Welcome to our governors' section.

 

I'm Reverend  Glyn Thomson I am the Vice Chair of Governors. I am married with a son and daughter, both of whom are grown up. We have three grandchildren.

 

Having been involved in senior management for 28 years of my career which culminated in being a Chief Executive, I gained considerable experience in strategic leadership and management, finance, staff development and motivation, personnel issues and monitoring performance. I have needed to draw on this experience, since I became Chair of Governors in October 2013, and Vice Chair in September 2019 as I have worked closely with the Head Teacher in driving forward improvement in the school and seeking to establish strong governance.

 

In July 2011 I retired after 44 years of work and I then trained for ordination with the Church of England. I was ordained in July 2013 and I am now part of the ministry team for St. Luke's (Princess Drive), St. Jude's, Stockbridge Village, St. George's, Huyton, and St. Mary's (Knowsley Village).

 

Having three grandchildren makes me passionate about children being provided with top quality education and a positive experience whilst at Mab Lane.

 

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I’m Richard Reid. I am the new chair of governors, having taken over from Rev. Glyn Thomson in September 2019. I am a Lead Corporate Accountant for Seadrill, working in Liverpool city centre. I originally became a governor as part of an initiative by the governors to bring in someone from the private sector to give a different perspective on how the school is run and to further broaden the breadth of knowledge and expertise of the governors.

 

A bit about own background; I grew up in Fazakerley, going to school in Kirkby for both primary and secondary education. I later studied at Warwick University, obtaining a BSc honours degree in Physics, graduating in 2011. From there, I worked in audit at the accountancy firm KPMG, where I completed my training contract and became a charted accountant with the Institute of Charted Accountants of England & Wales in 2014. Outside of work I’m actively involved in charity fundraising and am an avid Everton fan and season ticket holder. My background in education and desire to become a governor comes from my mum, who has worked as a TA in my old primary school for 20 years and until a few years was on their board of governors too.

 

Since joining the Governor board in 2015, I have been very impressed by the community of Mab Lane. I’ve found the manners of the children exemplary and the passion and commitment of the staff to be of the highest standard. 

 

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Phillip Clayton - Parent Governor - Newly appointed

 

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I’m Christopher O’Brien I joined the governing body of Mab Lane Primary School in 2005 and I have responsibility for Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) issues and also for Safeguarding and Child Protection.

I currently work as a lecturer in SEND in Liverpool John Moores University but since 1978 I have worked both in special and in mainstream education teaching primary as well as secondary aged children.  I am happy to be able to use my various experiences in teaching over the years to inform my role as a governor.

I am extremely proud to be a Governor of Mab Lane School and will support the school wholeheartedly to achieve its goal of ‘Only the Best’ by creating conditions in which all members of the school community are helped and supported to be the very best that they can be.  

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I'm Jen Briggs, staff governor, as well as wife and mum of two children. 

I have worked as a teacher at Mab Lane Primary School since September 2014 and have had the privilege of working in most year groups in that time including Early Years, Speech and Language and years 2 and 3. This school year I have set up a Nurture Group at Mab Lane called the Sunshine Room, which is to support children with social and emotional difficulties.

 

I am also the subject leader for Religious Education and work hard to ensure our children learn about a variety of religions and have the opportunity to think deeply about what their own beliefs are.

I have also worked alongside local churches and community projects to achieve the Church School Partnership Awards.

 

I wanted to become staff governor to gain further understanding of school governance and policy, and I hope to continue to build a link between the governing body and all staff members at Mab Lane.

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Nicola Wong-New parent Governor.
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I am Jeanne Kitchen and I joined the governing body of Mab Lane in 2014.  I support Year 1 and help with reading one afternoon a week.
I am a retired teacher of 43 years and have worked in various secondary schools in Liverpool and Birkenhead. My last role was as an Assistant Headteacher in a large secondary school in charge of Inclusion and KS3 behaviour and pastoral matters.
I consider it a privilege to be a governor of Mab Lane School and will always support the Headteacher, the staff and the students in achieving their goals. 'Only the Best' sums up the school and all who are involved with it and it is something of which we should all be very proud.

 

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I'm David Barlow, Vice Chair of Governors.  I'm married to Anne, a deputy head teacher, who taught at Mab Lane between 1993 and 1999, and we have three grown up sons.

I've worked for over 40 years in central government, although I'm now partially retired, in a variety of technical, managerial and accountancy roles.  During my career, although I've been based in Liverpool for the longest period of time, I've also worked from offices in many different parts of the U.K. including the Shetland Isles, the Isle of Man and various locations in London and the South East. As part of my job, I've visited Switzerland, The Netherlands, France, Germany, Belgium and Italy.  I was also seconded to the Dutch Ministry of Finance for a period of time as part of an EU initiative.  All in all I've gained a wide knowledge of many very different organisations and people.

 

I enjoy quite a wide variety of interests which include, various sports, many of which I've played (badly) over the years, skiing which I took up eight years ago, fell walking, running, photography and history.

I've been a member of the Governing Body since the mid-1990s and I feel very privileged to be involved with such a marvellous school and am fully committed to help the school earn its full and well-deserved potential."

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I'm Nicola Wong and I was appointed Parent Governor at Mab Lane in 2023.

 

Currently I work at a secondary school as a Maths teacher - a career that I have enjoyed for 14 years. My genuine passion for education along with my desire to make a positive impact on students' lives has led me to become a Parent Governor.

 

With two young children who enjoy their everyday here at Mab Lane, I'm thrilled to be a part of the governing body, enabling me to support the headteacher, staff and students to achieve its goal of "Only the Best!"

 

I am so proud that my children attend Mab Lane and it is heart-warming to see how much fun they have along the way. I look forward to continuing my role as a Parent Governor and learning more about school governance and policy.