Our school

Our people.

Our Senior Leadership Team, our teaching and support staff, and our governing body. Senior leadership and governance in detail below — full staff and governor lists one click away in each section.

Senior Leadership

Our Senior Leadership Team.

Five members lead the school day-to-day. Mrs Doble and Mrs Older are our Designated Safeguarding Leads (DSL), and Ms Bourne and Miss Backshall are deputy DSLs.

Headteacher

Mrs Naomi Doble

Headteacher

Twenty years in schools across Brighton, Southwick and Worthing; grew up close to Shoreham. "I want it all for our children."

Lead DSL English: Reading & Writing Lead

Assistant Headteacher

Ms Jenny Bourne

Assistant Headteacher, Key Stage 2

Has taught at Swiss Gardens since 2010; teaches across Years 3, 5 and 6 and runs Samba Club. Also our Staff Governor.

Deputy DSL KS2 Lead Staff Governor

Assistant Headteacher

Miss Anne Backshall

Assistant Headteacher, Key Stage 1

Has worked at Swiss Gardens since 2010, in the Early Years and Key Stage 1. A local resident whose own children came here when it was Shoreham First School, and were among the first to stay on through to Year 6 when it became a primary school.

Deputy DSL KS1 Lead

Assistant Headteacher

Mrs Older

Assistant Headteacher for Inclusion and Safeguarding

Bio to come from leadership.

DSL SENCO

School Business Manager

Mrs Treasure

School Business Manager

Operations

All teaching and support staff Open the full list

Class Teachers

Miss Guizani
Mrs John
Miss Woodward Maths Lead
Mrs Davies PSHE / RSE Lead
Mrs La Coste (maternity leave) History & Geography Lead
Mrs McManus Music Lead
Mrs Dunford MFL Lead
Mrs Jestico
Miss Earl
Ms Sharp Science Lead
Ms Pariser Art & DT Lead
Miss Hoare
Mr Johnson
Mrs Miller-Hudson
Miss Finley EYFS Lead Phonics Lead (EYFS / KS1)
Miss Flavell
Mrs Goodwin PE Lead
Mr Dew
Ms Johnson (Teaching Apprentice)

Higher Level Teaching Assistants

Mrs Phillippo School Council
Mrs Bolton
Mrs Halfpenny School Council

Teaching Assistants

Mrs Greener
Mrs Coleman
Miss Martin
Miss Wozniak
Miss Bulled
Mrs Cracknell
Mrs Bowen
Ms Ford
Miss Hayes
Miss Reed
Mrs Kelly (MMS)
Mrs Edwards
Mrs Neal
Miss Sturgeon
Ms Dunster
Mrs Dobson
Ms Phillips
Mrs Taylor (ELSA)

Office Staff

Mrs Mepham — Office Manager
Mrs Buck — Pastoral Receptionist

Premises

Mr C Hadwen — Premises Manager

Library

Mrs L Sands — School Librarian

Governance

Our governing body.

Eleven governors and a clerk make up our governing body. The Chair and two Vice Chairs lead governance day-to-day; the full body meets each half term.

Chair of Governors

Mrs Sue Uff

Local Authority governor · since April 2022

Has worked in West Sussex schools for 27 years, including seven as a primary Headteacher; lives in Shoreham. Leads on Finance & Leadership, Wellbeing, Headteacher Performance Management and Ofsted.

Vice Chair

Mr Alastair Reid

Co-opted governor · since 2017

Two children attended the school. Background in visual communications and executive coaching. Leads on Finance & Leadership, Premises / Health & Safety, and Headteacher Performance Management.

Vice Chair

Mr Andy Grave

Parent governor · since 2022

Two children at the school. Leads on Curriculum & Standards / Teaching & Learning, Premises, and acts as our Link Governor.

The rest of the governing body Open the list

Beyond the Chair and Vice Chairs above. Each governor's term of office, committees and declared business and pecuniary interests for this year are in our register of interests, 2026–27 (PDF). Last year's meeting attendance is in the attendance and register of interests, 2025–26 (PDF).

Mrs Naomi Doble Headteacher · ex officio governor
Full bio in the Senior Leadership Team section above.
Mrs Verity Spears Co-opted · SEN / Inclusion / Disadvantaged Lead
Shoreham born and bred — attended the school in its earlier life as Victoria First. Twenty-seven years' public-sector experience (latterly IT Business Partner) plus long-standing youth-leader roles in Scouts and cadets.
Ms Liz Driver Co-opted · since December 2025
Career in health and child-protection inspection, most recently as a Social Care Inspector with Ofsted. Brings safeguarding rigour and an inspector's eye to the work.
Ms Jenny Bourne Staff governor · Staffing & Finance / Curriculum & Ethos
Teacher at Swiss Gardens since 2010 across Years 3, 5 and 6, and a member of the senior leadership team. Prior governor experience at another local primary; runs the school's Samba Club.
Ms Mary Kate Trevaskis Parent · Website / Vision, Values & Marketing
Parent governor with a Communications and PR background. Brings external perspective to school communications and helps surface the work the school is doing.
Ms Stephanie Priteun Parent · SEN / Early Years
Parent of four girls (two currently at Swiss Gardens). Twenty-plus years teaching, the last fourteen in a SEND school — brings deep expertise in supporting children with a wide range of needs and a particular interest in early years and Reception transitions.
Ms Sarah Lawrence Parent · since September 2026
Bio to come.
Ms Nicky Davies Parent · Curriculum / Safeguarding
Parent of three Swiss Gardens children, all of whom flourished here. NHS specialist physiotherapist in neurorehabilitation, currently studying for a master's by research; brings a focus on creative arts and improving outcomes for every child.
Dr Rachael Attwood Associate · Curriculum & Standards
Senior academic in Humanities with a decade of higher-education leadership; research focuses on UK anti-trafficking and immigration policy. Attended what would become Swiss Gardens — believes innovative primary education unlocks future potential.

