Appointed: Original (signatory) Member. Appointed on 3 November 2016

Term of Office: 3 November 2020 - 2 November 2024

Committee Membership: Finance, Audit & Risk

Keith has been a school governor in the city for over 30 years during which time he has led as Chair on two school mergers. He has served on a primary school Interim Executive Board as well as being Chair of the Sheffield Association of School Governing Bodies for 6 years. In addition he is the current Deputy Chair of the Schools Forum. He maintains a strong personal interest in early years.

Prior to retirement he was a local authority chief leisure/cultural services officer for 15 years during which time he served on a number of regional and national boards and had responsibility for a budget in excess of £25m pa and a large and diverse staffing complement. His working life involved considerable experience of charity and company structures with the move of council services being delivered through charitable trust/company limited by guarantee vehicles.

Outside of school related activity, he is a trustee and board member of Manor & Castle Development Trust and Park Community Action, the Chair of the Ken Hawley Collection Trust based at Kelham Island Museum and serves as Treasurer of an industrial provident society within South Yorkshire.

Appointed: Original (signatory) Member. Appointed on 3 November 2016

Committee Membership: N/A

Mike has been a school governor in Sheffield since 2000 and has experience of education at a national level, both as a senior civil servant and later as a consultant working for the predecessor organisations of the DfE and its agencies, including the Higher Education Funding Council, the Leadership Foundation for Higher Education, the Learning and Skills Council, OFSTED and a range of universities and colleges.

He was professionally trained in Information Technology, however he later specialised in developing and applying forms of programme management to the delivery of strategic and policy objectives. His focus was managing change based on engaging stakeholders at all levels and developing a shared understanding of desired outcomes and potential risks.

In 1997 Mike co-founded a consultancy company, Oakleigh Consulting, offering change and programme management support to organisations in both the private and public sectors, the company grew to turn over £10 million. In addition, he has been a Director of a joint publishing venture between The British Computer Society and Oxford University Press, BDCL, the management Consultancies Agency and Wildscapes (a wholly owned subsidiary of the Sheffield Wildlife Trust). Mike is currently also a director at Learn Sheffield. He has also been a trustee of several charities, including the British Computer Society and the Sheffield Wildlife Trust, chairing the Finance and Audit Committees within each. As a member of the Worshipful Company of Information Technologies, Mike was one of the founders of the successful Hammersmith Academy.

Having retired in 2011, Mike has devoted more time to school governance in Sheffield, and is currently a Local Leader of Governance. He is also a member of the executive committee of the Sheffield Association of School Governing Bodies and regularly attends the Governors’ strategy and policy meetings with the LA.

Appointed: Original (signatory) Member. Appointed on 3 November 2016

Committee Membership: N/A

Elizabeth has a background in education and has a wide range of experience, including teaching experience within three schools in Sheffield, all of which were in areas of social disadvantage. She has also been Headteacher in two local authorities, having been a primary Headteacher in a range of schools including inner-city schools, highly disadvantaged areas, a village school and a CoE school in a more affluent area. She has experience of working in schools with high levels of pupils with English as an additional language.

Elizabeth has worked as a local authority primary adviser, serving as a primary school adviser in Derbyshire, an associate Headteacher, primary school adviser, senior adviser and principle advisor in Sheffield as well as being a principle adviser in North Somerset. When undertaking these roles, she worked with schools on school improvement issues, led the team of primary advisers in the local authority and gained accreditation as a School Improvement Partner and Ofsted Inspector. Elizabeth is also the director of Education Forward Ltd based in Sheffield. In this role she works with a number of local schools on Headteacher performance management and school improvement issues.

She also has wide-ranging experience as a school governor, including being chair of governors at a primary special school, serving as a member of an interim executive board and has gained accreditation as a Local Leader in Governance, through which she has supported two primary school governing bodies. She also represents special schools on the local Governors Partnership and Policy Group, the Schools’ Forum and the Sheffield Association of School Governing Bodies.

