A member of Dales Academies Trust 
Our Chair of Governors is Mrs Tina Reid. She is a Parent Governor.
Tina Reid is a parent Governor, she has a son at Middleton Tyas. This is Tina’s first role as a Governor but she brings to us commercial leadership and coaching skills. Tina graduated with a First Class Honours Degree from Teeside University back in 2003 and later completed a PG Certificate in Executive Coaching. She is currently in the process of getting Fellow Chartered status with the Chartered Institute for Personnel and Development. Tina spent 10 years at Sage Group Plc in Newcastle where she operated in a European HR role and is currently operating as a Head of HR for a Leaderships Consulting and Executive Search business for the Public Sector, of which Education is a key practice. Tina says “I am passionate about personal growth, and every child realising and fulfilling their potential”.
Our Vice Chair of Governors is
Mrs Debbie McLean NPQH is an Ex-offio Governor, as Headteacher.
Debbie is elated to be Head Teacher at Trinity Academy Eppleby Forcett and Middleton Tyas and feels privileged to work with such wonderful children and families. With over 20 years experience in the teaching profession she has worked in both Durham and North Yorkshire local authorities. She has a wealth of experience in a range of different mainstream primary settings as both a teacher and a school leader. Her high expectations and ambition for school improvement supported her previous school in moving from serious weaknesses to good with outstanding features. She has experienced two different acting headteacher roles to date and is determined to give children the best experience of primary education possible.
Debbie is a firm advocate of collaboration with colleagues and is an active member of the Swaledale Alliance where she has supported schools with effective use of Pupil Premium.
Debbie is very active and loves sport. She is a firm believer that the benefits of physical activity can support positive mental health and academic achievement. She has utilised her expertise in Physical Education to deliver training to teachers in Durham LA and is part of North Yorkshire Sport Headteacher forum. She is currently leading the development of Drumba throughout the schools and into the wider community.
Mr Ian Walton is a Co-opted Foundation Governor
Ian Walton is a member of Forcett PCC and joined Eppleby Forcett governing body pre-Federation. He has lived in the area for 13 years.
He retired from the health service 10 years ago, and now his main interest is bereavement support: he is a member of Cruse Bereavement Care.
Mr Fraser Brown is a Co-opted Governor
Fraser Brown is the father of 4 children, all of whom have previously attended our school. He is proud to be born and bred in rural North Yorkshire! Fraser was not academic at school and has a special interest in inspiring young people who are not academic to value their unique skills and understand that future success is not all about being a straight A’s student!
His 20 year career is entirely in the commercial sector. Fraser brings over 12 years of experience running medium to large companies in the Automotive sector. He has also worked directly for large corporates including General Motors, Audi UK, and Mazda Motors UK.
In 2014 Fraser founded his own company and has grown the business in to an award winning multimillion pound turnover company servicing 35 of the worlds biggest automotive brands and hundreds of car dealerships. Fraser has experience in business turnarounds, coaching company directors and being a company director himself. With strong skills in people management, analysis of accounts, process change, KPI analysis, benchmarking, performance management and strong general commercial skills.
Fraser is a people focused individual who is compassionate in his approach to everyone he meets and has been described in business as an inspirational leader. With a keen interest in change management and business performance improvement he has become well respected with in his sector.
Whilst not heavily religious Fraser was educated and brought up in the Church of England and endeavours to live by the Christian principle of treating others as you would like to be treated yourself. Fraser works out regularly and has recently run a number of half marathons raising money for various charities.
Mr Nick Downing is a Co-opted Governor
I am very pleased to be able to support the schools through the role of parent governor. I am passionate about education and see children as being our future. With our three children at Middleton/Eppleby I also have a vested interest! I am a physiotherapist by training and have worked in corporate hospitality and for the last 12 years in healthcare, initially clinically then for the last 5 years in Head of Service roles. I hope to share my experience but also to learn from the executive team and more about the education sector.