Clerk: Mrs Louise Crick (since January 2026) — 25 years' experience as Clerk across West Sussex schools.

How the board's work is split. Six standing committees, each focused on an area of school life.

Curriculum & Standards
Finance, Leadership & Management incl. HT Performance Management
Safeguarding incl. Prevent
Disadvantaged & Pupil Premium SEN · Early Years
Premises & Health & Safety
Ethos, Vision, Values & Marketing incl. Website

Plus two designated roles.

Wellbeing Lead Mrs Sue Uff
Governor Training Link Mrs Louise Crick, Clerk to Governors

Reference documents

Becoming a governor

Join the governing body.

Five ways to find out more — how the body is made up, common questions, what we're looking for, the two routes you can apply through, and what's currently open. The action step at the bottom is the same whatever route you take.

How the governing body is made up — and how to join

Ten volunteers plus the Headteacher make up the Swiss Gardens governing body, with associate members appointed alongside to serve on committees. Each governor brings a different perspective — parent, professional, community member. We meet as a full body each half-term, and the work splits across six committees: curriculum and standards; finance, leadership and management; safeguarding; disadvantaged pupils, SEN and Early Years; premises and H&S; and ethos, vision, values, marketing and the website.

The 12 seats on the board (per our Instrument of Government):

5 parent governors
4 co-opted governors (1 vacancy)
1 Local Authority governor
1 staff governor
The Headteacher (ex officio)

The governing body may also appoint associate members to serve on committees alongside the main board. Associates can vote on specific items in committee, but aren't part of the constitutional 12. We currently have one associate, Dr Rachael Attwood.

Common questions

What does a governor do?

School governors provide strategic leadership, robust accountability and oversight of educational and financial performance. That means helping set a clear ethos, vision and direction, making sure money is well used, and that the learning, organisation and leadership is as good as it can be. Each governor is also assigned to a particular area — safeguarding, SEN, premises, wellbeing.

What's expected of you?

The full body meets at least twice a term, with separate working parties when needed. It probably equates to about a half-day a month. Most of our current governors work full-time and fit the role around other commitments — but we equally welcome retirees, part-time workers, or anyone with the skills and the appetite for the job. You'll be expected to read the papers before meetings and bring good questions to the table.

Do you need experience?

No. Plenty of training and mentoring is available, plus a supportive team alongside you who all care deeply about getting the best for every pupil. What is useful is people bringing their professional skills into the room.

What's in it for you?

The warm-fuzzy feeling of helping create the conditions for hundreds of children to learn and thrive. A real chance to give something back to your local community. And a chance to develop your own skills in a board-level environment — many governors find the experience genuinely useful in their own working lives.

What we're looking for

We'd particularly like to hear from you if you have:

A desire to contribute to and represent our diverse community
An open and enquiring mind
The ability to look at issues strategically and objectively
The confidence to ask questions and join in debate
A willingness to listen and make informed judgements
The ability to work well, challenge and support others
Willingness to dedicate your time for the greater good

Skills we'd especially welcome on the board right now: finance, risk management, data analysis, safeguarding, SEND, HR, marketing, communications, and health & safety.

The two governor roles you can apply for

There are two kinds of vacancy that come up on our board through open recruitment — parent governor and co-opted governor. Both are voluntary, four-year terms, with full voting rights. They're the two routes most prospective governors take onto the board.

Parent governor

Who can stand: any parent or carer with a child registered at the school.

How: when a vacancy arises, the Clerk runs an electronic secret ballot (hard-copy option available). Every parent can stand, every parent can vote. You can stay on past your child leaving the school if you stand again and are re-elected.

Application form (Word doc, DRAFT) → · Governors FAQ (PDF) →

Parent governor recruitment flyer thumbnail

A4 portrait · print to pin up or share with parents Download →

Co-opted governor

Who can stand: anyone — parent or not — bringing relevant skills or experience.

How: appointed by the governing body on the basis that the candidate has “the skills required to contribute to effective governance and success of the school” (per our Standing Orders). We tend to think about what skill gap we're trying to fill (finance, charity governance, HR, education, communications) and approach accordingly.

Governors FAQ (PDF) →

Co-opted governor recruitment flyer thumbnail

A4 portrait · print to pin up or share with your network Download →

The other two seats fill differently. The Local Authority governor seat is filled by nomination through West Sussex County Council's Governor Service — if you're interested in being considered, register with WSCC directly. The staff governor seat is elected internally by school staff when a vacancy arises. Neither of those goes through open recruitment, so they're not really "apply-to" routes in the same way.

Current vacancies

Interested? What to do next

Whatever the route, the first step is the same: get in touch with our Clerk to Governors, Mrs Louise Crick, via the school office. She'll tell you what's currently open, walk you through the process, and put you in touch with the right people.

Email about becoming a governor

Want this on paper? Governors FAQ (PDF) → · Recruitment flyer (PDF) →

Want to talk to one of us?

The office is open every weekday from 8:30 to 4:00 — drop in, ring, or email.

Email the office Join our team