Meet Our Local Governing Committee
Kath Davidson
Trust Member – Local Governing Committee Chair
I am the local governing committee (LGC) Chair and my main area of support this year is Behaviour and Attitudes. I joined the school as a governor in September 2014 when I was Deputy Head at Walker Technology College. This was a strategic position, in supporting the transition of pupils from primary to secondary school. The aim was to also build upon better relationships and to develop a wider understanding of the primary curriculum.
I retired from Walker Technology College in 2016 but continued to be part of the governing body at Tyneview. In 2019 I took over the position as Chair. With my background knowledge of the school and links I had already established with Tyneview staff, children, parents and the community, this position allowed me to further promote the success of the LGC. We have since recruited to a wider skill set around the table and together developed better governance systems that have increased our ability to challenge and drive improvements.
I attended Notre Dame Grammar school in Leeds, Yorkshire and came to Newcastle University in 1975. Although returning to Yorkshire and Lancashire in my early teaching career I returned to the Northeast in 1982 to get married and start a career path working with more challenging students. This took me in a direction that helped me to gain a deeper understanding of how to teach some of the hardest to reach teenagers in this region. I worked for several years at John Marley secondary school and then Parkway Special School. Whilst in special education I achieved a Master’s Degree in SEN. My focus was upon ‘How to differentiate for all needs in the classroom’.
In 1999 Parkway Special School closed and 90% of the children who attended were distributed back into mainstream provision. I followed the main cohort to Walker where I was trusted and promoted to a new position as Head of Alternative Provision. This post provided me with a new opportunity to set up a new curriculum model for this cohort of students in a secondary mainstream setting. This provision was hugely successful and allowed me several years later to design and implement a new state of the art vocational facility at the new school building on Wellfield Lane.
I was promoted three times at Walker Technology College and finished my career there as Deputy Head Teacher. During my time in a senior post I worked with our feeder schools and Benfield School to design and implement a more nurtured, off-site provision for children who were struggling to access the main stream provision. Pottery Bank Community Centre was the school for Key Stage 4 and Kids Kabin was the Space and provision for Key Stage 2 and Key Stage 3, Walkergate Primary had a smaller provision for Key Stage 1. This model was so effective that I was given the remit to write a Free School bid in 2014. This submission was successful but did not go ahead for several reasons outside my own control.
I have always remained committed to the world of education and hold key values around the importance of ‘the right curriculum’. I believe that all children are ‘teachable’ and it is the role of educators to ensure that the welfare and education of young people matches each individuals needs. I strive to help Tyneview Primary school in this mission.
I am now a proud grandma and outside of my workings as Chair I enjoy the pleasures of family life. My family now all live in the Northeast and I child mind for my granddaughter every Friday. My husband and I are avid travellers and love exploring new countries. We have both undertaken project work with students developing countries. On our own we have been to Africa, Cuba, India, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Costa Rica and plan our next trip to be in Cambodia. So, my life is full, busy and never dull but that is how I like it!
Gary Hunter
Trust Member
I joined the Local Governing Committee (LGC) in February 2021 after retiring as a Health, Safety and Environment (HSE) professional in 2020. My main area of support is as the Health and Safety Link Governor at Tyneview.
With good family values, hard work and dedication I was fortunate to be fully employed for over 42 years with the same manufacturing company in Newcastle that designed, printed and finished food and household branded packaging, for major companies including Cadbury, Nestle, Rowntree, Body Shop, Marks & Spencer and Johnnie Walker. I worked my way from a time-served apprentice to the senior management team. My remit included responsibility for three major UK sites covering 1500 employees and processing over 20 million packages a week.
This is my time to give something back to society to help improve and educate in HSE standards. My primary objective is to help ensure that we have the correct standards, processes and policies in place to safeguard the wellbeing of children, staff, governors and visitors. By following standards and protocols we generate a safe environment. A ‘SAFE’ place to work and learn is a ‘HAPPY’ place.
