Governor Profiles

Governors are the school's strategic leaders and have a vital role to ensure every child gets the best possible education.

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You can contact the Governing Body through the School Office or by emailing: chair@miltonroad.cambs.sch.uk

Richard Wielechowski Chair of Governor

Area Champion - PSHE/RSE 

 

 

Richard became a governor in October 2018. Having first come to Cambridge as a student, he has lived in the city for over 15 years. Richard works in finance and research and has significant experience appraising corporate strategy and financial performance. He became a governor because of his desire to give something back to the local community and a belief he can help Milton Road Primary School via his financial knowledge. He has a son and a daughter at the school.

 

Sonia Ilie - Co-opted Governor

Area Champion - Inclusion/SEND & MFL

 

 

Sonia has lived in Cambridge for over ten years and now works as a lecturer at the Faculty of Education, University of Cambridge. She researches education inequality and its link to deprivation. She is an evaluation specialist, working to understand what works for improving children’s learning and their progression through education, and to build evidence that schools and teachers can use effectively. She hopes she can use this knowledge in her governor role to help Milton Road Primary School. 

 

Mike Bleazard - Co-opted Governor

Area Champion - Computing

 

 

Mike was elected as a co-opted Governor in November 2020. He has two children. His son has already completed his ‘lap' of Milton Road Primary School and his daughter who is now about half-way around. Through his children, he has been actively involved with the school since 2010 including being a parent assistant with the Year 6 Computer Club and along with a small group of other parents, he helped Dr. Catchpool to fund and organise the school's new(ish) IT Suite.

He is keen to help the school to continue improving and providing benefit to our children and our community. He is very keen on life-long education.

He works as an IT System Architect working at FIS (formerly Worldpay). With his 30+ years of I.T. experience and he hopes he can help ready the kids for the inevitably digital futures that await them. He enjoys time with his family, socialising with friends, cycling, hill-walking and exploring new places.

 

 

Laura Monk Co-Opted Governor

Area Champion - Child Protection and Safeguarding

 

 

Laura Monk joined the Governing Body in 2022. Her son is currently half way through his Milton Road journey. Laura knows how important it is to create a sense of community within a school and appreciates the support that the Milton Road community has provided for her and her family. She is keen to give back as much as possible. Laura has been a primary teacher for over 20 years and has taught across all key stages.  She now teaches in an international school in Fulbourn. Laura is passionate about education and has recently taken over as Lead Child Protection Governor at Milton Road. 

 

 

Dr Matt Butler Co-opted Governor 

Area Champion - Science and Pupil Premium 

 

 

Dr Matt Butler was co-opted as a governor in August 2022 and now sits on the finance committee, is the link governor for Science and has a particular focus on pupil premium funding. He also currently has two children at Milton Road in years 3 and 5 (as of Jan 2023). He has a substantive position working as a consultant physician at the local Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge. Since 2020 he has taken a particular research interest in respiratory infections such as COVID-19 (caused by the SARS-COV-2 virus) in hospitals as well as schools and sits on the Scientific Advisory Group to the CLASS-ACT study, the world's largest randomised controlled trial examining the effect air cleaning has in English primary schools. Prior to becoming a governor, he worked closely with headteachers from across the country helping them to mitigate the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and featured on podcasts via the NAHT as well as on BBC Breakfast alongside Mrs Snape showcasing how we utilised our excellent built environment to protect our children from infections.

 

Sophie Hare - Copted Governor

Area Champion - Mathematics

 

 

Sophie became a co-opted governor of Milton Road Primary School in July 2022. She has 3 children either at or nearly at Parkside. She has worked for over 20 years developing educational programmes and resources for primary and secondary schools. For the last 7 this has been for a maths education and tutoring company as living proof that even the least likely can “do maths”. Sophie moved to Cambridge from London in 2020. In London she was vice chair of the governing body of her children’s primary school. Sophie believes strongly in the vision of the leadership at Milton Road and is keen to ensure that every child makes good progress during their time at primary school.

 

Priscilla Canizares - Parent Governor 

Area Champion - Physical Education

 

 

Priscilla joined the learning and teaching governor's committee in January 2023, when her child was in year one. She firmly believes that early education impacts children's future by giving them the tools and confidence to succeed individually and as part of a community---this motivates her to contribute to improving the children's learning experience.

Priscilla came to Cambridge in 2012 after receiving her Ph.D. in Theoretical Physics. During her career, Priscilla has though graduate and undergraduate students. She is currently working at the Turing Institute (London) and Cambridge University (DAMTP, Dpt. Radiology Addenbrooke's Hospital) on developing mathematical tools for clinical imaging.

