Mr Chris Rowlands - Chair of Governors

I have been a governor at Mrs Bland's for five years, and have held positions as chair of the pupil progress and finance and resources committees, and the vice chair of governors. I currently serve as the chair of governors. I am passionate about ensuring we hold ourselves and our school to the highest standards to ensure we give all children the best possible start in life. 

I am a serving member of the Royal Air Force, where my role is to provide assurance of standards across flying instruction and within operational units. I recently completed a Post Graduate Certificate of Higher and Professional Education and plan to undertake an MA in education in the future.

We are extremely lucky to have an excellent team at Mrs Bland's- the staff, senior leadership and the governing board are proud to work closely together and strive to provide the highest standard of education for your children.

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Mrs Jenina Soares-Mistry - Vice Chair of Governors

My name is Jenina Soares-Mistry. I am a commercial solicitor and a newly-appointed co-opted governor. I live in Burghfield Common with my husband and our two sons. My eldest son has recently started in Reception at Mrs Bland’s and my youngest son will hopefully join him at the school when he is old enough.

This is my first role as a school governor. I hope both my professional skills and my personal experience will be an asset to the governors. I am excited to play an active part in the governing body’s work and to make a positive impact on the running of the school.

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Mrs Rosemary Sanders-Rose OBE 

Resident in Sulhamstead and Burghfield since 1971, Rosemary served 16 years on Newbury District Council, including the offices of Chairman and then Leader. She also represented the division on Berkshire County Council.

A school Governor at Infant, Primary and Secondary level over some 40 years she has been Chairman of the Willink, Sulhamstead Church primary and Mrs Bland’s Infant School where she is currently Vice-Chairman.

For 12 years a member of the main Board of Sovereign Housing Association she also chaired the largest subsidiary board which included West Berkshire.

In the local community she is president of the Burghfield Horticultural Society, patron of the Bland’s Luncheon Club for the elderly and a committee member of the local British Legion Branch. In West Berkshire she serves on the Macmillan Cancer Care Committee and is a Governor of the Mary Hare School for the Deaf.

Awarded the OBE in 1994 for political and public service.

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Mrs Ruth Bowen - Parent Governor

I am a parent governor and held this role for just over a year. Previously I have been an active participant with school PTA events.

My youngest 2 children attend Mrs Bland's, the eldest has already completed their infant school journey and are well established at Garland Junior School. I wanted to become a parent governor to gain an insight into the organisation of my children's school and to have an influence to ensure the continuing high standards at Mrs Bland's. 

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Mr Kevin Mortimer - Co-Opted Governor

I'm a technologist at heart and manage the teams that operate the IT infrastructure for the University.  I was keen to become a governor as I see at higher education level the real shortfall in exposure to technology and I wanted to help my local community in trying to close that gap, especially with less privileged children.

I am passionate about ensuring the teaching staff are comfortable with technology and supporting them to improve the experience the children have.  I live in Burghfield Common with my wife and two boys, the eldest is in reception and youngest due to start next September

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 Mrs Sarah Wilkins - Parent Governor

I live in Burghfield Common with my husband and our two daughters. My eldest started her Mrs Bland's journey in Acorns nursery in 2021, and hopefully my youngest will join her in the coming years.

I am a parent governor with a SEN (Special Educational Needs) focus. I have been a Speech and Language Therapist for over 16 years and worked with many schools and early years settings, including with children with EAL (English as an additional language). I hope my professional knowledge, skills and experience is useful to the school, but I also strive to be able to give back to the community in which we live and to support the school in continuing to be the wonderful educational establishment it has become.

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Miss Rebecca Evans - Parent Governor

   My name is Rebecca Evans, I live in Burghfield common with my partner and have 3 sons,2 of which attend Mrs Bland's in Reception and Year 2. My other son had an enjoyable 3 years at Mrs Bland and now attends Garlands.

This is my first time as a school governor. I am looking forward to working with the entire team to ensure both schools continue to provide an excellent education for our children.

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Mrs Chani Morris - Co-opted Governor

My name is Chani Morris and I have a son in both Mrs Blands and Garlands. I currently work as an Assistant principal in a secondary school in Bracknell with responsibility for Special Educational Needs and behaviour support.

I am a qualified SENCo, SpLD teacher and I oversee our Autism Resource. I was interested in becoming a governor to give something back to the school and as I have no skills that would benefit the PTA, governance was where I felt I might be of some use.

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Mrs Vicky Collins - Co-opted Governor

I have two children, one at Garland Junior School and one at The Willink.  

My professional background is in Higher Education as a teacher and leader of educational programmes. I have played integral roles in projects on wellbeing in the curriculum, online learning, and the academic engagement of students. My specialism is English as an additional language and intercultural communication, which I believe could benefit the increasing diversity of the school population.  I hope that I can bring my experience of quality assurance, and team leadership to the Federated governing board, staff and pupils.