Governor List
Who are we?
2022-23
The governing body of East Sheen Primary School consists of 2 parent governors (elected), 1 local authority governor, 1 headteacher, 1 staff governor (elected) and 13 co-opted governors (at least 2 of which will be parents). 18 governors in total.
Nathalie Townley is the Chair of Governors
Andrew Miller is the Chair of Teaching and Learning
Graham Dyer is the Chair of Resources
Emmet Regan is the Chair of Children, Families and Community
Nathalie Townley
Co-opted Governor
December 2020 - December 2024
Full Governing Board (Chair)
Teaching & Learning Committee
Early Years Link Governor
SEND Link Governor
Nathalie is a stay-at-home mother to her three children. Her two daughters have moved to secondary school, and she has a son in Year 3. Nathalie's professional background is as an Employment Lawyer, working for a number of years in the City and in Oxford. Nathalie was thrilled to join the ESPS Governing Board in March 2017 and is committed to working alongside the Leadership Team to make ESPS the best it can be.
Graham Dyer
Co-opted Governor
March 2019 - March 2023
Full Governing Board (Vice Chair)
Resources Committee (Chair)
PPG Link Governor
Graham is a Chartered Accountant and holds an MBA from Kingston University. Now semi-retired, he has held several roles as finance or commercial director in both the service and manufacturing industries but now works as trustee or consultant providing support in the charity sector. His three children all attended ESPS, the youngest leaving in 2006. Graham first joined the ESPS Governing Body as a parent governor what seems like a very long time ago and although he left the governing board for a few years has now returned as a co-opted governor.
Debbie Canner
Headteacher
September 2021
Full Governing Body
Teaching and Learning Committee
Children, Families and Community Committee
Resources Committee
Debbie was appointed Headteacher at ESPS in September 2021. She joined the school as a teacher in 2007 and specialised in early years, teaching in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2. She became part of the senior leadership team in 2012 as Literacy Coordinator and was appointed Deputy Headteacher in 2015. Previously, Debbie worked as a Business Appraisal Manager for a retail bank and has a BA in Economics. After taking a career break to raise her 2 children (who both attended ESPS), she retrained as a teacher, gaining her PGCE qualification in 2007.
Harry Page
Co-opted Governor
October 2021 - October 2025
Full Governing Body
Children, Families and Community Committee
Resources Committee
Teaching and Learning Committee
Harry has been a teacher at East Sheen Primary since 2014. Having completed a Cell Biology degree at Durham University, Harry achieved his PGCE in London, gaining valuable experience in a variety of schools in the city. Harry has taught in both Key Stage 1 and 2 and was English leader from 2017 to 2021, having previously led Science and Computing. A passionate believer in thinking skills, well-being, inclusivity and the importance of high aspirations, Harry believes this is a very special school to be a part of indeed and loves working here with the staff, pupils and community. In September 2021, Harry became Deputy Headteacher and he loves being part of the dynamic and driven headship team. Before this, he was staff governor. Outside school, Harry enjoys walking, Formula One and anything performance-based – he even had his own radio programme!
Andrew Miller
Co-opted Governor
March 2020- March 2024
Full Governing Board
Teaching and Learning Committee (Chair)
Environmental Intelligence Link Governor
Andrew joined the ESPS governing body as a parent governor in May 2016. He now has two children at the school, in Year 4 and Year 6, with his eldest child having left for secondary school. He is a lawyer, formerly working in the City with a stint in Moscow. He now works in-house with an international energy company, focusing on projects in Mozambique. Before qualification, he taught English in Poland and has travelled extensively. He seeks to play a full and active part on the governing body and contributing to the continued success of the school.
Emmet Regan
Co-opted Governor
March 2018 - March 2026
Full Governing Board
Children, Families and Community Committee (Chair)
Safeguarding Link Governor
Emmet is a management consultant, specialising in public service reform and improving outcomes in the public sector. He has worked on reforming the adoption system for the past two years and has extensive experience of working across local and central government. Emmet also spent several years as a Special Constable with the Metropolitan Police. Emmet holds an MBA from Warwick Business School. Emmet has two children in the school.
Helen Wrigglesworth
Co-opted Governor
December 2021 - December 2025
Full Governing Board
Resources Committee
SEND Link Governor
Helen is a Chartered mechanical engineer and Sainsbury Management Fellow, with a background in product development and project management. She attained an MBA whilst living in Hong Kong. Helen is mother to three boys, one of which has left ESPS and two in Y6 and Y3. Helen joined the ESPS Governing Body as a parent governor in 2015 and was co-opted in 2017.
Susannah Milligan
Co-opted Governor
March 2019- March 2023
Full Governing Board
Teaching & Learning Committee
EAL Link Governor
Susannah has been a governor of ESPS since 2006, including 5 years as Chair. Her two sons both attended East Sheen. Susannah's professional background is in brand consultancy and brand name development, and she currently works as a freelance brand writer. In her spare time she writes poetry and is the trustee of a poetry magazine.
