Allenby Primary School

My name is Jane Ellis and I have just completed 38 years in education, retiring last summer as an Executive Headteacher in a Multi Academy Trust in Hillingdon. Working with primary children has been a joy as young children are enthusiastic, friendly and easy to engage.

I have now changed careers and work as a Visitor Experience Supervisor at the National Army Museum in Chelsea, London where I still see groups of school children! Museums are a place of learning, so I am really enjoying this new role.

We have three children, a daughter who is a florist, one son who is a project manager for a firm which renovates offices and another son who works for Nestle and lives in Washington DC. They are doing well in their careers and I am proud of them (although I would also like some grandchildren soon).

Why did I decide to become a Governor at Allenby Primary School?

The reason why I applied to be a governor at Allenby Primary School is because I worked alongside Mr Bishop, at his last school. I admire his leadership skills and commitment towards the children at his schools

My name is Ewelina, and for the past decade, I've been living in the heart of Ealing, west London. I hold a first-class degree in Publishing and English Literature earned at Kingston University, where I spent five years - first as a student, then as a contractor working for a non-profit organisation. During my time there, I championed social action by volunteering in schools with a high rate of pupils from underrepresented backgrounds and running co-curricular activities with the university students and the local community after graduation. 

My interest and dedication to providing everyone equal access to education were demonstrated in my dissertation focused on the issue of the socioeconomic gap in the UK and educational inequality. In my previous role, I also served as a Deputy Safeguarding Lead. I'm currently completing my master's degree in Education and Technology at the UCL Institute of Education, with a particular interest in learning design.

I've decided to join Allenby to continue my journey as an active citizen, and I chose this specific area of community work for professional and personal reasons. As someone who experienced growing up unprivileged, with few opportunities to learn and thrive, I believe education is the greatest leveller. By supporting one young person today, we are supporting dozens in the future.

Thank you for the wonderful opportunity to serve Allenby Primary School as the SEND Governor. It is indeed a privilege.

My name is Ms Jayshri Naidoo. I have 28 years of primary teaching experience. I am originally from South Africa, where I trained and qualified as a teacher. I moved to England in the year 2000. Since relocating, I have taught in various diverse schools across London. Currently, I am a class teacher, a Senior Leader, EAL Co-ordinator and a qualified SENDCo.

Nelson Mandela is one of my favourite heroes. His philosophies have always had an impact on me, as a child growing up in apartheid South Africa. One of his most famous quotes is “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” This is what inspired me to become a teacher.

I have always been passionate about teaching. I do believe learning is a never-ending process. We can never stop learning. I believe that every child has the right to quality teaching to enable them to grow into successful adults.    

I am really excited about my new role on the governing body at Allenby Primary School and hope to contribute effectively to ensure that all our children are able to access their education, especially those with additional learning needs.   

As our great Nelson Mandela once said, “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” Education has played a major role for all individuals in society. In my opinion, Education is paramount. I feel obliged to contribute to an institution that has enabled me to develop into the individual that I am today. 

My name is Tasheba Roberts; a Lawyer and an advocate for young people. Earning certification as a Lawyer from The University of Law, London and holding a degree from The University of Kent in Canterbury.

With the vast knowledge I have gained through my experiences of being a Lawyer, I want to inspire and enlighten others to achieve their goals. Hence, it is incumbent on me to be visible to continue to encourage young children of different gender, ethnicity and backgrounds. I am fully committed to empowering children to aspire to dream big and to believe that their dreams are achievable.

My passion for becoming a Governor stems from my belief that every child has the right to an education and to become successful in life. It is crucial to take a stand to assist the community. Being a Governor not only gives me the opportunity to help play a key role in strategic decision making at board level but, also to be a part of an institution that prepares young children to compete for any job in the world. 

I enjoy reading, travelling, theatre, pampering, interior designing, singing and spending time with family and friends

Why did I decide to become a Governor at Allenby Primary School?

I believe primary school education is an essential role for developing and moulding young people to become successful and responsible adults. An effective governing body is crucial to the success of the school. I highly value the standard of education that Allenby School offers. I believe in the school’s ethos, aims, values and community involvement. I wanted to help play a part in improving children’s education and to support the school’s staff. Moreover, I want to be an engaged member of the team that helps enables the school in achieving an Ofsted “outstanding” rating. As a Governor I believe we have an essential role to help positively influence this process.

I was born in Wellington, New Zealand and moved to England at a young age. I spent my early years in North London before moving to Oxford. I studied journalism at the University of Buckingham before completing my Master’s degree in Public Policy at King’s College London. I became particularly interested in education policy during this time.

