Governors

All our governors have a four year term of office. Each governor can be re-elected or re-appointed at the end of their term by their appointing body, except parent governors who must be elected by the parents of the school.

All governors have declared relevant business and pecuniary interests including:

• Governance roles in other educational institutions.
• Any material interests arising from relationships between governors or relationships between governors and school staff (including spouses, partners and close relatives).

Click here to view Governor attendance 2021 – 2022

Jess Butler – I am Headteacher of Stephen Freeman Primary School. After studying for my BA (Primary Education) Hons in Newcastle, I qualified as a teacher in 1998 and I have taught in a wide range of Primary Schools throughout my career. I started teaching in London and worked in the boroughs of Ealing and Redbridge. I then moved to become a Deputy Head and Acting Head in Thurrock. I completed my National Professional Qualification in Headship (NPQH) in 2012. I subsequently returned to Redbridge to work in a 4/5 form entry Primary School with over 800 children on roll. I relocated to Oxfordshire with my family in the summer of 2016 and I became Head of Stephen Freeman school in September of that year. I faithfully serve our school to the best of my ability with passion, dedication and commitment to each and every member of the community.

Matthew Bews – I have worked at Stephen Freeman school for just over 5 years and have been part of the Senior Leadership Team for the last 3 years. I am currently employed as an Assistant Headteacher leading on mental health and wellbeing. I have always had a passion to support children in their learning and development. I have been a teacher since 1999 and I have taught in a wide range of primary schools in a number of different areas. I have been a senior leader is three schools in three different schools in Reading, Newbury and Wokingham. I was Deputy Head for 7 years in a school in Reading where I learnt about different leadership styles and worked on both coaching and mentoring. I have a grown up daughter who lives in Reading and I loved watching her develop and thrive in school. She is now working in the care industry and I am proud of her everyday. I married my wife in 2021 and support her in bringing up her little boy. I have a number of interests outside school including coaching a local football term and spending time doing DIY projects at home. I have been a staff governor since 2020 and really enjoy seeing the school from another perspective.

Lyn Belton –  I am married with two children and three grandchildren and live in Didcot. I worked at Stephen Freeman School as a Teaching Assistant for over 30 years, retiring in the summer of 2021. Both my children attended the school as do my two eldest granddaughters. Stephen Freeman feels like my second family so continuing to be a part of the school in my role as a governor is very important to me. My inspiration will always be the chidren’s resilience and enjoyment of school life.

Mark Bodeker – I began working in Didcot in 2013 as a Church of England minister at All Saints’. This evolved into full time ministry in the new development of Great Western Park as Community Minister, moving into  a house on the estate in 2015. My role primarily relates to supporting the community as it develops its own character and confidence. I have also been busy establishing a new community church, meeting local needs and developing faith. In terms of community engagement, I am a Trustee of Boundary Park Sports Association, The Didcot Powerhouse Fund, a founding member of Didcot Community Youth Trust and have recently joined as school Governor of Pangbourne College. I studied finance and law at Canterbury University, New Zealand before gaining a Chartered Accountants qualification and emigrating to the United Kingdom in 1985. In London I worked for Price Waterhouse Coopers before moving into industry, taking up several senior finance roles, mainly in special engineering businesses and latterly high tech biotech turnaround situations, jointly building and running a successful international business.

Ann Cassidy – I have worked in local government most of my working life. I am now retired and have been supporting reading at Stephen Freeman since 2012. As a governor I hope to contribute more to the school.

Gemma Hubbard – I feel that my professional skills as a HR Manager, combined with my passion for making a difference to the lives of children such as mine, make a great combination for a Parent Governor. I would hope to be an asset to the school, dedicating my time to be a proactive and effective school governor. I bring an honest and hard-working approach to my work.

Alexandra Lyons – I wanted to be a governor at Stephen Freeman as a way to support the fantastic work going on in the school and the wider community. I have two young children and currently work at the University of Oxford, supporting evaluation and programme design for the University’s widening access initiatives.

Lucy Lindsay – I joined the Governing Body in March 2019 as a Parent Governor. I have one son at the school and I am vice-chair of the governing board. I also sit on the Teaching and Learning Committee. I am a teacher at a school in Abingdon and am passionate about helping support the school to continue to develop and grow.

Steven Marr – I became a Parent Governor in June 2019. My roles include safeguarding governor and chair of the teaching and learning committee. I am committed to helping the school move forward positively by creating a nurturing environment that supports the children’s development and ensures that they have the wonderful school experience they deserve. In my professional life I specialise in the safeguarding of children within the school and home environment.

John Rowan –  I have now been lucky enough to hold the position of governor under the last three headteachers at Stephen Freeman School. I was a governor when my daughter Bella started in Nursery and she is now 22 and I was involved with the appointment of both the previous and the current Headteacher. After a few years away from the role, I have recently rejoined the governing body and I am looking forward to working with them to maintain the high standards that have been set for the school.