I’ve been a huge Newcastle United fan since the 1960s. I also have a vested interest in horse racing, management, and ownershipm, with 4 horses in training with two northern trainers. My interests include driving, holidays, food, and socialising. My favourite places are Thailand, The Maldives, India, and Turkey whilst my favourite foods are Indian, Italian and Thai.
Nicola Mole
Parent Member
Hi, I am Nicola, one of the parent governors here at Tyneview, with my two boys currently attending the school. I am very focused and passionate about being the voice of the parents and carers and ensuring that we have as much communication and input as we can between us and the school. I am also heavily involved in the Parent Teacher Association (PTA) and frequently roll up my sleeves to help with organising events for the children such as the school summer fayre and Halloween discos. I even managed to secure a donation of a tree which we planted in the nature garden to commemorate the Platinum Jubilee of the late Queen Elizabeth II. We are always on the lookout for extra PTA volunteers!
I have worked in various sectors including training staff at a taxi firm, office management at a scaffold firm and most recently in retail. However, most of the children and their families around here know me through my voluntary work as the “Rock Lady” as I am the person behind Walker Park Rocks – a rock painting and hiding group which I set up with the support of Urban Green Newcastle. If you live locally to the school, chances are you will have been to my garden to collect a special rock for Halloween or Easter and to see my painted windows! I like to do as much as I can for our local community and am often found out litter picking with my children, helping support Urban Green Newcastle with their families’ activities in Walker Park and have even run rock painting sessions there too!
If you see me in the school yard, please don’t be afraid to stop me for a chat anytime or even just to say hello!
Lidia Scarth
Trust Member
Hi, I am Lidia, a member of the Local Governing Committee (LGC). My main area of support is Early Years. I joined the team around three years ago when I was a member of staff at Tyneview and have since moved on but continued as a LGC member. I was a member of staff at Tyneview for 14 years and it is where I started my career as a newly qualified teacher. Tyneview and Walker will always have a place in my heart so being a governor is a great way to continue to contribute and serve the school and community in a different way. In my time at Tyneview and working across NEAT I established a lot of strong relationships with pupils, families, colleagues and the local community and feel this is a good foundation to continue as a LGC member to support with future successes and challenges.
During my time at Tyneview I led many different subject areas and progressed from class teacher to phase lead and then assistant head before moving on to a deputy headship at another school across the city. I worked across all key stages but spent the majority of my years in the early years leading the phase and establishing a two-year-old provision which supported school growth and in turn impacted on higher pupils on roll. The subject areas I led along the way included MfL, Community cohesion and two Comenius projects taking children to Spain, Belgium and Finland, ICT, Art and English. Along the way I gained a lot of funding for the school receiving lottery bids to develop outdoor learning and play areas as well as a ‘reading rocks’ hub to promote reading for pleasure and in turn improve progress. Throughout this time, we always worked in collaboration with the families, local community and other trust schools with the pupils at the heart of every decision, which is why I was keen to continue to be part of the school’s LGC.
In my own time I enjoy spending time with my family and keeping active and sane by going to the gym and running. In fact, this year I have taken on the challenge of signing up for the Great North Run which I never thought I would do as I was always a sprinter rather than a long-distance runner. Hopefully I will finish it, or I may need to remove this section!
Rachel Richards
Parent Member
Hi I am Rachel Richards, one of the parent governors. I have three children who attend the school and felt that by joining the governing team it was my way of giving something back to the school team who have been such a great support to my children and family. I am also a member of the PTA and regularly help out at school events.
I have been living in the Walker area my whole life and so feel that I have good understanding of the local community and the ups and downs that life here may bring. My working life has seen me take on roles in childcare and the NHS as well as currently working within my family business in an administrative role. I am extremely passionate about my family and giving my children and others the best start in life that they can have, which is another reason that I wanted to join the governing team. I have often been referred to as the ‘crazy Mam’ in the school yard because I am so passionate – I am sure even the teachers agree! However, please don’t let that distract you and if you ever feel that you could do with a chat, just stop me and say hi!