Appointed: Original (signatory) Member. Appointed on 3 November 2016

Committee Membership: N/A

Debbie Mathews has been the Chief Executive of Manor and Castle Development Trust (MCDT) from 2005. MCDT is a charitable company which was established in 1997 to deliver the first community led Single Regeneration Budget programme. MCDT has 64 staff and a turnover of around £2m and approximately £7m of assets including shops, flats, land and the Quadrant, their prestigious managed workspace. MCDT delivers a range of local services including public health, employment, training, learning and positive activities for children and young people, including young people with Learning Development Difficulties, coordination of the volunteers in Park Library, and a nursery run in Woodthorpe alongside delivering support to many families.

Appointed: Appointed by Members. Appointed on 8 November 2018

Committee Membership: N/A

Steve began his career in education almost 40 years ago as a primary school teacher in Sheffield. He went on to become a Local Authority Adviser for English and a primary school adviser and gained extensive experience of Ofsted inspection of primary, secondary and special schools. He had particular responsibility for improving literacy and helped to pioneer the introduction of Reading Recovery in the UK during the mid-1990s.

In 1998, Steve was appointed as one of the National Literacy Strategy’s first Regional Directors and later became National Director for Literacy before becoming a Senior Director in the Primary National Strategy. After returning to Local Authority work as Head of School Effectiveness, he joined the Qualifications and Curriculum Development Agency (QCDA) where he worked on the primary National Curriculum and on strengthening teacher assessment from Early Years to Key Stage 3. At the end of 2010, he was appointed as Head of the National Assessment team at Ofqual, responsible for the independent regulation and review of statutory assessment arrangements from the Early Years Foundation Stage up to the end of Key Stage 2.

Steve retired from Ofqual towards the end of 2014 and now works part-time as an educational consultant as well as being a school governor in Sheffield. He acts as an ‘independent expert’ for Oxford University Press and works with a number of Local Authorities to support their work on assessment. He has provided training for many senior leaders in primary schools on the implications of national assessment and accountability arrangements. He remains passionate about developing a rich curriculum experience for children and young people and about how assessment can be used to improve teaching and learning.

Appointed: Appointed by Members. Appointed on 3 November 2016

Term of Office: 3 November 2020 - 2 November 2024

Committee Membership: Standards, Pay & Performance

Derek Grover has been Chair of Governors at Broomhill Infant School Sheffield since 2010 and Vice-Chair at Norfolk Park Special School since 2015. He is an accredited National Leader of Governance and in that capacity has worked with the governing bodies of a number of Sheffield schools. He is retired from his career as a civil servant. He was a director of the Department for Education for 14 years, latterly as Director of Adult Learning.

He is a member of the Sheffield Diocesan Board of Education, responsible for the Anglican Church's schools in the Sheffield Diocese, a Trustee of the Open College of the Arts and Chair of the Sheffield Association for the Voluntary Teaching of English. He is a qualified member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel Management and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.

Appointed: Appointed by Members. Appointed on 3 November 2016

Term of Office: 3 November 2020 - 2 November 2024

Committee Membership: Finance, Audit & Risk

Paul Stead has been the Managing Director and shareholder of a business employing 40 staff for over 25 years. He has a Master’s degree in Business Administration (MBA) and is the vice chair of governors at Pipworth Community Primary School where he has served as a governor for over 18 years. In addition, Paul is also a governor at his daughter’s high school in Derbyshire.

Appointed: Appointed by Trustees. Appointed on 3 July 2017

Term of Office: 3 July 2017 - 2 July 2025

Committee Membership: Standards, Pay & Performance

Marie worked as an Improvement Partner for Learn Sheffield and is a strategic partner for a school company of 18 primary, secondary and special schools (Sheffield South East Learning Partnership). Marie taught in a wide range of Sheffield Primary Schools, including as a senior member of the Local Authority’s Task Force, filling leadership positions in schools in crisis. She was Headteacher of a school which became a “Beacon School” under her leadership.

