Governor Profiles

Jo Pires

My name is Jo Pires and I am a Parent Governor and Chair of Governors here at Heygarth Primary School.  I have three children - Carys in Year 8 at Wirral Grammar, Megan in Year 7 at Wirral Grammar, and Cameron in Year 6 at Heygarth.

My current roles on the Governing Body are:

- Chair of Governors

- Member of the Finance Committee

- Chair of Leadership and Management Committee

- Chair of the Pay Committee

- Chair of the Headteacher Performance Management Committee

I thoroughly enjoy being a Governor at Heygarth and am very passionate about the role which includes working with the Headteacher, Senior Leadership Team and staff members to help shape the strategic vision of the school. 

My employment background is in management.  Prior to leaving work to care for my young family and settling on the Wirral, I held the role of Regional Retail Manager for a well known cinema chain.  I was responsible for the retail performance, financial performance and training and development of staff in 40 cinemas across London and the South West of England.

Sue Jacobs

I have been a Governor at Heygarth for over 10 years. I am currently Vice Chair of Governors, a position I have held for 3 years, and a Co-opted Governor. I was elected as a Parent Governor when my eldest son Matthew was attending the school and my daughter Katie is now in college.

I undertake various roles within the Governing Body, including Mathematics Governor, Chair of Finance Committee, a member of the Pay Committee and Headteacher Performance Management.

I work part time as a tax specialist for a Wealth Management Business in Liverpool which gives me time to visit the children in class during learning walks, meeting the School Council and interviewing the children, listening to them talk proudly of their learning. 

Councillor Dave Mitchell

I have been a Eastham ward Cllr for 40 years, having lived in Eastham for over 55 yrs. I’m married with two daughters and four granddaughters, two who presently are currently studying at this school. Having spent some time in various streams of employment, during my working life, I ended up being a fabricator welder prior to retirement. I have held a few positions on many different committees at the council, and having also chaired some. My hobbies are fishing and woodcarving, I also like watching rugby and football.

Tim Jones

My name is Tim Jones and I am a Co-opted Governor at Heygarth Primary School. Since moving to Eastham in 2016 I have been a member of the governing body, beginning as a parent governor. This is my second school having previously been a parent governor for 5 years in Crewe. My two children have moved on to South Wirral High, but I remain a committed member of the school community and primarily focus on the finance side of the school.

In my professional life I work for the BBC in Salford on the regional news programme and BBC Breakfast.

Holly Cottrell
As an experienced leader in education, with a SEND and safeguarding specialism, I am delighted to be a co-opted governor at Heygarth Primary School.

I am the SEN and Safeguarding governor responsible for specific oversight of the school’s arrangements and provision for meeting special educational needs and safeguarding. Promoting and implementing SEN and safeguarding systems and processes is part of my every day job as I lead an alternative education provision aimed at supporting students with SEND or behavioural difficulties with the main aim of re-engaging and re-integrating them back into education. 

In my spare time, I enjoy going to the gym and attending live music events.

Rhiannon Lucas

I am a parent governor at Heygarth. My son Arlo is in Y2. Before moving to Eastham, l worked for a crime prevention charity, running sport and health development projects in inner city areas. I wrote development plans and set targets that used sport to reduce anti social behaviour and remove barriers to participation. I worked in partnership with communities and schools, following local authority policy and procedures and I obtained funding that allowed me to increase participation, provide links to community provision and develop young people through training. For the last 4 years I've been employed as an officer in the National Crime Agency. I enjoy watching rugby and football, having played sport at University, I love music, reading and family trips to the beach.

Hazel Beamish (Headteacher)

As the Headteacher of Heygarth Primary School, I am also a Governor. I am now entering my seventh year as Headteacher of the school and prior to that I had been the Deputy Headteacher here since January 2009.

Outside of school, I enjoy the theatre and dancing. Having been involved in several amateur dramatics groups and many performances in the past, and I now very much enjoy visiting the theatre.

I also have two children, who are 15 and 9.

Gareth Lewis (Deputy Headteacher)

I am the Staff Governor here at Heygarth Primary School. I have been Deputy Headteacher of the school since September 2015 and prior to that was a Local Authority Advisory Teacher for Mathematics. I am currently a Year 6 teacher.

I enjoy playing football and spending time with my 3 young sons, who are 6, 4 and 2 years old.