Governors

Hi, my name is Bozena Birt, current Chair of the Heathmere board of governors. I work full time as an organisation change consultant, with a background in eCommerce, marketing and strategy.

As a mother of 2, I am passionate about the role education, particularly primary education, plays in developing our future society. School plays a critical role in supporting the foundations for all children – academic learning and building confidence, as well as developing social and other life skills.

As a Putney local, I am pleased to be able to support Heathmere in its continued drive to ever improve what it can offer its students and community.

My name is Swetha Balachandran and I joined the Heathmere Board of Governors in July 2021 as a financial specialist.

My background is in finance, strategy and development and I have degrees in finance and accounting as well as public affairs. I currently work for the CDC Group which is the UK government’s development finance institution and invests to support private sector growth in the world’s poorest countries. Previously, I have worked at The Global Fund on making health programs in Africa more efficient and the Boston Consulting Group as a management consultant.

I strongly believe in the transformational value of education and am excited to support Heathmere Primary School in its mission to enable all children to achieve their full potential. I draw inspiration from my mother, who as a math teacher and a school headteacher made me aware of the challenges of running a school while creating a great learning environment. I look forward to contributing to the Roehampton school community.

My name is Billy Bartlett and I am passionate about making education fair for all and ensuring all children enjoy their early education.

I grew up and was educated in New Malden and so I am familiar with the local area. I graduated from the University of Sheffield with a degree in Geography. After my degree, I worked in the specialist teaching provision at Knollmead Primary School, supporting young people with ASD.
I joined the Teach First Leadership and Development programme and was placed at Heathmere Primary School in 2021. In my first year at Heathmere Primary School, I was an unqualified teacher in Year 2 and was trained by a mentor at the school. This academic year, I am an Early Career Teacher and am teaching in Year 5.

My name is Barbora and I feel very privileged to be parent governor.

My son currently attends Heathmere Primary School. I am professionally engaged in education for many years as a Senior Manager at a local private nursery, looking after 90 children and 30 members of staff. I have experience in dealing with safeguarding issues/concerns and liaising with Local Authorities. I have a strong knowledge of the Early Years Foundation Stage and National Curriculum. 

I am delighted to be given the opportunity to be parent governor and I am looking forward to use my professional skills and passion to make a difference in children's lives.

TBC

My name is Francesca Ho and I joined the Heathmere governing board in March 2024, with a background in edtech and assurance.

Having had the privilege of studying Natural Sciences at the University of Cambridge, I have experienced first-hand the critical role of schools in shaping life trajectories, and care deeply about improving access to education. After graduating, I began my career developing products for Snaprevise, a startup aiming to provide low-cost, high-quality revision materials to schools and students, before joining Deloitte LLP, where I now assure Environmental, Social, and Governance metrics for a variety of companies within our Sustainability practice. 

Heathmere is a unique and ambitious school that truly values its students and clearly plays a vital role in the local community. I am forever grateful for the opportunity to use my skills and experience to help support Heathmere to achieve its strategic priorities. 

I am Robin DasGupta and have been a governor since 2017. I chair the Curriculum and Standards Committee. I have served as a teacher, Assistant Headteacher and now a Deputy Headteacher in other London schools and hope that my involvement in education brings the necessary experience to challenge and support the school.

Heathmere benefits from having a strong, caring and ambitious team. The school combines a passion for high standards with a caring ethos and it truly is a central part of the local community. I look forward to meeting all members of the school community.

My name is Freya Guinness and I am Chair of the Children, Families and Community committee at Heathmere.

I work full time as a Civil Servant and my background is in business planning and organisational change. I have 3 grown up children who were all at Primary School in Wandsworth. I have been a Governor at Heathmere for 15 years and was Chair of Governors from 2011 to 2019. It is both a big responsibility and a real privilege to be able to be a Governor at Heathmere, it’s our job to support and challenge the school to do its very best for the pupils and ensure that it’s a place where pupils want to come and learn and where staff want to work.

Together we, as a Governing Body, and the staff have a real ambition for Heathmere, I have seen the school develop enormously during my time as Governor and am proud to have been part of that journey. One of the important things a Governing Body does is to listen to the views of the whole school community – staff, pupils and parents – so if there is anything you want to raise with me you can get in touch via the school office.

My name is Oliver Wheatley.

I graduated from the University of York with a degree in History in 2013. In 2014, I joined the Teach First Leadership Development Programme and was placed in a school in west London. I have since worked in four different schools and am currently Head of History & Politics at St Paul’s School.

Having worked across both the state and independent sectors, and with a keen interest in education policy, I have developed a good understanding of the challenges and opportunities schools face in the current moment. I also believe deeply in the central role primary schools can play in transforming the lives of young people and in properly preparing them to thrive in secondary education and beyond.

I have been the Headteacher at Heathmere Primary School since January 2013. I grew up locally and taught in Sutton, Birmingham and Sandwell before coming to Heathmere.
I led the school's journey from Requiring Improvement to Good while honouring a commitment to build a sustainable model of school improvement for the children and community of Roehampton.
My core values are respect, equality and fairness and I strive to lead in this way, ensuring every child at Heathmere has a wide range of experiences that will support them in their future lives.

I joined the governing body at Heathmere Primary School at the start of 2023 because I am deeply passionate about creating positive outcomes for young people of all backgrounds. 

Originally from the Midlands, I graduated from Loughborough University with a BA in History and International Relations, and have since embarked on a career in social impact and digital skills. I currently work at Microsoft, as one of the organisation's social impact leads, with a specific focus on building digital skills and employability programmes for underserved and underrepresented communities. Prior to this, I worked in marketing, creating strategies to encourage people of all ages to learn new skills. 

From my first visit, I could tell instantly that Heathmere was a truly special and unique school with great energy and ambition for the future, and I very much look forward to working with the full community on the strategic priorities in the time to come. 

TBC

TBC

Hello, my name is Jane Dowek and I have been working as Clerk to the Governors at Heathmere for several years.   I also work as a Clerk at 7 other schools.   Before I started clerking, I worked as a School Business Manager, for 18 years, at a primary school in Wimbledon.   My job is to support the governors in making sure that they address their efforts to the three core functions of governance, attend to their statutory responsibilities and meet regularly to hold the school to account for progress against key priorities.

The Board at Heathmere is enthusiastic and committed to helping the school be the best it can be, which makes my job as a Clerk immensely satisfying.