 

 

Rae Snape, Headteacher Governor 

Area Champion - Pedagogy, Curriculum and School Leadership

 

 

Rae has been a head teacher since 2007, formerly at The Spinney Primary School, Cambridge and at Milton Road since January 2020. Rae describes being a headteacher as the best job in the world! Interested in policy and passionate (some might say obsessed) about education, Rae was a member of the Primary Headteachers' Reference Group at the Department of Education for 9 years. Rae has been a system leader since 2014 working as a Local and National Leader of Education and has contributed to several books on education. Rae wrote her first book "The Headteacher's Handbook" which was published by Bloomsbury in August 2021 and is currently writing her second book called "The Curriculum Compendium" which is also for Bloomsbury. Rae is a conferences speaker talking on the subject of school leadership, to new and aspiring headteachers. Rae is a Fellow of the RSA (FRSA), a Founding Fellow of the Chartered College of Teaching (FFCT) and in October 2021 was delighted to receive an Honorary Degree and Fellowship from The University of Suffolk.

 

Dr Juliana Mandra - Staff Governor 

Area Champion - Pupil Premium, Implementing Educational Research

 

 

Dr Juliana Mandar is a teacher governor at Milton Road Primary School, where she teaches in Year 5. She relocated to Cambridge to pursue postgraduate studies in Education, completing both an MPhil and a PhD, and has since made the area her home. She has taught in three schools locally, gaining extensive experience across Early Years, Key Stage 1, and now Key Stage 2. She is a dedicated teacher who is committed to ensuring that all students make progress, with a particular focus on those who face barriers in their learning. She can be found in the classroom, where she enjoys finding creative ways to make learning engaging and fun. She is also passionate about bridging the gap between teaching and educational theory, aiming to ensure that research and practice work together for the benefit of all learners. To this end, she co-convenes the BERA Teacher Network. She is eager to use her knowledge and experience to support the continued success of Milton Road Primary School.

 

Tom Dowdall - Parent Governor 

Area Champion - Phonics, Early Reading and Music

 

 

Tom joined as a parent governor in September 2023 and sits on the finance committee and is the link governor for Music and Early Reading and Phonics. He has two children at Milton Road in years 2 and 6 (as of Spring 2025). He has lived in Cambridge for almost 10 years, and works at AstraZeneca. His interest in supporting Milton Road started when he volunteered as a Parent Director for Milton Road's previous wrap around career provider, supporting the successful transition to the existing provision. He has a passion for Science and learning, and supporting Milton Road to be the amazing school that it is. He is married to a Teacher which also helps drive his interest deep interest in education. 

 

Bayan Parvizi - LA Governor

Area Champion - English

 

 

Bayan Parvizi was a locally authority appointed governor in August 2023 and now sits on the finance committee. He is also the link governor for English. A former diplomat, Bayan moved back to Cambridge (where he studied) with his wife and two daughters in 2023 following a posting in Berlin. He is now a programme director for capacity building projects for ministries of foreign affairs and development around the world.

 

Barney Cox - Parent Governor
Area Champion - Early Years Foundation Stage

 

Barney became a parent governor in October 2023 when his child was in year one. He sits on the teaching and learning committee and is link governor for Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS).
Barney works for The Phoenix Trust (Milton) a local charity supporting young people and adults with learning disabilities and special, additional or complex needs. Previously he was a functional skills tutor (english, maths and employability) for 16-24 year olds. Prior to that he was a business journalist for two decades.

 

Collette Harrison - Co-opted Governor

Area Champion - Wellbeing

 

 

Collette was elected as a co-opted Governor in November 2023 shortly after her daughter joined the school in reception. Collette has lived in Cambridge for over 12 years, after moving to the city with her Husband. Collette has two daughters, her eldest now in Year One at Milton Road and one still at Nursery.

Collette is a Senior HR Professional in a Food and Ingredients business. She wanted to become a Governor to support the local community which she loves and has a particular interest in creating the right, safe and inclusive environment for both children, teachers and support teams to thrive.  Collette is the Area Champion for Wellbeing.

 

 

 

 

The Committees

The governing body sets the remit and focus for the following committees:

 

• Teaching and Learning Committee

• Resources Committee

• Head Teacher Performance Management Committee

• Pay Committee

 

Governors are assigned to Committees, but there is an open invitation to all Governors to the Teaching & Learning Committee and the Resources Committee Meetings.  The Head Teacher sits on all the main committees.  Governors share collective responsibility as a governing body and individual governors will act as champions for particular areas.

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The Governors meet regularly to review the work of these committees and evaluate the school’s overall effectiveness.