Meet Our Governors

Maggie was elected as a co-opted member of the board of governors at Harlands in 2012, since which time she has been re-elected twice. As a governor, Maggie feels a strong sense of pride in having an opportunity to contribute to the school’s vision and strategic direction. Seeing the school, and our children, grow and flourish.

Her background has always been in education, first as a secondary school teacher and then as a teacher educator at the University of Brighton. Since her retirement she has continued to engage with schools and their governance in East Sussex, Brighton and Hove, and beyond.

Maggie is also a Local Support Governor for East Sussex – a scheme where more experienced governors offer support to schools across the county. This is great for getting a sense of the bigger picture across the county.

Michelle is a certified chartered accountant. She started her career at Nestle and followed this with working for a tourism consultancy, a marketing company, a Parish Council (Ditchling) and a property management company. She is now the finance director for a commercial property fund. 

Michelle attended Uckfield School and having moved away for University and career returned to East Sussex in 1999. 

Michelle has a strong interest in the local community. She has served as a parish councillor and trustee of the Ionides Trust land at Buxted. She has previous experience of school governance, having been a governor at Buxted Church of England Primary School some 12 years ago.  

Lara was elected to the Governing Body as a Parent Governor in November 2021. Lara's two children both attended Harlands, with the eldest moving up to Uckfield College.

As a parent with a child at Harlands,  I feel that I can offer an insight into the experience of being part of the school community and represent the needs and views of pupils and parents. I am approachable and flexible, and would actively encourage parents to discuss any concerns that they would like me to feedback constructively. I have over 20 year’s experience working with children with special needs within the NHS and Local Educational Authority, working in a wide range of mainstream, specialist, maintained and independent schools, and am passionate about advocating for the needs of all children. I am familiar with the structure and processes for SEN and believe that this experience, whilst being useful for SEN, will also be transferable to other settings within the school, and allow me to understand and process a broad range of information and data. 

Julia was elected to the Governing Body as a Parent Governor in November 2021. Julia has been a parent at the School, including the Nursery, since April 2011. Her two eldest children have since left the school and now attend Uckfield College. Her youngest child is currently in year 1.

Julia is a Chartered Physiotherapist. She enjoyed an NHS career spanning 30 years, including 24 years specialising in Paediatrics (Children,) with a sub-specialism of special needs, particularly the early years of physical, functional and global development. Julia worked in both acute hospital and/or community NHS Trusts throughout East Sussex, Surrey and central London. Her last 18 years in the NHS were spent working with children throughout the community of East Sussex. This included working in partnership with local authority schools.

Julia’s ethos, both personally and professionally, has always been to maximise the global functional development of children to achieve their individual full potential. Early intervention is the key to a successful longer term outcome.

Julia is a strong supporter of Harlands Primary School, currently volunteers her time to hear children read and is enthusiastic about her new role as a ‘critical friend’ to the school.