Teaching and Learning Team

Miss H. Mitchem

Strategic Oversight and Direction; Quality Assurance, Inset & Academy Days, CPD & Professional Development

Miss Mitchem is the Deputy Headteacher at Townley and oversees Teaching & Learning at Townley. She manages a team that all engage critically with a range of innovative research-informed practice, immersing themselves in current and emerging pedagogy in order to consider how it best fits within the context of our own school setting.

With an outward facing approach, Miss Mitchem has been responsible for facilitating many innovative national and international partnerships to guide the future development of education alongside in-house CPD, harnessing experts in their field to help drive standards and address national priorities in the educational sector. She recognises the valuable opportunities these collaborations offer for CPD and school improvement; our links with industry, all phases in the educational sector and highly distinguished individuals allow us to draw on fields of additional expertise when designing CPD and school improvement models for the school and beyond.

K. Mair

Ed Tech

Ms Mair has been a member of the Townley community for five years and has an avid interest in technology. Through the exploration of pedagogies and evident based approached Ms Mair will ensure that technology used within the classroom enhances the quality of teaching and learning.

Prior to her career in teaching, Ms Mair had a successful 20-year career in the upstream oil industry managing IT for multiple regions for a leading global independent energy company. She has a proven track record of monitoring the technological landscape and keeping up-to-date with innovation and brings industry experience of seamlessly delivering IT services to business and successful deployment of new software.

Ms Mair will be working on leveraging Google's learning platform and developing innovative use of technology to enrich education and support learning. Part of this work will be the development of a high-impact teaching toolkit that enhances bespoke learning experiences as we transition to a Google school.

Miss K. A. Reid

Student Mentoring; EDGE

Mrs Reid has worked at Townley for five academic years, focusing particularly on student mentoring and coaching. She also coordinates the Townley Mentoring Programme, a conduit which peer and academic mentors are provided with the opportunity to contribute to the life of the school while developing leadership skills and attributes while embarking on a shared learning experience with their mentees.

Mrs Reid has worked alongside pastoral leaders and external providers to provide a range of opportunities for pupils to engage in workshops and participate in programmes with a view to ensuring that our students are equipped with effective learning strategies to help them become independent and resilient learners and improve their outcomes. Programme and workshop offerings have included special focus on: (i)Independent Learning, Organisation and Procrastination Avoidance; (ii) Recall and Retention Techniques; (ii) Research Skills, Note-taking and Effective Reading; (iv) Stress Management and Self-motivation.

Mrs Reid is an accredited Pedagogical Coach and had conducted pedagogical coaching sessions for colleagues who want to practise and build confidence in coaching skills in order to support colleagues' development. Miss Reid is also the coordinator of the EDGE programme and Head of Economics.

H. Ronan

Curriculum

Hayley is an Assistant Headteacher whose career is built on a core belief in the power of empathy and strong relationships. She is motivated by the success and happiness of those around her, whether they are her students or colleagues. For Hayley, a supportive, empowered, and motivated team is a happy team, and she believes that fostering a healthy work-life balance is crucial for everyone’s well-being. Hayley’s extensive experience spans several diverse schools, including mixed-sex and same-sex comprehensives, as well as those in deprived areas. This has given her a deep understanding of varied educational environments. She has held several key roles, including Head of Year, Lead Practitioner, and Head of English, before becoming an Assistant Headteacher.

Throughout her career, Hayley has led and developed numerous initiatives within the areas of Curriculum and Teaching & Learning. As a subject leader, she has a proven track record of leading high-performing departments, often in the face of ever-changing circumstances. For Hayley, the greatest reward is the feeling of collegiality that comes from seeing a team, whether of students or staff, come together to achieve a common goal. This shared sense of community is what she finds most rewarding and what motivates her every day.

Mr F. De Fabiani

Intervention & Mastery

Fabian is a distinguished educator and Senior Assistant Headteacher at Townley Grammar School. His innovative approach to education has made him a sought-after speaker on various educational topics including Curriculum, Character Education and Curriculum development, nationally and internationally. Driven by a strong sense of purpose, he has advised Ofsted to develop a more holistic inspection framework. Fabian believes in building bridges across education and beyond. His work in character education enabled him to put his values into action, notably collaborating with Sir Anthony Seldon, The GSHA and a range of schools in the U.K and beyond to ensure a sense of purpose is central to the education of all young people.

D. Venuso

Induction Tutor; ITT and ECT

Miss Venuso has worked at Townley for several years, focusing particularly on mentoring and coaching. She has been Professional Coordinating Mentor for a number of years, coordinating ITT training and collaborating with the Bexley Alliance to provide Professional Studies training for ITT in the borough. Miss Venuso has established links with a considerable number of providers across a range of programmes including PGCE, School Direct, SCITT and Assessment Only routes. As Townley’s Induction Tutor, Miss Venuso also coordinates the ECT programme with Thames South Teaching School Hub and runs the Induction Programme for new members of staff. As a fully trained Coach, Miss Venuso also provides professional development training and support for middle leaders on pedagogical coaching 

Mr J. Mallison

Oracy

Mr. Mallinson began his career as a journalist, writing for a variety of publications as a freelancer and staffer before pivoting to education. Since training at the school, he has developed his career within the English department, bringing a passion for communication and critical thinking into the classroom, and supporting the department as KS4 Co-ordinator and Deputy Curriculum Lead. Mr. Mallinson completed the SSAT Legacy Leadership Project with a focus on oracy implementation and has led the school’s oracy provision for the past year, working across departments to embed high-quality speaking and listening opportunities across the curriculum. He also organises and runs a wide range of oracy initiatives, including ESU’s Performing Shakespeare for KS3, the Jack Petchey Speak Out Challenge and Young Reporters scheme for KS4, and Talk The Talk: Talk About the Future for KS5, ensuring students at every stage are supported to develop confidence, creativity and skill in spoken communication.

Miss S. Steadman

EDGE

Mrs S. Perfect

Raising Standards Lead (PiXL); Directed Time; National College

Sarah has been working in Secondary education for 18 years. Sarah’s career journey has spanned various school environments, including mixed comprehensive and girls’ grammar schools, providing a deep understanding of diverse educational settings.

Sarah’s leadership journey has been rich and varied, gaining experience in a range of roles including Head of Department, Head of Year, Deputy Head of Sixth, and Assistant Director of Teaching & Learning. These experiences have been crucial in shaping Sarah’s approach to leadership. As a leader, Sarah aims to build an atmosphere of trust and respect, which is key to fostering creativity and collaboration. Throughout Sarah’s career, she has had the chance to develop and lead many initiatives in teaching & learning and had the privilege of leading high-performing departments.

Sarah is currently undertaking a secondment as an Assistant Headteacher, which is a fantastic opportunity to use everything she has learned on a bigger scale.

ALL

Quality Assurance; Sharing Best Practice Initiatives; New Staff Induction; Visitors; T & L Communication