Tide~ Trustees

A board of trustees of up to 20 members, who meet bi-monthly, administers the charity.  There are sub-committees for co-ordination, projects policy and finance.

Roland Clark, Chair of Management Committee
Adviser; ethnic minority achievement, Staffordshire LA Children and Lifelong learning Directorate School Improvement

I am a teacher who has always been interested in active learning, talking to learn, the Early Years, and languages in and for learning. Diversity delights me. What is education for if not to increase options, broaden horizons and make this world an attractive and sustainable place for everyone?

Tide~ makes teacher collaboration and co-operation possible, independently of prevailing State agendas. Tide~ shares teachers’ ideas as an outcome of creative thinking and classroom action.

I got involved with the Development Education Centre in the mid-eighties. It was the international dimension and the consistent authenticity of materials and direct experience which coincided with my increasing professional interest in multicultural and antiracist education. I suppose that’s 20 years. But there are constant challenges to evaluate thinking and reaffirm relevance to evolving issues, personally and professionally.

Rita Chowdhury, Vice Chair, Management Committee
Senior Inspector, Wolverhampton LA

I currently work as a School Improvement Partner/Adviser with a number of secondary schools and PRUs within Wolverhampton. I also have a responsibility for Citizenship and it is within this area that work with Tide~ has been particularly valuable. I have been the Chair of Tide~’s Management Committee for several years and am an unashamed devotee of the work it undertakes with teachers in developing the curriculum to take account of global issues and challenges.

Kevin Bailey
Headteacher, Hagley First School, Worcestershire

I am currently headteacher of Hagley Primary School, a large [600] pupil school.  Before that I was a senior lecturer at Worcester University and before that headteacher of a small First School in Chaddesley Corbett.  I have also taught for one year in Sydney, Australia.  I have been involved with Tide~ for approximately 10 years.  Interest in the global dimension and its importane in the curriculum has developed through long standing partnerships with schools in The Gambia and China.

Margaret Barnfield
Headteacher, Shaw Hill Primary School, Birmingham

I have worked in Birmingham since 1978, as an English Language Teacher, a class teacher and as a senior leader in primary schools.

I have been involved in Tide~ since the early 1980s. At first I was interested in their strategies for enabling children to discuss difficult issues. I took part in a study visit to The Gambia and have also been involved in a science publication for Tide~. I like to support the work by my involvement in the work of the Management Committee.

Lisa Davies
Teaching and Learning Consultant [Secondary], Wolverhampton LA

My involvement with Tide~ began 18 years ago when I began my PGCE Geography course at Birmingham University. My tutor, Roger Robinson, involved student teachers in Tide~ activities and these continued throughout my teaching career at Cockshut Hill Technology College in Birmingham. I have contributed to a number of Tide~ publications – ‘City for people’, ‘Globalisation’ and most recently ‘What is development?’ which strengthened the global dimension within my geography teaching. As a Teaching and Learning Consultant for Wolverhampton LA I support a range of foundation subject areas and have found Tide~ resources invaluable for stimulating debate with pupils and teachers alike.

Dennis Edwards, Chair of Projects Policy Group
Advanced skills teacher Citizenship, Hamstead Hall Community Learning Centre, Birmingham

I have been a History and Citizenship teacher for the last 32 years in Handworth.

I have been involved with Tide~ for about 10 years, and have been particularly interested in the Let’s Talk project.

Claire Finkel
Literacy Coordinator and Year 6 teacher, Brookvale Primary School, Birmingham

I have been teaching for 6 years having worked in other fields before deciding to retrain. I have been involved with Tide for most of that time. I initially started by attending the monthly book club and then have been involved in other courses including a week long study visit in The Gambia.

Gill Fox, Vice Chair, Finance Advice Group
Headteacher, Kings Norton Girls School, Birmingham

I have been involved with the organisation for the whole of my teaching career, and have benefited greatly both personally and professionally from the experience. Being involved has provided a constant source of inspiration and many opportunities to work with a wider network of professionals than I would normally come into contact with. Working on projects with other teachers, and through study visits, I have been able to appreciate alternative perspectives and draw on these in working with young people and adults on issues around development. I am currently a member of the Management and Finance Advice Groups.

John Hopkin
I've been involved with Tide~ now for over twenty-five years, participating in or leading a range of projects, most of them with a geographical dimension. That reflects my main interest in Tide~ – helping young people to think about and connect with the wider world, and to get involved in developing a fairer and more sustainable world for future generations.

Roger McBrien, Treasurer, Chair of Finance Advice Group
Deputy Head, Moseley School, Birmingham

I started teaching 1989. I taught in the Caribbean from 1991 to 1993 with VSO. On my return I undertook some research on technology teaching and development education. This led to a project with Tide~ and the publication ‘Changing Technology’.

I joined the management committee and the finance advice group following this and became Treasurer more recently.

Ray Peacock
Retired in December 2009 after 25 years working as a Humanities teacher and member of the Senior Management Team at a large secondary school in Kidderminster.  I am now engaged in various voluntary activities and in running our small-holding in the Teme Valley.

I have been involved with Tide~ since 2003.  I have used Tide~ materials in my teaching and used my experiences with Tide~ to organise several ‘Global Fairs’ at my school.  I have affection and respect for what it sets out to do.  In my mind, the only hope for a more egalitarian, less divided world where natural justice prevails, is in a deeper understanding between peoples; one where old stereotypes are swept away in the recognition of mutual communality in the face of deeper threats to our planet. 

Jeff Serf
Associate Dean, Initial Teacher Education, University of Wolverhampton

I taught geography in a number of secondary schools across the West Midlands and became involved with Tide~ in the early-1980s. My initial interests in geography, development education and human rights education have evolved into the areas of education for democratic citizenship and global learning.

Balbir Sohal
Advisory Teacher Citizenship, PSHE & Equalities, Services for Schools, Coventry LA

have been involved within the education field for over twenty-five years, both as a teacher and trainer. I am particularly interested in the areas of social justice and equality, learning and teaching, Citizenshi and PSHE and developing and nurturing professional development amongst fellow practioners.

I have been involved with Tide~ for over twenty years, this has ranged from personally accessing professional development opportunities to leading and co-ordinating curriculum projects.

Kevin Harrison is co-opted to the Finance Advice Group.