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Meet the Governors

The Governing Body works in partnership with the headteacher, teaching staff, all other members of the school community, families and the wider community. Our role as Governors is to challenge and support our committed team of staff, both teaching and ‘non-teaching’, to provide a nurturing environment where all pupils can reach the highest standards they can.

School Governors draw expertise and experience from a wide range of professions working in the worlds of education, business, and community organisations. The governing body consists of:

Community governors
Local authority governors
Parent Governors elected by other parents at the school
Teacher Governors elected by their colleagues
Staff governors elected by support staff
Headteacher
Co-opted Governors

Professor Gary Beauchamp – Chair of Governors I am Professor of Education in the Cardiff School of Education at Cardiff Metropolitan University, where I work in educational research. I began my career as a primary teacher before moving into higher education at Swansea University, with a short secondment to the inspectorate with Estyn, before moving to Cardiff Met. In this time, I have visited many primary schools in the UK and beyond and I try to use this experience to contribute new ideas about how our school can continue to grow and flourish. I have been a governor in primary schools in different capacities for more than 20 years, including as chair of governors at Llandaff CW primary school and at Mount Stuart, where I have been a governor since 2010. My role as chair means that I ensure that the governing body works as a team, making good use of the skills and expertise of all members. In addition, I work very closely with the head teacher to ensure that all members of the school community share a vision for the school and know how that vision is to be achieved, to continue to raise the standards reached by all pupils.
Kerry Wilcox – Vice Chair of Governors My background is both financial and entrepreneurial, having qualified as an accountant in 1984 and run two successful businesses. I started off in local Government, becoming a Chief financial officer of a small district Council. I then had a change of career and ran an hotel with my husband for ten years before going back and starting up my own accountancy business. I retired three years ago. I have always believed that we should strive to learn as much as we can, having followed up my accountancy qualification with additional 'A' Levels and an open university degree. I hope I have a lot to offer in my first governorship post as I also volunteer as a mentor, a listening Samaritan and am also an ambassador for survivors of domestic violence. I am looking forward to becoming involved in the necessities of compliance and financial control.
Helen Borley - Headteacher I joined Mount Stuart as Headteacher in January 2017, prior to this my teaching career has been in London, Southampton, Berkshire and Hampshire. This is my second headship and I am proud and excited to be leading such an amazingly diverse, creative learning community. At the heart of my philosophy for education is that children should be at the centre of all we do; children's learning, welfare and wellbeing is paramount and our key priority.
Ivor Gittens – LA Governor Following a career in the Royal Air Force I work for the Ministry of Defence as an Instructional Officer. I have had several Committee positions with Wales and West Housing Association and the South Wales Police Authority. I am a LA Governor at two Primary schools in Cardiff. I am registered with the Engineering Council at I Eng. Level and have a Cert. Ed. (FE).
Helen Edgeworth - Community Governor I am employed as Governor Services Officer for Cardiff Council. I also have years of experience working in the south of Cardiff formerly as Hub Manager of Butetown Pavilion and previously as a development officer of Communities First. I am also a qualified ESOL teacher and train students in citizenship and assist in Life in the UK tests. As a governor I bring experience to the role in recruitment, dealing with conflict, community liaison, safeguarding/child protection and project management.
Sadia - Parent Governor I am a mother of six and four of my kids are currently students at Mount Stuart Primary. I am one of the founders of Friends of Mount Stuart which is the schools PTA group. As part of this group we work on activities to help bolster school funds through organizing events such as family fun day, movie night, school disco and coffee morning. I am very passionate about supporting our school so that our children can both have a strong a educational foundation and also thrive to reach their full potentials. My goals as Parent Governor include working with our kids to instill school pride and an excitement for learning. One of the ways I hope how to work towards this is to help develop after school programming such homework assistance and arts activities to help them explore their personal interests as they develop as learners.
Saeed Ebrahim - Parent Governor I have lived and worked in the vicinity for many years and have children attending Mount Stuart from nursery through to Year 5. I formerly ran the Butetown Youth Pavilion and have 15 years of experience with Cardiff Council as a Community Education Officer for Cardiff Youth Services. A former pupil of Willows High School and Whitchurch High School Sixth Form, I went on to study for my undergraduate degree at Cardiff Metropolitan. A keen rugby supporter, I having formerly played for Cardiff Schools and Youth. I am presently setting up a rugby team for the local area and am involved in a steering group to open a boxing club for Butetown. I am community focused and work closely with Cardiff University and with Helen Edgeworth (another Community Governor) at BRG Communities First to produce innovative and bespoke projects for young people in schools and college to excel in education and improve their employability.
Ruth Williams-Sharp – Local Authority Governor I was appointed as an LA Governor in September 2015 and was appointed Chair in September 2019. I currently work in Cardiff University's Admissions Team as the Admissions Support Manager. I am passionate about Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) and well-being. I became a Governor because I believe strongly in equal access to education for all.
