Members and Governors

Neil Pattison

Born and raised in Watford, where the North of England begins, I enjoyed a top-class education in Watford Grammar School for Boys. After a gap year with the international organisation Youth With a Mission based in the East Midlands, I completed a thick sandwich electronic engineering degree course specialising in telecommunications. Marriage to a Maidstone lass brought me to the County Town of Kent in 1991 from where I commuted to my new employment as a Signalling Systems Engineer in British Rail. Some years later I changed career leading me to a fulfilling mixture of youth work, secondary schools work, leadership training and community work.

Both of my parents are retired teachers, so I grew up in an educational environment. Watching our four grown-up children experience a variety of primary and secondary schools over a period of twenty years has fueled a passion in me to support Jubilee Primary School in becoming a centre of excellence for pupils, staff and family members.

I am thrilled to be a part of Jubilee Primary School and the huge benefit it brings to the local community. We truly want to ‘Equip students for Life’.

Marcel Jung

I am originally from South Africa, arrived in the UK with my wife, Carol at the end 1999 and settled in Maidstone during 2001. I am one of the founding members of the school and part of the steering team responsible for the finance section of the application to the Department for Education to open Jubilee Primary Free School. I have remained involved from pre-opening to date and I am part of the Finance & Audit Committee. I am principal director of IT & Accounting Solutions Limited which was established in 2004 as a small firm of IFA and AIA Certified Accountants and Business Consultants for small and medium-sized enterprises, charities and social enterprises offering management and financial accounting, payroll services, VAT services and Independent Examinations.  My specialism is in the Charity and Not-for-Profit sector which cover community, education, property, business incubators and charity centres.

Tony Faulkner

I practised as a Chartered Surveyor for nearly 50 years. For most of my surveying career I worked for a central London practice serving as an equity partner, chairman, and later as a consultant. I am a keen supporter of education, and worked with Liverpool, Salford and Southbank Universities – serving as an external examiner at the latter and facilitating “year out” placements for students.

I conducted research into “achieving excellence of quality in the construction professions” at Salford University during the 1990s. During that period, I worked with several organisations advising on their quality systems and auditing in-house and external suppliers’ performance.

In 1995 I established an Organisational Effectiveness Consultancy company in partnership with a colleague, working with private and public companies, academic institutions, central and local government organisations and charities.  I provided support and coaching to individuals and teams, whilst acting as executive chairman of the company which operated from offices in Birmingham and London.

I have lived in Maidstone, and been involved in church leadership, for over 50 years. I have a passion for people, believing that each one is unique; and I am committed to helping individuals understand their strengths, and how best to use them. As part of my leadership responsibilities, I currently line-manage the Children and Youth Champion in a large church and am part of a mentoring team working with young adults referred by a local secondary school

Siji Otenigbagbe

Siji is a graduate of mass communication, a certified prince II practitioner and business change consultant. He is also a communication, stakeholder management consultant and executive coach. 

In his 19 year career as a business change, project management, project delivery, business architect and solutions, communication and stakeholder management consultant, he has helped organisations achieve their goals in the areas of organisational, technology, systems, people and culture change. Working with internationally recognised standards he has been able to work with teams of project managers, consultants, company directors and organisational leaders to achieve the overall goals of their organisations.

He has added value in implementing high impact (cost & benefit) programmes that spans most of the major market sectors which includes but not limited to: Government (Public sector), Financial Services, Insurance, Pensions, Utilities, Telecoms, Oil and Gas, and Investment Banking. Notable amongst clients consulted  for are Barclays Bank, Lloyds Banking Group, Halifax Bank of Scotland, British American Tobacco, Citigroup, Munich Re, Aviva,  Adecco Plc, Africa Practice, Africa Investor, GSK, Unilever, Costa Coffee, Informa etc. His expertise covers the financial services sector, oil and gas, technology, telecoms etc. 

Siji's engaging and well thought out processes to achieve change and deliver on has endeared him to his clients with whom he seeks to be a partner in achieving process driven and result oriented goals.

He has a great passion for empowering and challenging the status quo thereby encouraging individuals to take responsibility for change and the experiences they have in life. He has mentored many within the charity space and continues to encourage individuals who find themselves less fortunate or are in need of a change in their lives as well as want to have a positive impact on their community.

Paul Darling (Chair of Trustees)

I have lived in Maidstone with my family for almost forty years and have recently retired from a career in public sector finance including a number of years working both in the NHS locally and for Kent County Council. More recently I have worked in senior finance roles within a major Government department where I have been a mentor and coach promoting social mobility through learning and development opportunities.

I have a strong interest education as I have two young grand-children who are both of primary school age. I strongly believe in the ethos of the school especially the focus on equipping the students for life and will work closely with the leadership of the school and other trustees to help ensure the pupils achieve their potential.

