Board Members

Fiona leads the Governance Consultancy Team in Devon. As the chair of NAGAS, she brings a wealth of experience, having previously served as vice-chair and co-chair. Fiona proudly calls herself a ‘governance geek’ and her passion for governance is truly infectious.

Fiona is a staunch advocate for the pivotal role of the governing board’s clerk, or governance professional, and she firmly believes that effective governance support can significantly enhance a board’s efficiency and effectiveness.
Her journey into governance began with a robust business background, including with the Northcliffe Newspaper Group, where she worked on various publications and organised both regional and national exhibitions. Later, she successfully led a business in the heart of Devon, guiding her team to achieve the prestigious ‘Committed to Excellence Standard’ from The British Quality Foundation.

John has over 25 years’ experience working in education governance and holds the position of Governance Services Manager for Bolton Council. John maintains, develops and manages the provision of quality, cost effective clerking, training and development services for governors, trustees and school leaders. His main duty is to provide statutory local authority governance support services in order to strengthen strategic school improvement and empower governors and trustees in fulfilling their statutory duties in governing their schools and academies.

John is elected on the NAGAS Board as the North West regional representative and holds office as Vice Chair, supporting the Chair in the organisation of the national board. John also holds office as Treasurer to ensure regional membership subscriptions are managed effectively through agreed financial management procedures.

Bec has worked as a Clerk to Governors for over ten years clerking for Primary, Secondary, Maintained and Academy schools and as well as being the Clerk and Coordinator for NAGAS, she is also the Clerk to an Educational Trust in Exeter and the manager in her local seaside cafe.

In her role as the Clerk and Co-ordinator for NAGAS, Bec ensures that meetings are organised and clerked effectively, administers the NAGAS Governorhub page and co-ordinates training and events for the group.

Profile Pending

Steve Barker is the Head of the Governance Services team at Strictly Education. His team provide governance support to more than 1000 schools and have operated a success clerking service across Surrey and much of London for more than 25 years. In his role Steve is dedicated to supporting schools and academy trusts in improving the effectiveness of their governance. His experience of governance, across all phases of education, is extensive and he is a regular conference speaker on governance topics, has had articles on governance published and was the creator of Better Governor. Steve is a prolific writer and presenter of governance training and delivers in excess of 200 webinars and training events each year, including a number for Governors for Schools.

As one of the original cohort of National Leaders of Governance (NLG), and a NLG Advocate, Steve was part of a small team who created and piloted the External Reviews of Governance and has conducted over 150 reviews and quality assured many others. He continues to conduct external reviews for individual schools and Multi-Academy Trusts. As a charity CEO and trustee, combined with the role of chair in both an academy trust board and a school governing body, Steve's passion improving the lives of children and young people is clear.

Julia's experience with school governance spans many years. Julia provides advice and training for Headteachers, Governors and Governance Professionals through her role with Bedford Borough Local Authority as Officer for Governor Services. Julia is responsible for the strategic direction of school governance with the aim of ensuring effective governance in schools.

In the past Julia has managed a Clerking service and has hands on experience of being a school governor in various settings including Primary Maintained and in a Secondary School that became part of a Multi Academy Trust.

Mandy started her professional life in HR, working in the manufacturing and IT sectors and then as a training and development consultant. She became a governor in 1992 and has served in primary, secondary and Academy boards for over 20 years. Mandy joined Hampshire Governor Services as a tutor in 2000 and substantively as a coordinator in 2002. She has managed Hampshire Governor Services as Head of Service since 2010.

Mandy has previously chaired the South East Regional COGS group and NCOGS and currently represents the South East on NAGAS.

After a career in retail and business both in the UK and New Zealand, Mel entered the world of governance by becoming a Parent Governor, and subsequently the Vice-Chair of Governors. From this her passion for governance, and the strategic impact it has on improving outcomes/opportunities for our young people grew.

Mel has worked across three Local Authorities in supporting and leading governance and has collaborated with School Leaders across all sectors of education, including Trusts and Teaching Schools. She has supported improvement within Governing Boards and also with the implementation of Federations and Academy Trusts; she is also an experienced Clerk to Governors. In her current role as Team Leader for Wakefield School Governor Services, Mel is responsible for the strategic improvement and support to Governing Boards across the Wakefield District and leads not only on our Clerking & Development SLA but also in the Training & Development SLA where she develops and delivers much of the governance specific training.

Kathleen has worked for North Tyneside Council for over 30 years, joining the Governor Services team in 2004. As Governor Services Coordinator, she manages a team providing support to governing bodies and oversees a governor training program.

Kathleen has previously been a Parent Governor and has also been an active member of her local scout group, demonstrating her commitment to youth and community development.