Pen Portraits

James Dawson: Chair of Governors

I was appointed Chair of Governors at Allestree Woodlands School in September 2025, after serving 18 months as a parent governor and Chair of the Resources Committee. As a father of two students at AWS, I’ve experienced firsthand what matters most to families – a safe and inclusive environment where every child is valued, supported and encouraged to achieve.

My professional background is in technology – specifically data and analytics – where I’ve worked for 25 years and currently serve as Head of Data and AI for a fund management company. This experience has given me clear insight into the skills young people need for tomorrow’s workplace. Digital literacy, data understanding, and the ability to critically evaluate and leverage technology are becoming as fundamental as reading and mathematics.

As Chair, my focus is ensuring we continue to deliver excellent educational outcomes while supporting our leadership team to build on the school’s strengths. Working within The Two Counties Trust gives us access to expertise and resources that benefit all our students, and I’m committed to ensuring AWS thrives within this partnership.

Joshua Porter

I am the PSHE Curriculum Leader and Teacher of Geography at Allestree Woodlands School, where I have worked since 2015. I have completed my NPQML (Middle Leadership) and NPQLT (Leading Teaching). I am passionate about development of teaching and learning across school, and am committed to developing my own leadership skills at AWS.

My aim for being a Staff Governor is to ensure that Allestree Woodlands School is a place where all students and staff are being supported to be the best they can be, in an environment that is supportive.

Peter Edmondson

I live very close to Woodlands School on Blenheim Drive and so it is very much my local school. I have six grandchildren currently being educated in other local schools and take a keen interest in their academic and social lives. I retired from work earlier this year and when I saw the notice in Allestree Life inviting contact from local people interested in joining the governing body, I was keen to pursue the opportunity to contribute to our local school.

For the first part of my career, I worked as a teacher with children with additional needs. I worked in Exeter and Derby as a Teacher of Deaf children in schools and colleges and worked in Hertfordshire with children and young people with a range of additional needs.

Following this, I qualified as an Educational Psychologist, working for Derby City across the city in a range of schools, before working privately for the past few years.

I enjoy outdoor life and the natural world, taking a particular interest in environmental issues. I also enjoy reading and watching a wide range of sport, particularly football.

Steph King

I became a governor at Woodlands as I have a child in the school and wanted to both see more about how the school works and to contribute to the future of the school.

I have previously been a parent governor at other schools but a long time ago. I used to be a teacher and am very interested in education generally and inclusion in particular. I completed a PhD in 2024, which looked at experiences of school exclusion and I now work at the University of Derby as a lecturer and researcher in education. So I have a passion for education but also have a lot of questions about how things are done and what can be done better.

I have three children although one is an adult now, my youngest will be hopefully joining Woodlands in September 2026.

Susie Crowley

My daughter is a student at Allestree Woodlands and I wanted to be able to take a more active role at the school. I’m particularly focused on visiting the school during the busy school day and seeing first hand, the work of students and staff.

I work as a School Librarian, in a secondary school, in a different local authority. The two schools are comparable in terms of student population and size of the school site, which I hope will support my role as Governor.

My background has always been working in libraries, both public and academic. I am passionate about getting our children to read and the benefits that literacy has, across all academic subjects.