Caroline Ford

TLC Co-Chair

My interest in education began towards the end of my PhD in Molecular Biology when I had the opportunity to supervise a summer school student. After I finished my PhD I started a PGCE to train to be a teacher of Science and my passion for education has grown ever since. I have taught Science, mainly A-Level and GCSE Biology, at Hardenhuish School in Chippenham since 2009.

I live in Limpley Stoke and have two children who have recently attended Freshford Church School. I have really valued the opportunities my children have had to go to both a fantastic preschool and school within our villages. I enjoyed supporting Freshford Preschool as a Chair of the Committee when my youngest child was there and gained a huge appreciation of the value of early years education from this role. I feel privileged to now be able to support the school in my role as TLC Co-Chair.

Sara Buchanan

TLC Co-Chair

I have been a governor since 2017 and was elected as Co-Chair in July 2021. When I moved with my family to Freshford in 2015, our two sons were warmly welcomed into Freshford’s very special school community. Coming from a much larger school in London we were immediately impressed by the dedication and creativity of Freshford’s small staff team, as well as the important contribution of the parent community in enhancing the children’s learning and enjoyment of school.

I have worked for 25 years in the voluntary sector in programme delivery and funding roles for international human rights’ organisations and domestic charities, most recently for Power to Change, an independent charitable trust supporting community business. My interest in education stems from five years’ working for a learning disability charity in London and seeing the transformation in the lives of young people when supported to overcome personal challenges to gain skills, qualifications and self-belief. I am delighted to be able to work alongside such a fantastic team of governors and staff to ensure that we continue to deliver a high quality of learning and that every child in our school enjoys the unique and holistic education that Freshford offers.  

Talia Kelly

Safeguarding Lead

Growing up in an international school environment gave me an early insight into the passion and dedication required to enable children to reach their potential. After some experience in industry, I completed a PGCE in KS2 and 3 English before spending 16 years teaching in a variety of UK and international British Curriculum primary schools. My roles have included leading Music, Science and ICT, Head of Year and Head of Key Stage 2. Since starting a family, I have continued working within the education sector as a tutor, consultant and journalist. I am currently completing an MSc in Digital Education with the University of Edinburgh.

I live locally and have one child who attends Freshford Church School and one who has recently left Freshford and moved onto Secondary School. As a family, we have really benefitted from the care and support of both settings, so I am hoping to reciprocate in kind in my new role as parent governor. As education continues to face significant change, particularly with advances in media and technology, I hope to contribute usefully to the team as we weather the challenges the sector will be grappling with over the next few years. Integral to this will be strengthening the school’s commitment to partnering with parents as co-educators who contribute so significantly to the welfare of our children.

George Tomlinson

Since my two children started their educational journey at Freshford Preschool, followed by Freshford Church School, I have played an active role in the school community, beginning with the Preschool Committee and then joining the school’s PTA. I went straight into the deep end and joined the PTA committee as co-chair in my son’s second year at school and stayed in the role for four years. During this time, I developed a great understanding of what the school needs to continue delivering the diverse learning experience it provides for our children.

As chair of the PTA, I endeavoured to promote good communication between the school and parent body and support the needs of parents, the school and its staff alike. Becoming a parent governor was the next logical step in furthering my support of the school community. I hope that my experience as a parent and with the PTA will benefit the TLC.

Chris Cykowski

I have lived in Freshford for 36 years. My 3 children, who are in their 30s now, all attended Freshford school and were very happy here. I worked at the school myself for many years, latterly as the SEN support teacher. My interest in specialised SEN teaching started when my son was told, age 10, that he was dyslexic, and I subsequently went on to train with Dyslexia Action and obtained a Practising Certificate from them. After I left the school I worked from home as a private tutor, teaching children mostly from within the primary age range. I currently volunteer as a coach with an Adult Literacy charity.

I understand SEN provision from both a professional and parental viewpoint and I hope that I may bring something useful in this new role at Freshford School.

Penny Murray

We have lived in Freshford since the mid-1970s, apart from a five year period in the eighties  when we lived in Plymouth.  Our children spent some of their primary school years at  Freshford School and some of our grandchildren also attended the school, so our connections there have remained constant over a number of decades. I am a retired primary school teacher and have taught in a number of different schools.

I applied to become a foundation governor following the recent reordering of St Peter’s Church. The work was lengthy and complicated but it was also a labour of love. We wanted it to be an accessible building for all, in every sense of the word. This obviously meant that the church had to be closed for many months, and this was compounded by the closures caused by the pandemic.

I hope that as a Christian and in my role as a foundation governor, I will be able to help to redress this balance.  We would love the children and their families to feel that the church building is a place of which they are a part, where they are welcome, both inside and outside school. I very much enjoy participating in collective worship in schools and hope to be able to offer staff help and support in whatever ways I am able.