Sheila Hoile MBE - Chair of Governors

I joined the Governing Body at St Mary’s in October 2017. I am privileged to work with governors and staff who are passionate and committed to making sure that the children at St Mary’s fulfil their potential in a safe and caring environment. I am married with two children and four grandchildren. I have been an active member of St Mary’s Church for over 40 years.

I am now retired. I graduated as an aeronautical engineer and spent my early career teaching Physics and working in the aerospace industry. I have a Masters Degree in Education and Industry from University of Warwick. The latter part of my career has been spent working with major engineering consultancy practices developing and delivering technician and degree engineering apprenticeships. I was honoured to be awarded the MBE in 2001 New Year’s Honours List for my contribution to construction education and training.

Rev Ruth Barr Ex officio Governor

I was appointed as an Ex Officio governor in September 2019 when I came to St Mary’s Church to be their new team vicar, as a member of the Bishop’s Hatfield Team Ministry.

Before I was ordained in 2016, I worked in education in various roles. I was a sign language communicator at West Herts College supporting Deaf students for five years. Then I changed to supporting children on a 1:1 basis at 3 different mainstream Primary Schools, pupils who had diverse medical needs, ranging from hypermobility, autism, profound deafness, Perthes disease and Transverse Myelitis.

I like to ‘think outside the box’ and am passionate about what needs to be done to facilitate full inclusion for everyone. I was responsible for setting up social groups for children isolated due to their circumstances, within the school environment.

I hope that I will bring a wealth of experience of understanding the needs of those who maybe do not fit the norm, those with challenging needs and behaviours, to see what St Mary’s school can do to best support them.

I enjoy visiting the school every Tuesday to lead the Collective worship Assembly and then stay for break time to get to know the children better on the playground.

Ciaran Diver - Foundation Governor

I was appointed Foundation Governor at St Mary’s in September 2021.  I have 40 years’ experience of working within the IT industry across all market sectors which has given me a great appreciation of the skills required by many of today’s employers.  I have been involved in recruitment, apprenticeship and graduate training schemes as well as personal development programmes to help people achieve to their full potential.

I have four children, two of whom are now teachers and one still in secondary education, which has given me a good insight into the current challenges of the education system.

I am an active church member where I have taken on many roles including Churchwarden, member of the Parochial Church Council, Magazine Editor, Children’s Church, Youth Group and Messy Church Leader.

I am proud to be able to contribute to St Mary’s School where I hope to share my skills and experience to help further the children’s development from both a religious and educational context.

Helen Lee - Foundation Governor

I have recently joined the Governing Body of St Mary’s school and I am looking forward to getting to know the school community better and to learning how to be a useful and effective Governor.

I have been an active member of St Mary’s church for 25 years and my husband, Rupert is one of the Church Wardens. We have three children, all grown up now, either working or at university.

My background is in Science and Primary school teaching and more recently, in teaching Forest school to primary-aged children. I am most happy when I am outside and I am hoping that my experience and practical skills will be put to good use at St Mary’s.

Music is also very important in my life; I play the cello in the Finchley Symphony Orchestra and I love the process of rehearsing a piece of music over several weeks so that we can play it to the best of our ability.

Gabi Jones - Foundation Governor

I joined the Governing Board in 2024 as an opportunity to learn more about the running of a school from a Governors' perspective. I was blown away by the commitment and dedication all the staff show at St Mary's to make the school a success. It is a great privilege to support the work they do as a Governor. 

I have worked in education for 11 years and have been privileged to teach and support from Pre-School through to Secondary education. My career started by teaching English in Hong Kong and, since completing my primary PGCE in 2014, I am now the UKS2 phase leader of a three-form entry school in Harpenden. Within my role, I am the full-time teacher for a Year 6 class, head of the English curriculum and I sit on the Senior Leadership Team. Outside of this role, I am a moderator for HfL writing and spend the summer term visiting schools across Hertfordshire to assess their Year 6s. 

Before joining my current school, I was an English advisor to a large trust. Within my role, I would provide action plans and training, as well as personalised coaching to teachers and TAs. I have been involved in creating schools policies around trauma informed behaviour approaches, dyslexia-friendly environments, as well as supporting curriculum development across all foundation subjects.