Governance

Paola Wilson campaigned for the successful opening of Haberdashers’ Aske’s Borough Academy. From 1995 to 2010 she worked as a barrister, specialising principally in criminal and human rights public law. She liaises on a voluntary basis with parents and carers on local issues pertaining to community and youth projects.

She has a son at Charles Dickens.

Michael is the headteacher and is responsible for the day-to-day running of Charles Dickens Primary School and Nursery. He began his teaching career as a trainee in 2004 and has been teaching ever since. During his career, he has held leadership, governor and trustee positions in schools across London and Surrey. In his time at Charles Dickens Primary School, he has introduced and championed a wellbeing curriculum and mental health support for all children, which has had a significant influence on life at the school and has been adopted by other schools across the country.

I’m pleased to be able to contribute as a parent governor within Charles Dickens where the children benefit from a vibrant academic and social experience. I will bring my experience within Further Education and the Awarding Body sectors. Given today’s pace of change within the Department for Education, I hope to be able to offer the operational support that will help the school to thrive through this rapid change.

Louise has worked at Charles Dickens Primary School since 2003. She is passionate about Charles Dickens and has lived and worked in SE1 her whole life.

Sasha’s experience in the charity sector spans 13 years supporting those most in need, to help with the building of stronger diverse communities. Sasha is the founder of a community interest company supporting disadvantaged young people to develop in character and self sufficiency, to drive the building of social, educational and economic development. It is with these skills and experiences that she aims to contribute to the excellent building of Charles Dickens local governing body. Sasha is a parent to a teenage son.

Deborah grew up in Belgium, is a dual (French and English) qualified solicitor specialised in real estate finance and works in a City-based law firm. She gave monthly free legal advice from 2020 to 2021 in Lewisham.  She lives locally to Charles Dickens with her husband and two children.

I’ve worked in information security for over twenty years, most of which were spent as managing director of a cyber security company. I’m now an advisor to a start-up which aims to help parents keep their children safe online. At the beginning of the first lockdown, I was part of the Covid Mutual Aid leadership team, a voluntary organisation which helped to get food and medicine to vulnerable people.

During that time I also assisted in a project to provide secure and reliable laptops to Charles Dickens pupils so that they could access remote learning.

I have been working at Charles Dickens for 36 years, in both Nursery and Reception classes and I also ran the after school provision for over 20 years.

I am now head of Pastoral care and Early Help, supporting children and their families to access the right support in school and externally.
As part of the safeguarding team, I liaise with children services and a variety of other services to meet the needs of our families.

As part of the senior leadership team, I help to oversee the smooth running of the school, working with the staff to support the children through their journey at Charles Dickens. Although I was a staff governor at Charles Dickens over 20 years ago, I feel that the educational services have changed over the years, and I want to explore other ways of helping our children and families.

Marcus Lyon is a British artist best known for his extensive, research-based work creating Human Atlases that explore community through photographic portraits, oral histories, and DNA mapping.

Outside the art world, Lyon is a determined social entrepreneur & an active public speaker. Lyon is a TED speaker and has served on the boards of the global leadership social enterprise Leaders’ Quest, the art institution Somerset House and is an ambassador for Black Leaders Detroit.

He and his family have lived at The Elephant & Castle for 30 years.

Charlene has always had a passion for education and has over 15 years of experience working with children and young people.

Charlene also has experience in youth work and early years; she was a former teacher in childcare and health and social care. Charlene currently works as a SENCo, curriculum lead and teaching and learning lead in an alternative provision.

Charlene became a governor to play a part in the primary school’s central role in a child’s development, not just for the early years but also into their futures. Charlene is delighted to have been given the opportunity to support the school and its children in her role as a governor.