Steven Finnemore – Chair of Governors & Safeguarding Governor – Many years ago, Steven worked for the Inner London Education Authority before his career took him in a different direction. After completing his degree, Steven worked in the computer industry before moving into telecoms where he completed his Masters in Business Management. Steven spent most of the rest of his career working for Orange based here in the UK and internationally.
After Steven retired, he wanted to support his local community, so he became a parish councillor and joined his local Citizen’s Advice as a trustee. Steven lives close to Bidwell Brook School and heard there was a need for governors so decided to apply and has been a Governor since 2020.
Jodie Came – Chair (T&L) & Parent Governor – Jodie joined the board last year and also Chairs the Ellen Tinkham PTFA.
Gemma Rolstone – Chair (CBT) & LA Governor – Gemma runs her own child nursery chain, and has extensive HR experience.
Jamie McFadzean – Co-opted Governor – Jamie is a civil servant and scientist working for Defra. He is married with a wife and child, and has lived in Devon for 10 years. Jamie has joined the Federation’s Governing Body in order to ‘give something back’ to his community. Jamie’s skills are in budget management, analysis, databases, and science modelling. Jamie has been appointed to the CBT committee.
Karolina Galera – Foundation Governor – Karolina works at the University of Exeter as Strategic Insights and Planning Partner. Originally from Poland, she has been living in the UK since 2006 and moved from Edinburgh to Exeter in 2021. Karolina previously worked at the University of Edinburgh and Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh in various educational related roles including quality, accreditations, and teaching & student support.
Emma Whitton – Co-opted Governor – Emma is a Senior Commissioning Manager for the NHS. Emma has joined the Federation to give back as a volunteer using her career experience including Change Management, Women and Children’s services, monitoring performance of providers against financial, operational, access and clinical/outcome measures, and Project Management.
Dr Ben Marsh – Co-opted Governor – Ben is a retired Consultant Paediatrician, specialising in Community/Neurodisability Paediatrics, and a former Clinical Director of Community Paediatrics in Plymouth. Having spent his career caring for children and young people with additional needs in London and the South West, on retirement he was very keen to use those skills and experience to support the Learn to Live foundation as a Governor. Ben lives in Exeter with his family, lots of pets and is a season ticket holder at Exeter Chiefs.
Jordan Conibere – Staff Governor – Jordan studied health and social care and worked in the care system, before becoming a Teaching Assistant at Ellen Tinkham school in 2017 – he has also worked at our Bidwell Brook site. Jordan says; ‘I always knew that I wanted to work with and support people to have a better quality of life, whilst providing a friend, mentor and positive role model. I have a strong commitment to making sure there are high aspirations for the all the students in the Federation, and achieving the best possible outcomes for them. I view my job as a vocation rather than your “average job”. As a staff Governor, I’m not afraid to speak out, and I am committed to the future of the education of our students, as well as staff wellbeing – I feel I provide a familiar friendly and trusted face to our staff and students. I am learning about the overall running and structure of the Federation from the strategic perspective of the Governance team, and I’m enjoying contributing to this important role in the Federation, alongside my TA role.’The board believe it is important that we reflect the diversity of the communities we serve. Diverse boards promote inclusive school environments and provide diverse role models for staff and young people. We collect data on the diversity of the board, including age, ethnicity and gender and use this data to inform our recruitment and training needs and ensure there is always a diverse range of perspectives around the table to support robust decision making. We do not publish diversity data online as individual governors could be identified and we have a legal obligation to protect their personal data.