Governors

My name is Tania Sanders and I have been a Foundation governor at Bishop Lonsdale Primary School since before the school was made an Academy in 2013. I am currently Chair of the Governing Board and sit on both the Finance and the Strategic Committees. I have responsibilities for Safeguarding, Children in Care and the Early Years. I also work with a group of other governors to monitor the effectiveness of the school as a church school.
I trained as a teacher many years ago at the former Bishop Lonsdale College of Education and I am now retired. In my spare time I enjoy walking and I lead a French conversation group for the University of the Third Age (U3A). I am also a member of St. Luke’s congregation.

My name is Duncan Ellingworth and I was appointed as a parent governor in November 2018. I have three children, George who is Year 3, Matilda who is in Year 1 and Henry who will be joining them at school once he is old enough.
As a governor I currently sit on two committees, the Finance committee and the Strategic Development committee. I am Chair of the Finance committee and have a responsibility for the Pupil Premium funding. I am also Vice-Chair of the Governing Body. At each meeting, I question the school leaders on each of these areas, with the aim of working together to ensure that the children receive the highest quality of education and care and that these standards are maintained.
I am an accountant by trade and currently work at a practice on Burton Road. My hobbies include darts, snooker and the (not so mighty at the moment) Derby County!

My name is Stuart Lydon and I was appointed a staff governor at Bishop Lonsdale Primary school in September 2021. As the teaching staff governor, I aim to represent the viewpoints of the teachers so that their needs, hopes and successes continue to be recognised and valued. Our school works together as a team so well and I hope to be able to contribute to that success. I joined Bishop Lonsdale in 2016 and I am currently the Year 5 class teacher as well as the lead teacher for Key Stage 2, Science and Computing. I help to run the Drama Club and also lead the pupil e-safety team, the I-Vengers. In my spare time, I love to write, sing and (over)act on stage in pantomime, when global events aren't putting a stop to that kind of thing!

My name is Rev’d Anita Matthews and I was appointed as a Foundation governor in September 2018. I have been involved with Bishop Lonsdale for a number of years, contributing to the RE curriculum and Worship. I am also involved in overseeing the Derbyshire/Kolkata School links programme which Bishop Lonsdale participates in. I am on the Strategic Development Committee, and on the SIAMS (Statutory Inspection of Anglican and Methodist Schools) Committee. I am a member of Derby SACRE (Schools Advisory Council for Religious Education). Currently I am Acting Vicar of St. Peter’s in the City of Derby and Lead Chaplain for Derby City Centre Chaplaincy. In my spare time I enjoy travelling, going to the cinema and sharing food with friends.

September 2022 sees me taking up my new role as a Trust Governor. I am delighted to have the opportunity to still be involved in ensuring the children at Bishop Lonsdale continue to receive the highest standard of education in a safe, caring and nurturing environment.
I am originally from Lincoln and came to Derby to train as a teacher. I am married with three children.
Before retiring, I spent most of my career teaching junior school children but also taught adults and nursery children.
Since retiring in July 2021, I have been able to spend more time with my two grandchildren - usually visiting parks and farms! I have also spent a great deal of time catching up on all the books I’ve wanted to read as well as doing some gardening.
Sport has always been a passion of mine, whether watching or playing. I especially enjoy netball, football, rugby and athletics. I started playing netball at junior school, continuing throughout secondary school before taking up badminton at college. These days I watch more sport than play although up until the pandemic I did play Goal Shooter in the staff netball team. Some of my team mates have been heard to comment that I was playing walking netball long before it had been invented!

My name is Gail Moore and I was appointed a staff governor at Bishop Lonsdale Primary school in May 2020. My areas of responsibility are Pupil Premium funding and behaviour. As a governor, I aim to bring my staff viewpoint to each meeting to help our school to be the best it can possibly be for everyone.
I currently work in early years as a teaching assistant. I have worked at Bishop Lonsdale for 35 years, so sometimes I feel a bit old when I have parents who I taught now bringing their own children to school! In my spare time I’m a season ticket holder for Derby County and enjoy a Saturday afternoon cheering on the Rams.

Hello, my name is Mel Preston and I was appointed a foundation governor at Bishop Lonsdale Primary school 3 years ago. Currently I am on the Strategic Development Committee and my areas of responsibility are Parental Engagement and Maths.
I have 3 children at the school, in years 5, 4 and 1. In my role I attend governors’ meetings and ask challenging questions of the senior leadership team about their plans for the school and how these will have an impact on the environment at school and the ways in which our children learn.

My name is Paul Reed and I was appointed a Foundation governor at Bishop Lonsdale Primary school in September 2020. When I started at Bishop Lonsdale Primary School, I was pleased to be invited to take on the role as Governor with responsibility for our SEND provision. As the SEND Governor I see it as my role to question, review and if necessary, challenge the school’s SEND provision and checking that the provision meets the needs of every individual child. I believe it is the responsibility of us all to ensure that the school is able to provide and maintain the highest quality SEND provision.
I am employed as a Senior Lecturer at the University of Derby in the Social and Community Studies Department. My interests are adventurous sports, accessible activities, rugby, motorbiking and supporting Derby County with my youngest son. I have two children and five grandchildren.

Hello, my name is Helen Lillie. I am honoured to be a school governor at Bishop Lonsdale School. I have been in education a long time in various roles with 46 years experience of teaching, learning and assessment with observation and performance management at the heart of driving up standards across education. I have a vast understanding and undertaking of quality assurance and compliance engaging with external stakeholders and staff alike. I am passionate about students achieving their goals and being the best versions of themselves. I am committed to helping the organisations I work with and alongside to meeting their strategic aims and objectives that drive forwards towards outstanding outcomes. I have over 35 years working as a member of the Senior Leadership Team within two very large colleges as well as Quality Nominee working with a vast number of awarding organisations to ensure compliance as well as promoting right choices of delivery to meet local and national priorities.