Smita Chengappa (Vice Chair of Trustees and Parent Trustee)

I grew up in Kent and went to school in Medway.  Having lived in London for a number of years my family and I moved back to Kent in 2017 and to Maidstone in 2019. I previously worked as an anaesthetist at Medway hospital and now work as a public health doctor. I have 2 children and my older one is currently at Jubilee.

I am excited to start my term as parent governor and believe that the experience I have had sitting on governance boards within Local Authority as part of my public health role, will help me support the school in its endeavours.  I am passionate about reducing inequalities within society and providing an excellent education for all children is a key part of this.

As a mother I want my children to have every possible opportunity to find their path in life and I would like to support Jubilee in providing this opportunity both to them, and all of its pupils.

Gideon Sappor 

Dr Gideon Sappor is a teacher and psychologist, specialising in child development and psychology of education. He is a Lecturer (Teaching) in Early Years and Primary Education at the Institute of Education, University College London. He leads the Science, and Learning and Teaching modules on the Primary PGCE programme, working to train the next generation of teachers. In addition, he is the leader of the Guiding Effective Learning and Teaching module, which is part of the Education MA at UCL.  

Prior to working in Higher Education, Gideon spent over 11 years as a primary school teacher, working in schools in London and Medway.   Gideon’s research interests are in the broad areas around the factors that predict high academic performance and achievement in children. He is presently involved in research looking at factors, including parental influences, impacting young people’s decisions to pursue science careers.

Barbara Faulkner

I am passionate about people and helping them to develop their skills and character.  I am interested in emotional intelligence and firmly believe in an all-round education as well as academic excellence.   I have been a teacher since 1989, working in a variety of settings such as primary schools, pupil referral units and currently at a prison.  I was part of the original team involved in the development of Jubilee Primary School and now serve as a governor.  My other interests include a love of family and in my spare time I thoroughly enjoy reading a well-written murder mystery.

In the future, I would love to see the development of Jubilee Primary School into a leading school of excellence and training.  Having been a resident of Maidstone for most of my life, I would like to see all local children offered the chance to excel, becoming ambassadors for the town wherever they go.

Stephen Thompson

I have lived in the Maidstone area since a child and was fortunate to take up teaching positions in the local area, delivering science (mostly) and religious education (some!) to secondary age children as part of various teams. These have included those who follow a variety of Christian faith traditions, as well as those who do not, while I have also been part of Kent's SACRE (Standing Advisory Council on Religious Education) as a union representative. These all proved to be happy and fruitful collaborations, teaching me much about the breadth and variety of folk that make up our community. I am particularly engaged with developing and enriching Jubilee Primary School’s ‘faith ethos’ and am always open to relationships and resources that will sustain this process. My wife works in the FE College and our three children are now moving through university education and into public service, having benefitted from local primary and secondary education in Maidstone that shows the importance of schooling which is actively networked into our local community. My family is much the richer thanks to our local schools and teachers, and I hope to continue to give back to yours in my role as a trustee.

Kenneth Amakye 

Kenneth is a Kent based Solicitor who specialises in Civil/Commercial Litigation and Dispute Resolution.

I started my legal practice in London until 2016, when my wife and I moved to Aylesford. My family life is Kent based and we are pleased to be raising our children here. I have a 5 year old daughter who is a Reception pupil at JPS. 

I enjoy voluntary work which includes youth mentoring. I am passionate about mentoring and giving education to the youth so that they can be responsible adults in the future.

I believe that my career experience and previous Trustee role as a Director at the North Warwickshire Citizens Advice Bureau provide me with the appropriate skills and platform needed to support my current function and the overall promotion of education at JPS. This coupled with an insight into the various structures and resources available at the local government/ministerial level and understanding their governance protocols for the purposes of supporting and promoting youth development.

I also have a wealth of experience from executive positions held in Alumni organisations which would be relevant for my role on the Board of Governors and JPS as a whole.  

As a Dad, I am committed to the continued development of my daughter's school and the community within which it operates.

Ana Leon (Parent Trustee)

I am originally from Romania and came to the UK in 2009 to study at university in Southampton. In 2017, I settled in Maidstone with my husband, and we have two children: our daughter, who is currently in Year 1 at Jubilee, and our son, who will start Reception next year. I have a background in digital marketing, with experience across various industries, including financial services and FMCG. I am deeply committed to my children's education and strongly believe in the ethos of the school. I am excited to begin my term as a parent trustee and look forward to supporting Jubilee in equipping children with the skills and education they need to succeed in life.

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Barbara Faulkner

Anthony Faulkner

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Barbara Faulkner
 

Anthony Faulkner

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Trustee Jubilee Primary School

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Barbara Faulkner

Neil Pattison

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Barbara Faulkner

Neil Pattison

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Anthony Faulkner

Neil Pattison

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Anthony Faulkner

Neil Pattison

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Member of Jubilee Primary School

Member of Jubilee Primary School