Bethan Whitehead – Deputy Head & Teacher Governor I have been the Deputy Headteacher at Mount Stuart Primary School since September 2019. Previously I have been Deputy Headteacher, Acting Headteacher and part of the senior leadership team at schools in RCT, Bristol and Chicago. I am a language specialist and have coordinated Literacy and Language in previous schools, I am also a qualified French and Spanish teacher. I have also led Maths and Science in previous schools, as well as having 8 years of experience as an ALNCO. I am passionate about the new Curriculum for Wales. I believe that it is our role as educators to provide children with a wide range of fun, exciting and engaging experiences, relevant to them. The curriculum should equip them with the skills to achieve their very best in the future and be confident, healthy open-minded citizens.
Shubnam Aziz - Senior Leader & Teacher Governor I have worked at Mount Stuart since 2002 in various roles across the primary age and I can't ever imagine working anywhere else! I love working in an environment which is as diverse as it is exciting. I am a member of the ‘Senior Leadership Team’ and have Teaching and Learning Responsibility (TLR) for Standards. As a teacher and governor, I work hard to ensure that all children leave Mount Stuart with an excellent education and the confidence to strive to be the best they can possibly be in their future lives.
Asha Saleh – Support Staff Governor My name is Asha Saleh and I am a Support Staff Governor. I have worked for Mount Stuart Primary School for a number of years and thoroughly enjoy my time here. I like to think I take my role seriously and if a member of staff would like my help at all I would be available to assist them. Mount Stuart is a multi-cultural school with many diverse backgrounds that I am happy and proud to be a part of.
Julian Konten – Community Governor I am currently Head of Department for Design and Technology at a secondary school. I was extremely honoured to be asked to be a community governor of Mount Stuart Primary School. Especially, being a past pupil that was taught by the late Betty Campbell. I have high aspirations for all pupils I work with, and I am committed to supporting growth in children and enabling them to achieve their full potential. I see myself as a role model for those who are disadvantaged or less fortunate than others. I am passionate about educational equality, and this can be demonstrated through my work within the school I teach at, where diversity and inclusion are at the forefront of my practice. In addition to commitments as a teacher I am actively involved as a member of the National Education Union (NEU) and BameED network an organisation, aimed at increasing the representation of BAME people within the education sector.
Hayley Smith – Community Governor
Abdi Samater – Parent Governor Hi my name is Abdi Samater, I'm a parent governor and also father of 3. My daughter Yasmin just graduated from year 6 in Mount Stuart and my son Yaser is in year 2. I have been working for the Royal Mail, for over 10 years, as post Man and I am now acting manager.
Indira Krishnamoorthy – Parent Governor I am Indira Krishnamoorthy completed a Bachelor degree in Information Technology, then worked as software engineer for three years. Presently I am a home maker and learning Indian classical dance. I enjoy doing crochet on my free time.
Georgia Reed – Parent Governor Hi I’m Georgia and I’m the mother to a 7-year-old, miracle child called Kingston. Mount Stuart will forever be special to me as it was the same primary school I went to as a child too. From a very young age I decided I wanted to work with children and got my first job in Darling Buds Nursery and then went on to go to college to do The CACHE Certificate and CACHE Diploma as well as working for the council at many playschemes. Children are the future and I’d like to offer help and support in anyway, I can, hence why I have put myself forward for the parent governors’ position.
Babita Parekh – Parent Governor I am a local mother of 3 beautiful boys, (year 8, 5 and reception), 2 of which are currently pupils of Mount Stuart Primary School. I am a firm believer and as I regular remind my boys ‘Education is knowledge and knowledge is power’ and to practice what I preach, I am currently studying towards achieving a professional qualification with the Chartered Institute of Internal Auditors. As a Senior Internal Auditor for Cardiff Council, I can help to improve internal operations, governance and risk management by influencing change. I welcome the opportunity to help the school and represent the parent’s views in any capacity I can and advocate for parents views in decision making on all matters affecting our children in school.
Bethan Jones – Clerk I am a qualified solicitor (currently non-practising) and for over 10 years specialised in family law in Cardiff and then across the South Wales valleys. I have been a parent governor of 2 mainstream primary schools and currently work full time as a clerk to governors. I am the clerk for 14 schools across Cardiff which include a mix of; high schools, primary schools, federated schools, special schools, faith schools and Welsh medium. I also work as an independent clerk, and regularly co-ordinate and clerk disciplinary hearings and complaints meetings for a number of schools, working in conjunction with HRPS. My passion is foreign travel and I am always planning the next travel experience for my family.
Hannah Jenkins – Clerk I have lived in Cardiff my whole life, I’m a former pupil of Whitchurch High School and studied my degree at Cardiff University. I have worked for the Education and Lifelong Learning Directorate at Cardiff Council since 2017 and am presently the Schools Liaison Officer for Cardiff. My role focuses on the Cardiff Commitment which aims to bring the public and private sectors together to work in partnership to connect young people to the vast range of opportunities available in the world of work. Ultimately, the goal of the Cardiff Commitment is to ensure that all young people in the city eventually secure a job that enables them to reach their full potential. My work involves ensuring that all children and young people have equal access to opportunities, whilst also focusing on the city’s most vulnerable learners. I am a Clerk to Governors in three primary schools across Cardiff and I work hard to ensure that I utilise my skills and knowledge to support them and provide opportunities for the children and young people within their schools.