Miss Hana Buhlova is a Parent Governor
My Name is Hana Buhlova, I have 3 children at Trinity Academy Eppleby Forcett and Middleton Tyas and I am Landlady at the village pub, The Shoulder of Mutton. I love my job, being a full-time mother and being an active part of our village community.
I originally come from the Czech Republic, where I studied music and opera singing. School life was always a big part of my life, as both of my parents were teachers / headteachers at local schools.
I moved to London 20 years ago, where I began working as an Au pair and gradually built my career in Health and Social Care. Working as a Health and Social Care Assessor, and later as an Occupational Therapist for an NHS Intensive Neurological Service, supporting people with neurological illnesses through physical and music therapy.
James and I met in London and we moved home to Middleton Tyas to start our family. Following the arrival our second child, I became a registered Ofsted childminder, which I loved. Following the arrival of our 3rd, we decided to embark on our most challenging adventure yet, taking over our wonderful pub in this very special village.
I feel my life and work experience will be beneficial to my role as a School Governor. I will bring my unique perspective and insights to decision-making, and I believe I can make a valuable contribution to our schools and our community.
Mrs Sarah Tennison is a Parent Governor
Sarah Tennison is a Parent Governor with a daughter who is already at Middleton Tyas and another who is about to join at Eppleby. Sarah has had a broad history in local and national government focusing on economic development and innovation. She currently works as the Head of Clean Growth Strategy at Innovate UK, the UK’s innovation agency, which provides over £200m a year in grants and loans to businesses to develop exciting and novel net zero technologies. Previous to this Sarah has worked as the Innovation and Technology Manager and the Economic, Planning and Environment Manager at the Tees Valley Combined Authority and predecessor organisations.
Mrs Victoria Denning is a Co-opted Governor
I’ve been teaching at secondary school level now for 23 years. My main subject is RE although I’ve taught quite a few other subjects at different points in my career. I teach students between the ages of 11-18 and amongst other things I have taught KS3 courses, GCSE and A level. I’ve held a number of posts as part of this including being a progress leader, responsible for PSHE, Citizenship and also been second in department. I’m married and I have two children- one who left the school a few years ago and is now in secondary school and my son is in Year 5. We live locally and as a family we are quite involved in many areas of community life. We are very involved in our local scout group and my children are keen members of many groups around the area. As a parent of a child with SEND I am a big advocate that each child should be seen as an individual and treated as such. We are members of support groups within the north east and the local area for parents of children with SEND. Even with my knowledge and experience as a teacher, navigating the paths and dealing with various agencies in a quest to support your child I know is a very daunting experience and I’ve learned massive amounts whilst doing so. It’s not an easy road and I’m keen to support other families who find themselves in similar positions to ourselves. As a family, we are also quite active in our local RC church and I’ve been involved as a catechist in preparing children for sacraments for a number of years and also helping to run our children’s liturgy at church.
In my spare time I like to get out enjoying the fresh air. I enjoy cycling- in the past few years we’ve participated in a number of events as a family and as an individual I’ve also participated in a number of running events and challenges over the past few years. I’m keen to encourage my own children to make the most of the opportunities given to them, to enjoy life, to be kind and to believe in themselves! I’m often accused of wearing my heart on my sleeve and always being ‘on the go’!
We are incredibly lucky to have such a special place where our children feel valued and encouraged to be the best version of themselves. As a governor, I hope to be able to play my part in supporting the amazing staff at Middleton Tyas who have so willingly supported us and particularly my son over the past 6 years.
Mrs Blackburn is a Staff Governor
I view teaching as my vocation and have a genuine love of working with children and helping them to become their ‘best selves’. Having qualified 20 years ago I bring to teaching a wealth of knowledge from both Key stage 1 and 2. I was Deputy Head in my previous job so have been involved with every aspect of planning, assessment, and monitoring. I have carried out staff training, staff mentoring and guided many students through QTS too. My biggest passion lies in the creative arts, an area that I am working hard to give a higher profile too within Middleton Tyas. I also have experience of being a Governor as I was vice chair of The Federation of George Dent and Borough Road Nurseries for 3 years.
