Meet the Governors

The Governing Body is responsible for policy making, staff recruitment and retention and, along with the Headteacher, ensures that the school is an excellent environment for all our pupils. The Governors use their variety of experience to positively influence the curriculum, finance, staffing, buildings, and other school issues. They do this through meetings, visits and discussions with parents, the Area Education Office and Government officials. To find out more about each Governor, please scroll down the page to read their profiles.

Chair of Governors: Mr Andrew Riddell 

Vice Chair of Governors: Ms Jo Penny

Local Authority Governor: Mr Andrew Riddell

Co-Opted Governor: Mr Stephen Taylor

Co-Opted Governor: Mr Jacques Strydom

Co-Opted Governor: Mrs Antonia Bowman

Co-Opted Governor: Ms Jo Penny

Co-Opted Governor: Mrs Sophie De Castro

Co-Opted Governor: Mr Richard Parks

Parent Governor: Mr Josh Rowe

Staff Governor: Mrs Ruth Tolliday

Acting Headteacher: Miss Katie Brigden

Clerk: Susannah Adams

Governor Profiles

Andrew Riddell

LEA Governor, Chair of Governors and Technical Director in the packing industry

I was appointed as LEA governor to the school in 2018 and was appointed chair in 2021. I have lived in the village for the last 25 years and both my children attended SVPS for the whole of their primary school careers. During that time, I also served as a parent governor.

I am now semi-retired having worked in the packaging industry on the manufacturing side for 40 years finishing up as technical director responsible for project management, buying new equipment and productivity improvement for a number of factories across the UK.

Now that I am retired, I am able to find time to support the school as a governor and pursue other local interests.

Jo Penny

Co-opted Governor, Curriculum and Learning Committee and enjoying an active retirement

Many years ago, I started my working life as a primary school teacher in South East London following my Education Degree from Avery Hill, Eltham. I thoroughly enjoyed teaching but I also discovered I liked working with adults too.  I successfully applied to join the graduate recruitment scheme in the then Inland Revenue and have had a long and varied career from being a Tax Inspector to a District Inspector and finally a Senior Civil Servant. Along the way I moved to Sutton Valence with my husband Peter and in 2011 we were joined by our Cocker Spaniel, Smudge.  I stopped working in 2019 and have enjoyed many hours on our allotment, playing tennis at Bearsted Tennis Club, singing with Sutton Valence Choral Society and walking Smudge of course.

I was interested in giving something back to the community when I was approached to become a co-opted governor in July 2021.  Primary school teaching has certainly changed since I was teaching but fortunately the enthusiasm of the children to learn and the hard work and dedication of all the school’s staff has not.

Stephen Taylor

Co-opted Governor, Chair of Finance, Resources and Personnel Committee and Company MD Winterwood Farms Ltd.

I have been a Governor at SVPS since 2018 and became Chair of the Finance Committee in 2021. I have lived within a couple of miles of the school for over 35 years and had a grandson at the school until 2020.

Outside the school role, our business has a network of over 30 Companies in Poland, France and South Africa, employing over 5,000 people. Our business model is to grow soft fruit around the world and then import to our main packhouse on the border of Sutton Valence and East Sutton. The packhouse is the largest dedicated soft fruit packhouse in the UK where we employ over 300 people all year round. We are the largest UK suppliers of Blueberries to the multiples and the largest Blueberry grower in Europe. The Winterwood packhouse packs around 20,000 tonnes per annum into around 60 million packs.

In recent times COVID provided challenges, but we were fortunate that people still chose to eat healthily. Sadly, BREXIT related issues mean we cannot export fruit anymore, and lack of labour has meant a phased reduction in what we grow here as there are not enough pickers. School faces equivalent challenges and I hope that my experiences are useful when navigating the day-to-day business of running the school.   

Richard Parks

Co-Opted Governor, Curriculum and Learning Committee and Head of Delivery Analysis, NatWest Group

Newly appointed (September 2022) co-opted governor on the Curriculum and Learning Committee. Father to one daughter who started Sutton Valence Primary School with the 2022 intake.

Following completion of a BA Business and Finance degree at Leicester Business School, I spent 6 years with Coutts Nottingham Office, moving to Maidstone when I started with Coutts Private Office as a Wealth Analyst in London in 2009. I became a Business Analyst in 2013 and Head of Delivery Analysis in 2019. I run a team of Business Analysts effecting technology change across the bank.

My professional history and natural curiosity provide an analytical foundation, coupled with a somewhat selfish motivation in the success of the school for my daughter’s education. Upon reviewing the school for my daughter’s application, I felt the strong sense of community and genuine determination to provide the best education for all children, while embedding values commensurate with my own. I look forward to utilising my skills and experience to guide the continuous improvement of the school and help realise the potential of the young individuals we nurture.

Sophie De Castro

Co-Opted Governor, Safeguarding Governor and Secondary School Teacher and Head of Department

I am a secondary school teacher with over 20 years experience of teaching French and Spanish to pupils from Year 7 to Year 13. I worked abroad for a few years after graduating from Manchester University and then taught in Manchester for 12 years before moving to Sutton Valence in 2012. I am currently a Head of Department and I also have a senior pastoral role. I was a parent governor while my two children were at Sutton Valence Primary and I very much enjoyed being part of the community and supporting the staff. I had a break when my youngest son moved to secondary school and then I was invited back as a co-opted governor. My experience of managing a department as well as dealing with safeguarding issues has proved to be invaluable in the governor role. I have enjoyed learning more about the differences between primary and secondary school teaching and I am always impressed by the dedication and hard work of the SVPS team. Being a governor is a great opportunity to get involved with the local community and help the school achieve the best outcomes for all the pupils.

Click here for Details of Governance 2023/24

Click here for Attendance Register for 2024/25