Committee

Name: Michael Beckett
Position: Chair
Michael has helped at every single FOV event since he joined us in January and he is a great addition to our team. His ideas and enthusiasm led to us selecting him as our chair for this school year. Michael works as an Internal Sales Administrator and he has 2 children in the school.

Michael says, "I originally started helping FOV because my wife did, however after seeing the amazing work that is done, I wanted to get more involved. We help the school and the wider community come together for the benefit of the children. If you want to get involved in FOV please do. We're always on the look out for volunteers."

Name: Kelly DeSantis
Position: Secretary
"Hi, I am Kelly. My son is in Y1 now at the Village Primary School and after seeing all of the effort that both the school and FOV put into every event, I knew I wanted to be part of it. I am very passionate about creating magical and fun experiences for the children at the school and I am always happy to get involved.

I work full time as a Low Intensity Psychological Practitioner and I am also studying at Teesside University. I love to create things, usually through crochet, but my favourite thing to do is to spend time in nature with my husband and our son."

You may not recognise Kelly from our Summer Fair, but she was there dressed in the Peppa Pig costume!

Name: Chris Swales
Position: Treasurer
Chris is the treasurer of FOV. He is a computer programmer and has a maths degree. He has an older son who has been all the way through the school from nursery and a daughter who has recently moved to secondary school. His flexible work hours allow him to take part in most FOV activities and to volunteer in school a bit. He helps children in KS2 with reading and maths and he also runs the school Chess Club and assists Mrs Gunn with the school Code Club.

Chris says, "Being involved with FOV is a great way to help the school and the children. Those extra little events and activities are often the things children will remember the most from school. Even though my own children have left the school now, I still love being involved and I always get great feedback from the children when I volunteer in the school. It's a fun and creative group of people and I always look forward to our meetings and events."

Name: Alex Smith
Position: Vice Chair
Alex joined FOV in 2021 and she is now our Vice Chair. She has a son in Y2. Alex has experience working in offices and also used to be a bus driver. She describes herself as a very positive person and is keen to help FOV raise funds to benefit the children.

Alex throws herself into all of our events. At our Halloween disco (where she led the dancing dressed as a witch), she said "I enjoyed it at least as much as the children did!"

Name: Rob Birtwhistle
Position: President
As headteacher of the school, Mr Birtwhistle is the president of FOV. He says "The current committee of FOV are very organised and enthusiastic. They provide excellent events at the school and the children have had some fantastic days and experiences as a result. The children and staff love the disco events and I really enjoy the vibe, the detail and the laughter that goes on. The events are always planned well and have great attention to detail."

Name: Suzanne Leonard
Position: Grants Officer
Suzanne joined the FOV committee in November 2021 shortly after moving to Thornaby. She has 2 children at the school. Suzanne is very busy with 2 jobs, 1 working with the elderly and 1 working with children.

Despite being busy with work and children, Suzanne still manages to find time to do a lot of work for FOV making games and crafts and she helps at nearly all of our events. She loves working on the bouncy castles! She is also one of our Charity Trustees.

Name: Anne-Marie Swales
Position: Charity Trustee
Anne-Marie is the longest serving member of our committee having joined when the group was first formed as a P.T.A. She has always lived in Thornaby and went to the Village school as a pupil. She is married to Chris and their 2 children first started coming to the school more than 10 years ago in 2011.

Anne-Marie has a background in Marketing and Office administration and is also a former parent governor of the school. She says "As a former pupil of the school I have a passion for supporting them in any way I can. I want to see local children succeed by having the best possible start in life."

Name: Jo Caley
Position: Membership Officer
Jo is the Membership Officer of FOV. Jo is very friendly and approachable and she always helps new members of our committee to settle in and find ways to use their skills. She has worked for a nursery, so she has a good understanding of how organisations that look after children work. She has a daughter in year 4 of the school and is keen to give children extra experiences. She is always full of energy, fun, enthusiasm and ideas and is very much the heart of FOV.

Name: Rachel Hudson
Position: Publicity Officer/Donations Officer
Rachel joined our committee at the start of the 2022/23 school year and has made a big impact obtaining company donations for us. She has one daughter in Y2 of the school and has a lot of skills and contacts that are useful to us.

Rachel has a background organising large conferences and events, business management and business development. She says, "Being the daughter of a SEN teacher, I have been involved in school fundraising and events for many years and I'm looking forward to helping out FOV".

Name: Veena McGregor
Position: Purchasing Officer
Veena is the Purchasing Officer of FOV. She has 2 children, including a daughter who has just moved to secondary school. Her main role on the committee is to find little extras we can buy to enhance our events and find the best prices for things.

Veena works as a nurse in the NHS and her shifts mean that she can't always attend all of our events. However, even when she can't attend she always contributes a lot of ideas, enthusiasm and practical help to make things happen and she is a very important member of our team.

Name: Lisa Davies
Position: Baking Leader
Lisa is our former chair who continues to play a big role on the committee passing on her knowledge and experience from being the leader of all our events for 2 years.

Lisa also takes the lead on all of our baking events. As well as making hundreds of delicious cakes and other treats for FOV, Lisa is a professional baker and you can order fantastic cakes from her for special occasions here https://www.facebook.com/lisabellecakes/

Lisa says "My Daughter attends the Village primary, so I'm really keen to support the school for the benefit of the children.

I work as an Independent Education Welfare Officer in schools across Teesside. This gives me some experience and understanding of the challenges schools have.

FOV organise events in school to raise much needed funds to turn into experiences and memories for the children. This is why I became involved because I want all children to enjoy activities and special events, not only that but for parents to feel involved in their children's school and our local community".

Name: Maria Beckett
Position: Committee Member
I have 2 children in year two and I really wanted to involve myself in the school community. I joined FOV to help promote the school's standing with the local community and to help make a difference. It's also a lovely way to get to know more of the children and parents within the school.

Name: Victoria Platt
Position: Committee Member
Hi, I'm Victoria Platt. My daughter started nursery last year and from our first visit to the school my husband and I were struck by how friendly and community orientated the school was and I was keen to be more involved with FOV and the different events. I look forward to getting to know the other members and make a valued contribution.

I work full time as an Operating Department Practitioner in emergency theatre but I am able work round my work commitments and my young daughter.

Name: Sarah Wilson
Position: Committee Member
I'm Sarah I work as a HCA in theatres at James Cook Hospital, love my job and helping people in the best way I can when they are at their most vulnerable.

I have two young children of which both attend the village primary. I first heard about FOV a year ago and wanted to join and help in anyway I could. I think what they do for the school and children is amazing. Though I may not be able to attend every meeting and event, i look forward to helping and contributing as much as I can.

Name: Andrew Dixon
Position: Staff Committee Member
Andrew is the school parent support advisor and he is also a staff member of the FOV committee. He is on the school gate at dropping off time and home time every day and you can always approach him to ask about anything.

Name: Christine Peacock
Position: Committee Member
Chris is a recently retired long serving and widely respected TA from the school who has joined the FOV committee. She thinks it is a good way to keep in touch with the school community and a way to continue to use her experience and skills to help children at the school.