She became Principal Primary Adviser in Sheffield and Primary Strategy Manager, managing a workforce of some 20 advisers and consultants, leading initiatives including literacy and maths, EAL, assessment training, Social and Emotional Aspects of Learning, Gifted and Talented programmes and the Intensifying Support Programme (ISP). Marie has worked across 6 Local Authorities, co-ordinating the work of advisers through an ISP Hub. Marie is a qualified Ofsted Inspector, School Improvement Partner and Performance Management External Adviser. She has taught on the National Professional Qualification for Headteachers, employed by Leeds Metropolitan University.

Marie devised and implemented a successful city-wide literacy and language strategy “Every Sheffield Articulate and Literate” (ESCAL). This strategy received national recognition and won the prestigious National Communication Strategy Award for three years running. Marie was invited to be a member of an advisory group working on national policy during the Year of Communication, presented evidence to the Minister of Education, and spoke at the Welsh Assembly on ESCAL’s strategy for developing Speech, Language and Communication.

Marie has presented at national conferences on a range of educational topics, and worked at national level, including with the Basic Skills Agency, the Qualification and Curriculum Authority, and the Prime Minister’s Development Unit.

Appointed: Appointed by Trustees. Appointed on 15 February 2019

Term of Office: 15 February 2019 - 14 February 2023

Committee Membership: Finance, Audit & Risk

John was Director of Business Strategy within Sheffield City Council, where he was responsible for the strategic resource planning across the Local Authority which included overseeing performance management, business improvement and efficiency, change programme development, capital, schools resourcing, risk management, governance and business partner relationship management. He is now working as an Executive Coach. 

Appointed: Appointed by Members. Appointed on 19 October 2021

Term of Office: 19 October 2021 - 18 October 2025

Committee Membership: Finance, Audit & Risk

Chris is an experienced chief executive, non-executive director/chairman and angel investor. Originally a chemical engineer, he did a part time MBA at London Business School and has recently completed an astrophysics degree for fun.

Chris is passionate about developing talent, encouraging senior teams to face up to and exploit reality, and is renowned for commercial and customer service innovation. His mantra is “look at it from the customer’s end of the telescope.”

Chris has led listed, private equity-backed and family-owned businesses in different industries (up to 2000 people and £150m turnover).  He has managed a variety of private, public and not-for-profit organisations and directly led over 20 acquisitions and disposals. Chris really understands processes, scaling and post-acquisition integration issues.

He is currently an advisor of Babco, a UK-based drinks marketing and branding business. He is also a qualified rugby union referee, awarded Yorkshire Referee of the year for the 2018/19 season and is a member of the executive committee for South Yorkshire Referees, leading on recruitment and rentention. He is also grappling with generating music from his alto and tenor saxophones.

He has been a STEM Ambassador for some years and has judged Sheffield school Y11 & 12 competitions in person, and also Big Bang on-line. His particular interests are in creating interest in physics, space science and engineering in young people.

Appointed: Appointed by Members. Appointed on 22 May 2023

Term of Office: 22 May 2023 - 21 May 2027

Committee Membership: Standards, Pay & Performance

Rosey qualified as a primary teacher in 1997, graduating from Derby University with a BEd (Hons) and has over 25 years of experience within Primary education, predominantly within Key Stage 2, including headship and supporting professional development across schools within Derbyshire and Rotherham in her roles as Initial Teacher Training mentor, Primary Leader of ICT and Specialist Leader of Education in Mathematics and Coaching.  During her career, Rosey has completed professional development studies at Masters Degree level, enabling her to contribute to the development and implementation of the Initial Teacher Training programme at Derby University where she was awarded a post-graduate Diploma in Education.  More recently, Rosey graduated from the University of Chester with a Masters Degree in Biblical Studies.

Now retired from primary teaching, she leads the Mathematics training programme for PGCE trainees at Learners First School Partnership and is an academic tutor on the Initial Teacher Training programme at the University of Huddersfield, including teaching DT, Music and Religious Education modules on the BA courses. 

