Governors

Sam is a parent governor of St Matthew’s RC High School and has now successfully been appointed to Chair of Governors. She has three children who have all successfully attended the school.

Graduating from the University of Manchester, she loved Manchester so much she decided to stay and has been here for more than 25 years. She has worked in the careers advice sector for nearly 20 years, managing the Prospects careers information, advice and guidance website. She has particular expertise in operations, product development, user experience and digital marketing along with a healthy knowledge of the higher education sector.

John was an Electrical Engineer with over 30 years of experience in both the public and private sectors before retiring in March 2022 from his role as Joint Authority PFI Project Manager working for both Oldham and Rochdale Councils.  John is married and has three daughters and three grandchildren and his hobbies include walking, reading, and spending time with his family.

John has been a Foundation Governor and Chair at Holy Family RC & CE College in Heywood for over 10 years and he recently joined the Board of Directors as a Foundation Director at St Teresa of Calcutta Catholic Academy Trust.  John is an advocate for education and has a strong catholic ethos and a desire to support schools to be the best that they can be in order to deliver the best possible outcomes for students and to make lives better for our communities.'

Joanne graduated with an honours degree in Chemistry from the University of North Wales (Bangor).

Joanne has been involved in education for over 35 years. During that time Joanne served a number of communities, including Alternative Education, across Greater Manchester and Lancashire as teacher and leader of science, Head of Pastoral, Assistant Headteacher, Deputy Head and Headteacher. Joanne retired from teaching in January 2019 and has since worked as a Director of a Northwest charity supporting the most vulnerable children and young people to access education.

Joanne is totally committed to Catholic Education and is passionate about representing those members of any school community that struggle to have a voice. Joanne has served as a Foundation Governor since 2016 within the Diocese of Salford.

Jenny lives in the Diocese and has worked with children and families for over 25years. Having qualified as a Nursery Nurse in 1997, she worked with children under 5yrs and their families in and around North and Central  Manchester in local authority provision. After making the decision to re-train, Jenny completed her Diploma in Social Work in 2005 at Manchester University and has worked as a Registered Social Worker in a variety of local authority teams including Child protection, Children in need, Children in care, Young Carers, Court teams, Children with disabilities and Fostering and Adoption. Jenny has worked as a Social Work Manager since 2007 in two different local authorities with her last role as service manager for the Fostering Service.

In 2022, Jenny joined the Diocese of Salford as Safeguarding Coordinator and is responsible for safeguarding children, young people and vulnerable adults across the Diocese. Jenny is passionate about safeguarding and the safety and wellbeing of children, young people and those considered to be vulnerable is at the heart of everything she does. Jenny has 3 adult children of whom she is incredibly proud of. Her eldest daughter is a qualified teacher working with children with specific needs and her other two children are studying, a daughter in Physics at Dundee University and a son in Events Management at Lincoln University.

Jenny is also a 1st Dan Black Belt in Freestyle Karate and a Blue belt in Self Defence techniques and she enjoys teaching children karate skills at her local club.

Iriowen is a practicing Catholic within the Diocese and has a passion for encouraging and supporting young people to aspire and achieve. She is new to school governorship and has worked with children within a professional safeguarding capacity for many years.

Iriowen graduated as a Medical Doctor from the University of Benin, Nigeria in 2003 and completed her postgraduate medical training with the Pennine and East Lancashire Trusts. She has worked as a GP in Greater Manchester since 2012.

Dale has worked in Catholic education for almost 10 years. After qualifying in Sport and Exercise and a short spell in professional sport, Dale joined St. Matthew’s as a Teaching Assistant supporting young people with special educational needs.

In 2017 Dale made the transition into pastoral care, responsible for leading a year group and ensuring all pupils are supported and guided towards maximising their potential.

As of 2019, Dale has been St. Matthew’s lead on Student Welfare and last year was appointed to role of Student Welfare Manager and Deputy DSL.

Dale was elected Staff Governor in October 2022

Bob graduated from Bradford University in 1983 in French and Russian, and later completed a Masters degree in French at Leeds. He worked as a senior leader for eleven years and achieved Ofsted accreditation.

He then moved to local government in Tameside where initially he led on school improvement for the borough, then becoming Assistant Executive Director of Education.

Bob now works as a consultant specialising in leadership coaching, school improvement and governance, with a particular emphasis on diversity and equality.

Samantha is a local parish member with 2 children who attend our school and another child to join in the near future. 

Samantha joins the governing body with skills of successful charity fundraising events and almost a decade of voluntary experience within local schools. 

As a parent governor, Samantha aims to use her guidance to support and work collectively for the pupils and families of St Matthew's R.C High School.