Chris Styles
Co-opted Governor
March 2019- March 2023
Full Governing Board
Children, Families and Community Committee
EI Link Governor
Chris has been a Governor at ESPS since 2003 and has had the privilege of helping guide the school through periods of significant change and development to be the successful community school it is today. Originally, he was elected as a Parent Governor and saw both his children progress through the school and into secondary. He has contributed to the Resources Committee (and was particularly involved in developing external sports and play areas) and chaired Image & Marketing (during development of the school website).
Chris is a Management Consultant with a background in large scale change programmes enabled by enterprise IT systems. More recently he has been developing Green-Tech energy saving solutions.
Jessica Zayouna
Co-opted Governor
October 2019 - October 2023
Full Governing Body
Children, Families and Community Committee
Marketing and Communications Link Governor
Jessica has 15 years' experience in marketing across different channels, sectors and organisations from financial services to museums to charity. Jessica has two children in Year 3 and one in Year 6. Jessica believes that ESPS is the unsung hero of local schools and looks forward to supporting the school to be the best environment for children to learn, flourish and be happy.
Nicky Dorman
Dec 2020 - December 2024
LA Nominated Member
Resources Committee (Vice-Chair)
Health and Safety Link Governor
Nicky graduated from Manchester University and her career in the development and construction industry has taken her to Australia, Kenya and the UK. Nicky played a key role in the design and development of the Olympic Park for the London 2012 Olympic Games and since then has been instrumental in the growth of the UK superfast broadband market. Nicky has two children at ESPS.
Emily Maltby
Co-opted
December 2021 - December 2025
Full Governing Body
Teaching and Learning Committee
PPG Link Governor
Emily is a lawyer who works in the energy transition with a focus on zero carbon and mobility.
Emily joined as an associate member in January 2021 and has had two daughters at the school (one now at secondary school and one in year 6) who love it. She is delighted to be supporting the school in going from strength to strength.
Rupert Brown
Co-opted
February 2021- February 2025
Full Governing Board
Resources
Finance Link Governor
Rupert is an investment manager in a private equity fund with over 10 years’ experience in supporting management teams to develop and deliver their business plans across a range of industries. Prior to that, Rupert worked in corporate finance and restructuring within a large accountancy firm. He is a qualified chartered accountant with a degree in politics from Edinburgh University.
Rupert has three children with his two eldest at ESPS. He is excited about making a contribution to the ongoing success and future development of ESPS.
Leon Orr
Elected Parent Governor
May 2021 - May 2025
Full Governing Board
Resources
EI Link Governor
Leon has one child in Y1 at ESPS. A graduate of Imperial College, Leon is the Chief Delivery Officer for a global technology services firm. Leon is a keen sportsman. Having played rugby for many years, he is now head coach of the under fives and sixes at London Irish Rugby Club. He plays cricket for Putney Cricket Club and, since retiring from rugby, has become a keen triathlete.
Jessica Oliver
Elected Parent Governor
May 2021- May 2025
Full Governing Board
Children, Families and Community
Safeguarding LINK Governor
Jessica is a mother to four children. She has three children at the school. Jessica’s professional background was in Human Resources and Learning and Development for a Financial Ratings company based in London. She is motivated to join an already thriving Governing Body, and committed to playing an active role in supporting the school to be the best it can be.
Joshua Bailey
Staff Governor
Full Governing Board
Children Families and Community
September 2021 – September 2025
Behaviour Link Governor
Joshua has been teaching at East Sheen since 2017. Having completed a degree in Human Geography, Joshua spent summers in America working with children with special needs. This led to him embarking on a worldwide travel; which accumulated with him living in Australia for two and a half years. On his return he went on to achieve his PGCE, before moving to London and joining East Sheen Primary School. Joshua has taught in both Key Stage 1 and Key Stage two and is the Eary Reading Lead as well as the Universities Coordinator.
Alex Watson Jones
Clerk to the Governors
From January 2021
Alex has been Clerk to the Governors at ESPS since January 2021, having previously worked as a dentist prior to having her three children. Alex is keen to be a part of ESPS and help the governing board in any way that she can in the best interests of the school and its community.
GOVERNORS WHO HAVE LEFT DURING LAST 12 MONTHS:
Will Paterson
Co-Opted Governor
June 2022 - October 2022
Full Governing Board
Teaching and Learning
Carol Hawkins
Co-opted Governor
October 2019 - October 2022
Full Governing Body
Teaching and Learning Committee
Lindsey Kavanagh
Co-opted Governor
March 2019- Jan 2022
Full Governing Board
Children, Families and Community Committee
- Parent governors have a child in school at the time of their election and are elected by the parent body.
- Staff governors are members of staff at the school and are elected by their colleagues. This category includes the headteacher (who serves in an ex-officio capacity), teaching and non-teaching staff.
- Co-opted governors are appointed by other members of the governing body because they come from a specialist group or because they possess a particular skill which can contribute to the effective governance and success of the school.
- Local authority governors are nominated by the local council and appointed by the governing body.
- Associate members are not actually governors but can be appointed to serve on committees. They do not have the right to vote at meetings of the full governing body.
The ESPS Governing Body reconstituted in 2017. A copy of the Governing Body’s Instrument of Government can be found here.