Our Governors
Here you will find some information about each of our Governors.
Paul Turney - Chair - Co-opted Governor
I've been a Governor here at Houghton School for 7 years now and Chair of Governors for 4 of them. I first got involved as a Governor when I saw a vacancy being advertised and thought that it was a great opportunity to become more involved in School and to support the staff team.
My youngest child is still at Houghton School in Year 5 and my eldest left just last year. It was a very different last 4 months for the whole class with not being in school, and missing the usual end of year activities, but they were still able to celebrate their time at Houghton in a covid secure way.
As well as volunteering as a Governor I'm Treasurer of Carlisle Centurions Football Club, a coach with Carlisle Junior Tri Club, and chauffeur for my sons whether they are attending a sporting event or theatre school. It certainly keeps me and my wife busy (but we wouldn't have it any other way!) and provides relief from my day job working in the County Council's finance department.
I couldn't finish this without saying I thoroughly enjoy my role as a Governor and working with such a fantastic staff team and Governing Body.
- Appointed: December 2018
- Term of Office: 4 years
- Appointed as a co-opted governor
- No business or pecuniary interests; or material interests arising from intra-governor or staff relationships.
- Paul is a member of the Finance and Premises Sub Committee
- Attendance last year: Not applicable
Sheila Don - Vice Chair
Both of my children attended Houghton School in the 1980s and I have served on the Governing Body since the mid-1990s, presently as Vice-Chair of Governors. A qualified accountant, I spent my career with Cumbria County Council before retiring from full time work in 2008. I am secretary of the North West Retired Accountants’ Group and still work as a Lay Judge for the Employment Tribunal Service covering Newcastle and the North East. I volunteer as a Trustee of the national charity Marriage Care and am Head of the Carlisle Centre.
- Appointed: September 2020
- Term of Office: 4 years
- Appointed as a LA Governor
- No business or pecuniary interests; or material interests arising from intra-governor or staff relationships.
- Sheila is a member of the Curriculum and Pastoral Committee
- Attendance last year: Not applicable
David Mutter - Chair of Finances and Premises Sub-Committee
Hi, I am David Mutter and am currently the chair for the finance sub committee on the boards of governors for Houghton CofE school. I have Two children in the school Thomas and George. I am married to my wife Ann-Marie for 12 years and I am currently 38 years old.
I currently work for Crown Packaging in Carlisle and I am the Technical manager for the factory. I have worked for crown for the last 21 years starting off as an Engineer and working my way through a number of roles.
With in my roles I have been in charge of buildings maintenance, and machine and systems maintenance along with budget controls. I am currently into my 5th year of being a governor.
- Appointed: September 2020
- Term of Office: 4 years
- Appointed as a parent governor
- No business or pecuniary interests; or material interests arising from intra-governor or staff relationships.
- David is a member of the Finance and Premises Sub Committee
- Attendance last year: Not applicable
Rev. Andrew Towner - Chair of Curriculum and Pastoral Sub-Committee
Katie and I have three children, Jonathan, Joshua and Naomi. I worked as a Maths teacher for 5 years before re-training as a Vicar, and have been Vicar at St John's Houghton and St Peter's Kingmoor since 2014. I also chair the Diocesan Board of Education, which is directly involved with all the Church of England schools in Cumbria (about 1/3rd of them). In my spare time you will find me tramping the hills or riding a bike, maybe enjoying some music or reading a book.
- Appointed: N/A
- Term of Office: N/A
- Appointed as an ex-officio
- No business or pecuniary interests; or material interests arising from intra-governor or staff relationships.
- Andrew is a member of the Curriculum and Pastoral Committee
- Attendance last year: Not applicable
Joanne Colombi - Staff Governor
My name is Joanne Colombi and I am originally from Northern Ireland. My husband and I have a little boy called Theo, who brings us so much love and laughter along with the odd sleepless night! I have been teaching at Houghton School for eleven years and I currently teach Year one. My job provides me with the opportunity to make a difference and have a positive impact on our young children. There is never a dull moment! When I have some spare time I enjoy family time, gardening, walking, flower arranging, playing the piano and caravanning. This is my first year joining the governors and I am looking forward to bringing my experiences in education to the meetings as well as helping our governing body team to continue to move our school forward.
- Appointed: October 2020
- Term of Office: 4 years
- Appointed as a Staff Governor
- No business or pecuniary interests; or material interests arising from intra-governor or staff relationships.
- Joanne is a member of the Curriculum and Pastoral Sub Committee
- Attendance last year: Not applicable
Graham Smith - Foundation Governor
Hello my name is Graham, I am married to Anne and we have 3 grown up children, 2 of whom went to Houghton School. I've been a Foundation Governor since 2000. I enjoy playing the ukulele though to no great standard
- Appointed: October 2017
- Term of Office: 4 years
- Appointed as a foundation governor
- No business or pecuniary interests; or material interests arising from intra-governor or staff relationships.
- Graham is a member of the Sub Committee
- Attendance last year: Not applicable
Anna Bradley - Parent Governor
Hi, I’m Anna and I have been a parent governor since the end of 2018. I live in Linstock with my husband Scott and our three children Tom and Flo (who are both at secondary school) and Will, who is currently at Houghton School. I have both a professional and personal interest in special education needs, inclusion and disability. I am a qualified Primary School teacher, but have over twenty years of experience working in the Voluntary and Higher Education sectors. I currently work as a ‘Transitions Officer’ for Lancaster University, working with students who are underrepresented in Higher Education and who may require more support, including students with autism and mental health difficulties and I hope to be able to bring all my experience to my parent governor role. When I’m not busy working or spending time with my family, I am a keen runner and indoor rower and I enjoy playing the piano and recorder and trying to learn Spanish!
- Appointed: December 2018
- Term of Office: 4 years
- Appointed as a parent governor
- No business or pecuniary interests; or material interests arising from intra-governor or staff relationships.
- Anna is a member of the Curriculum and Pastoral Sub Committee
- Attendance last year: Not applicable
Dr Debra Seward - Co-opted Governor
My name is Deborah Seward and I have been a co-opted governor since September 2017. I work for the University of Cumbria where my primary role is managing the PGCE Primary Cohort of students studying to become teachers. As a qualified teacher I have over thirty years of experience in teaching in both primary schools and in the higher education sector. My previous role was as the head teacher of a small village school and I have an strong interest in education and educational research.
As well as volunteering as a governor in my spare time I enjoy walking, travelling, gardening and reading.
- Appointed: September 2017
- Term of Office: 4 years
- Appointed as a co-opted governor
- No business or pecuniary interests; or material interests arising from intra-governor or staff relationships.
- Deborah is a member of the Curriculum and Pastoral Sub Committee
- Attendance last year: Not applicable