SGS Pegasus School Local School Board

Welcome from SGS Pegasus Chair of the Local School Board, Chris Berry.

On behalf of the Local Governing Body at SGS Pegasus School, welcome to our website.

Chris Berry

SGS Pegasus Chair of the Local School Board

On behalf of the Local School Board at SGS Pegasus School, welcome to our website.

As part of a Multi-Academy Trust, the Local School Board is a Committee of the SGS Academy Trust Board of Trustees.

SGS Pegasus School has high expectations for all, we are a committed School Board who both support and challenge the Head Teacher and Senior Management Team through the monitoring of quality activities and engagement with stakeholders of the school.

Pupils are our number one priority and all staff, school board members and trustees work together with a common aim of providing a safe and personalised learning environment in which all learners can reach their potential and have a positive time at school. Parents and carers are very much part of the whole school community and we welcome your input through links with Parent members and involvement with the school.

Do you want to make a difference in the lives of young people?

The Local School Board members are volunteers, playing an important part in raising the standards of achievement for all pupils.

The Local School Board encourages the recruitment of members from all sections of the community and applications are always welcomed from people of all cultural backgrounds, skills and experience. Details about the Roles and Responsibilities of the LSB members, together with current member details including Parent representatives, can be found below.

If you require any further information, please contact our Clerk – Lisa Day on lisa.day@sgscol.ac.uk.

Our Local School Board Members

Chris Berry

Chair, Local School Board

Chris feels privileged to have been appointed by SGS Academy Trust as a Local School Board member of Pegasus School.

Chris is a solicitor by profession. Until his retirement from private practice in late 2017, he was a partner at a global City law firm specialising in real estate finance. As such, he has first-hand experience of staffing, resourcing and strategic planning for the longer term.

Having relocated with his family to South Gloucestershire, Chris divides his time between working as an independent legal consultant, supporting young carers in the local community and tutoring maths in-school (though on a voluntary basis) to GCSE level. For relaxation, Chris enjoys walking, gardening, reading and cooking.

Claire Phillips

Local School Board Member

Claire has over 30 years’ experience in education as a teacher, SENCo, advisory teacher and consultant and has worked with children, families and schools in South Gloucestershire over the last 13 years. Claire currently works as a Special Needs Adviser for Integra Schools, the traded arm of South Gloucestershire Local Authority, where she is the Communication & Interaction Lead and specialist in Autism. Claire has responsibility for advising and developing appropriate Autism guidance for both the LA and schools. She also gives Autism advice and coaching to mainstream and special schools.

Claire is also a trainer and professional partner with the Autism Education Trust and provides support and training for schools and families through Autism South West which has an annual conference and an Autism specific network for parents and carers.

Claire is delighted to be part of the Local School Board at Pegasus School and values the opportunity to support the school to make a difference in the lives of autistic pupils and their families.

Karen Damsell

Local School Board Member

Karen has a son who was diagnosed with Autism 8 years ago and has since then undertaken substantial training in this area. As a parent, Karen has experienced Resource Base primary and mainstream secondary schools and uses her experience of the strengths and weaknesses of these provisions to support Pegasus School.

As a Support worker with post 16 learners, Karen has experienced first-hand, that if support is tailored to the needs of the learner, their outcomes and achievements are significantly improved. Karen is very passionate about children on the Autistic Spectrum being given opportunities to fulfil their potential and believes that children at Pegasus School will get the tailored support that they deserve.

Marc Cahill

Local School Board Member

Bio to follow.

Mark Dee

Local School Board Member

I have worked in South Gloucestershire since it formed as Headteacher and more recently as Executive Head of a mainstream primary federation. I am currently the Strategic Lead for Education for South Gloucestershire council supporting schools with leadership development, safeguarding compliance, federation and partnership development. I have a particular interest in leadership, systems leadership and coaching. I am delighted to be part of the local school board.

My personal interests lie in gardening and golf!

Deborah McClean

Local School Board Member

Deborah is a secondary English teacher with over 10 years’ experience. Her secondary education was completed in Belfast Royal Academy in Northern Ireland, and her BA and PGCE in Queens University, Belfast. She has led whole school literacy and currently occupies a leadership role within the sixth form in her current post. She has worked with young people and their families in various sectors of the community for many years, and passionately believes that all young people should be challenged and supported in their education.

Deborah has a keen interest in staff and student well-being and development, the value of targeted and informed assessment, as well as an interest in how women can play a leading role in education. She feels privileged to be appointed to the SGS Academy Trust as a member of Pegasus Local School Board, and hopes that her extensive experience in education will enable her to make a valued contribution to the development of Pegasus School.

Deborah is married with two children, is a published writer and poet, and currently lives in Bristol

Rachel Peart

Parent Local School Board Member

Rachel and her husband have one son who has attended SGS Pegasus since it’s opening. Rachel moved to the area 23 years ago to gain her Nursing qualification. For 20 years Rachel was a Registered Nurse working in Intensive Care, a very demanding job both mentally and emotionally. As an Intensive Care Nurse, she has experienced a wide proportion of society and gained essential communication skills.

For the last 3 years Rachel’s career has taken her in a different direction; she is now utilising her life experiences to work as the Support & Activities Manager for JIGSAW Thornbury, a local charity that supports children and their families with additional needs. This job has given her insight into the pathways families have experienced both with the Local Authority and NHS.

Rachel feels honoured to have been chosen as a parent representative on the Local School Board and is looking forward to helping overcome challenges met in the role.

In her spare time she likes to sew, bake and generally try any craft, with varying success!

Debbie Lewis

Parent Local School Board Member

Debbie has a son who has recently joined Pegasus school for its secondary school provision.

Debbie works at the University of the West of England, Bristol (UWE)in the Department of Applied Sciences (DAS). Having herself graduated from UWE and University of Bristol with an undergraduate degree in biochemistry and a postgraduate degree in molecular microbiology biology, followed by 13 years in microbiology research at various institutions she moved into technical teaching and support of practical classes approx. 8 years ago. This move into the technical team presented opportunities to get involved in supporting and delivering outreach to local schools and developing in-reach activities to support students whilst they study at university.

In recent years Debbie has become the Widening Participation Lead for DAS initiating, developing and evaluating ways to reduce the attainment gap for many of our disadvantaged students. Debbie is looking forward to working with Pegasus School and supporting them in developing pupils who can access higher education and employment opportunities when the time comes. Equally, as a local school board member, I hope to feed back to universities how we can extend our offer of support to our future students, to meet their needs and ensure they succeed if they choose to attend a university.

Lisa Day

Clerk to Local School Board

Lisa can be contacted on lisa.day@sgscol.ac.uk.