There are many role models I look up to including: Sir Edmund Hillary, Muhammad Ali and Jacinda Ardern. Some of my hobbies include sport, reading and watching movies. I am a huge New Zealand rugby fan, which is great because they always win, but it is important to have balance in life so I also support Arsenal. My greatest passion is travelling to other countries to experience their cultures and learn new things.

I began my teaching career in Hillingdon and then moved to Allenby where I have worked for nearly five years. I love teaching and feel an immense sense of pride when I see pupils making progress. I had several teachers when I was younger who dramatically influenced my life and I cannot think of a more important or rewarding profession to be in. I am very fortunate to represent this wonderful school as a Staff Governor. This role provides me with further opportunities to make a meaningful contribution to the school and to develop new skills.

Throughout my teaching career I have been lucky enough to teach many different age groups in completely different parts of the country. Supporting all those children to learn new skills and ideas has been a privilege and I have learned so much along the way.

As a “leading teacher” earlier in my career, I was able to explore different ways to empower children to drive their own learning. I believe that this is one of the most important things we can teach as it means that children are on the road to becoming life long learners. Everyone has something to learn, no matter what age.

I love to read in my spare time and this is why I enjoy helping children develop their English skills so much. I believe that reading is the key to success for our children.

Why did I become a governor?

As a deputy at Allenby Primary School I think it is wonderful to have the opportunity to work alongside the incredibly hardworking and motivated governing body. Everybody brings their own skills and together we all work to make a difference to our school and community.

It is a privilege to be the headteacher at Allenby primary school and serve such a wonderfully diverse community. I have been in education for nearly two decades now and much of that time has been working in Southall so I feel I have a strong affiliation with the local community.

I have had many roles in my career, one of which was as a SENDCo so inclusion is of particular importance to me. In fact, it was one of the major draws for me to Allenby Primary School where inclusion and diversity are at the very core of what we do.

As a senior leader, I have the honour of working with governors, staff, pupils and parents to set the strategic direction for the school. We are incredibly proud of our Unicef Rights Respecting gold status and we have a suite of new values that accompany our Unicef rights, all of which support our pupils with their character development as well as their academic outcomes.

In my spare time, I love to read, listen to music, go to the gym, travel, experience new things, watch sports and spend time with my family. My wife, Mrs. Hickman, is also a teacher in a primary school. We have two active young boys who keep us incredibly busy!  We bought a caravan a few years ago so we have been busy exploring the British Isles and having family adventures in our spare time or when the weather permits.

My name is Nimit and I am from India. By education I am a Business Management graduate with a specialization in Finance and an MBA. I spent the first 25 years of my life studying and working in various parts of India and then moved to Singapore where I lived for 2 years and then moved to London. I have worked in Management Consulting, Business Strategy and Planning functions across Ernst & Young, Sabre and JLL.

I bring a strong sense of commercial acumen to Allenby Primary School's Board with my 11+ years of experience leading commercial activity in large corporations.

I am passionate about giving back to society, it gives me satisfaction and working with Schools as a Governor is a step in that direction. I have been very active socially working with Yuva Ignited Minds in India, Aidha in Singapore and now as a Trustee for Hornsey Lane Estate Community Association and as a Governor for Allenby Primary School in London.

Outside of my professional life I am an active Badminton Player and have made representations for clubs and school in the past.

I am a qualified psychodynamic counsellor and psychotherapist and I qualified from the Manor House centre for psychotherapy and counselling. Later I trained and qualified as a psychoanalytic psychotherapist at the Westminster Pastoral Foundation.  Prior to this, in my younger days, I was a primary school teacher and language teacher in Italy.

For most of my life I have been in contact with schools, first as a student, then a teacher then a parent. My kids attended NHEHS and Durston House school in Ealing. During their time there I was a very active member of the school community. I helped organising Fetes, bring and buy sales and became a support teacher helping children with their reading. I also gave Italian lessons to six forms students in NHEHS to support the Italian teacher. In my younger days I was always involved with young people emotionally or academically. My ten years work as supervisor with Kids Company consolidated all the above. My role there was to offer therapy/supervision to case workers, therapists, social workers and office people. My psychoanalytic background offered me a safe and confidential platform to support all of them. Later on, within kids' company, I offered therapy to gang members and youngsters in emotional distress. My insight in mental health will help me pinpoint the dynamics between students, students and teachers and between teachers. My profession is constantly evolving, and I keep studying and reading new topics which will help me understand and try to help people's dynamics. In my clinical profession and having worked at Ealing hospital mental health department and the secure unit I came across a variety of issue which make people suffer. Sexuality, culture, gender and diversity are some of the fields I am interested in and work with. My background in languages facilitates the candour of people who can use their mother tongue. I believe that my awareness of mental health can be of great benefit to a school where bullying, gender, admiration for gang work etc are still very important among students.