Rosey is also employed by Manor Castle Development Trust as the Holiday Activities with Food (HAF) Coordinator for Locality C in Sheffield, commissioning the delivery of the Department for Education and Sheffield City Council funded HAF programme for children and young people in receipt of benefit-related free school meals and low-income families. Alongside this role within Manor Castle Development Trust, she has also created and delivered the course content for the Department for Education funded initiative Multiply which provides parents and carers with the opportunity to develop their knowledge and understanding of the Key Stage 2 Mathematics curriculum whilst also improving their own Mathematics skills. In a voluntary capacity, Rosey has supported families in need in local communities within Sheffield for over ten years as a Foodbank Manager.

Appointed: Appointed by Members. Appointed on 22 May 2023

Term of Office: 22 May 2023 - 21 May 2027

Committee Membership: Standards, Pay & Performance

Simon has been involved in school governance for over a decade, including as Chair of Governors. He currently works as a Governance Clerk  supporting both primary and secondary schools, as well as pre-schools and special schools.

Simon has a background in Higher Education having attained a PhD in Religious Studies and Social Theory from the University of Leeds, where he also taught. He was Director of the Higher Education Academy (HEA) Subject Centre for Philosophical and Religious Studies, and Lead for the HEA on its Education for Sustainable Development Programme. During this time he advised the UK Higher Education Funding Councils on issues around ethics and sustainability, and sat on a number of other advisory boards for the Scottish Government. He has been an external examiner in the area of Religious Studies for the University of Wales and the University of Chester and has a number of publications, including as the co-editor of ‘Theology and Religious Studies in Higher Education: Global Perspectives’ (Routledge, 2009).

Simon is a qualified Psychological Coach through Leeds Beckett University and the Chartered Management Institute, and had a private practice for some time.

Simon believes passionately that every child should have a chance to reach their potential whatever their background and needs.

Appointed: Appointed by Members. Appointed on 19 October 2021

Term of Office: 19 October 2021 - 18 October 2025

Committee Membership: Standards, Pay & Performance 

Anne has over thirty years’ experience in education. She began her career teaching English and English as an Additional Language (EAL) in a secondary school in East London before moving into Further Education where she taught EAL to asylum seekers and refugees at City of Westminster College, a large inner city college serving several disadvantaged communities.

After completing a Post Graduate Diploma in Dyslexia and Literacy in 2001, Anne moved into dyslexia support at the college becoming Head of School Disability Support (essentially the SENCO) at the college in 2005. In this role she managed both the discrete provision for young people with learning disabilities and the support for young people with disabilities on mainstream courses, the latter including students with dyslexia and other specific learning difficulties, young people and adults on the autistic spectrum, young people with Education, Health and Care Plans, students with mental health difficulties and those with sensory and physical impairments.

As Head of School Disability Support the role involved managing two large teams of teachers and learning support assistants, managing the additional learning support funding, being the safeguarding nominee for the provision, implementing and overseeing quality systems including preparation for OFSTED, overseeing the organisation of access exam arrangements, collaborating on cross college committees, working with external organisations to provide support for students (e.g. CAMHS, social services and local schools), participating in and leading on training and CPD within the college on e.g. safeguarding, legal obligations under the Equalities Act and Children and Families Act (CFA) 2010, supporting students with mental health difficulties/dyslexia/ASD etc. In addition, after the CFA brought in changes for FE for SEND funding Anne helped bring in new systems within the college and liaised and negotiated with several London boroughs to ensure funding for support for high needs students.

Anne has always been passionately interested in primary education and was involved in her daughters’ primary school, helping with reading and being on the PTA and since retiring and moving to Sheffield she was, before the pandemic, going into antohwer Sheffield school to help in a Year 2 class. This enjoyable experience made her want to become more involved and use her extensive experience within education as a governor or trustee and she is looking forward to the challenge.