to ensure that every child has the opportunity to achieve the highest possible attainment.