Governors

Our school’s distinctiveness comes from its relationship with the church. It is wonderful that the school is just across the road from St John’s Church which means that the Church building is a wonderful resource, enhances our learning in school and helps us to understand the Christian faith. This includes using the grounds for Forest School for the younger members of our school community.

Mary Ashton is the Vicar of St John’s Church and is also a member of our Governing Body: currently she is Chair of Governors. Whole school Collective Worship is lead weekly by Mary in our beautiful Church, helping and supporting us in our spiritual development.

As Vicar, Mary works as the chaplain to the school offering a listening ear to children, staff and parents, whether they have a faith or none.

Stephen is a Foundation Governor. He and Julie have lived in the village for over 30 years. Both their children attended Silverdale school 20 or so years ago.

Stephen loves being a governor and being able to offer to the school support that he was unable to do when his children were small, as he worked away most of the week.

He is an IT project manager in a local company, specialising in applications that manage breast milk
donations and stem cell transplants.

Sarah’s experiences range from working in one form entry and mixed age schools.  The demographics have been quite varied too – small, village rural to inner city ‘urban’.  She has had a varied and packed teaching career so far, and she loves it.

Sarah is passionate about teaching and learning.  In particular, the early years.

When she has some spare time, Sarah enjoys cycling, travelling and wild swimming.

Polly moved in to the village in 2019 with her husband and son. Prior to moving to Silverdale she was the headteacher of a small village primary
school. She has over 40years of experience in Primary Education in East Cheshire and British Columbia.

Polly became a foundation governor in 2022. She currently sits on the Quality of education Committee, a sub group of the full governing body. She has recently taken on the role of link governor Mathematics. Polly volunteers in school each week, presently working alongside Mrs. Knight.

Polly is currently President of the Silverdale W.I. She attends Carnforth Free Methodist Church. She enjoys walking, art, swimming, travel and theatre.

Peter joined the governing body as a foundation governor in August 2023. He has lived with his family in the village for 25 years. His three children all attended the school and enjoyed a great start to their education journey.

Peter was keen to give something back by volunteering as a governor as soon as he had more time. This came when he retired as a primary headteacher in April 2023, having worked in several church schools in Cumbria. He currently works part-time as a Church school inspector in the north west region and a schools’ adviser with Carlisle Diocese.

Janet has been a resident in Silverdale since 2012 and has been a foundation governor since 2018. She is currently chair of the Business Committee, a sub group of the full Governing Board, as well as FOSS liaison governor.

Her background is in regeneration in Lancashire and the wider North West, with a strong focus on rural and tourism development.

Janet is a skilled project manager and have shaped, managed and delivered major government and EU grant funded programmes.

Locally, Janet worked for the Morecambe Bay Partnership on a tourism programme for the Bay that included the development, with Sustrans, of the Bay Cycle Way.

Janet is now retired and in addition to volunteering as a school governor, she enjoys gardening, photography and spending time with her family.

Anna has lived in Silverdale for 10 years with her husband Craig and got to know the school by delivering Forest school sessions for them.
She now has one son who attends the school and works part time in the environmental education sector.  Anna enjoys being involved with the different aspects of school life and sits on the Quality of Education committee.
In her spare time Anna likes to run in the woods, swim in lakes and eat cake with her family and dog.

Steve has been visiting/holidaying in Silverdale for 50 years, although he’s only lived in the village for 8 years.

He’s an Engineer who has worked in the Aerospace, Paper, Tabacco and maintenance industrial landscape. He travels the UK and Ireland designing, installing and maintaining machinery in all industry sectors. This diverse work requires project management and a financial management skill set.

Steve is a foundation governor and have been a member of the governing body for 5 years. He sits on the business committee and has been involved in the roof project and all major upgrades to the school premises.

He has two daughters who have attended Silverdale St John’s and both, have continued their studies at Lancaster Girls Grammer School. In his spare time he enjoys walking and travelling abroad with my family.

Chantel has lived in Silverdale for over 30 years and has raised 3 children, who have all enjoyed attending Silverdale St. John’s School. Chantel has been lucky enough to work in the classroom supporting the children with their learning for the past 8 years.

Her background as a Transport Co-ordinator at WCF Fuels was where she found her love for problem solving, working out routes and capacities and putting them together in the best and most efficient way, a bit like helping children with their primary learning! She then gained a passion for teaching and gained the relevant qualifications.

After 6 years, resigning as a Trustee for the Silverdale Institute gave her the opportunity to take on the role as Staff Governor and she now works closely with the Quality of Education committee. She enjoys camping with family and friends, paddleboarding, darts and a good quiz.