Maggie is currently the Chair of Orchard Manor School Governing Board.

She started her career as a special school teacher and then worked as an educational psychologist for 20 years, before moving into education management, becoming assistant director of Children’s Services in Plymouth in 2005.

Since retirement from that role in 2013, she has maintained her passion for special education, and is a governor at Mill Water School in East Budleigh as well as at Orchard Manor.

She also works part-time for Scomis, part of Devon County Council that supports schools with their ICT needs.

She enjoys singing in a choir, and singing holidays, Pilates (exercise lying down!) and cooking for family and friends .

After graduating from university with a degree in Languages, Economics and Politics, I worked and travelled across France and Australia before returning to the UK to join the police service. Twenty-three years later, I am still a serving officer, now at the rank of Inspector and retain a passionate commitment to public service. I have had a varied police career including response, command and control, and training. One of my proudest moments was receiving a Commendation for saving a life in custody.

I now specialise in Custody and Criminal Justice. This challenging role finds me both influencing on local and national issues as well as advising on day to day tactics for our custody units.

I firmly believe in contributing to the communities we are part of and this new role of Governor will hopefully be a good use of the skills I have developed as a Police Officer as well as offering me a new perspective and challenge.

I am married to Paul, who also works for Devon and Cornwall Police, have a young son who has just started attending Orchard Manor, and two, rather elderly, black Labradors.

After qualifying as a Mental Health Nurse, Gavin worked in the NHS for 25 years. For much of his career, he specialised in working with offenders in forensic mental health care. Gavin progressed to be Deputy Director of Nursing in Oxfordshire before relocating to Devon and taking up another Deputy Director of Nursing role with the local NHS Trust.   Gavin now works with a friend, running a nursing agency, home care services and care homes.

Gavin has been lucky enough to work internationally with several human rights groups, including spending time in Turkey, Moldova and Croatia. Until lockdown, he was regularly visiting Georgia and especially Ukraine, working on projects to improve mental health services in psychiatric hospitals, prisons and social care homes. Another area of interest has been the spiritual aspect of mental health care, especially mindfulness.

Gavin has three children, one of whom attends Orchard Manor.  His obsessions outside work are rock music, American football, reading, meditation and personal fitness.

Pen Portrait to follow