Kim Bates joined James Marks Academy in February 2024, initially working alongside the Forest House Education Centre team, before moving to her permanent position at James Marks Academy.

Prior to joining Forest House Kim worked within an outreach team as a Family Support Worker supporting students and their families within Welwyn Garden City and Hatfield.

Kim has many years of experience working within schools, she has focussed on helping pupils that  have struggled with their attendance within mainstream school.

Clare has been part of the Roman Fields admin team since September, 2018. She always ensures a calm and cheerful welcome to our visitors.

Clare previously worked in a retail outlet as a supervisor and has previous experience of working in a school kitchen.

She is a designated trained first aider, and supports the managing medicines lead in administering medication.

Clare looks forward to welcoming you and your family.

Michael joined Roman Fields in August, 2020 as Site Manager. He was educated in Ireland, and has worked in the construction industry for the past 36 years. He is a qualified carpenter and joiner.

During Michael’s career, he has gained experience and training in many aspects of the industry including plumbing, electrical, and project management. Michael is trained in Health and Safety and in Fire Safety.

Pauline joined Roman Fields in December 2022, following a number of years working for the Local Authority, and across the Education and Charity Sectors.

She has worked in various roles with young people; as a teacher whilst living abroad, and with a number of charities including voluntary work as young persons' counsellor. 

Pauline also worked in adult learning as an ESOL teacher, and supported adults furthest from education, employment and training. 

Outside of work, Pauline is a School Governor for a local primary school, enjoys watching and (loosely) participating in sport, and has a passion for music. 

Originally form Harlow in Essex Len was an apprentice mechanical engineer at United Glass. Len then Joined Essex County Fire And Rescue Service and served for 30 years mainly based in and around Harlow and Epping and Uttlesford and Braintree Districts. During that time Len was also part of the Urban Search And Rescue Team. Len had two deployments to Indonesia and Christchurch New Zealand to assist with the Earthquake rescue efforts. Outside of work, a keen rugby player and represented Upper Clapton and Welwyn RFC. Still involved with Welwyn Rugby Club but his playing days are a distant memory! Len also enjoys Scuba Diving and have a keen interest in Wreck Diving and Sharks.

Liz is joining Roman Fields as Integrations Manager after working in a mainstream school setting for the past 10 years.

Liz has a background in accountancy, working as a management accountant for many years. After a career break to raise her 3 sons, she decided to retrain as a teaching assistant, a role she enjoyed thoroughly. Liz has always had a passion for helping to create the right classroom environment and learning for those with SEN within mainstream schools.

Liz's other interests include playing and watching many sporting activities, mostly with her sons. She is especially passionate about cricket, running the junior section of a local cricket club for a number of years.

Tony holds a degree in Aerospace Engineering and prior to working at Roman Fields, worked as a bank manager for 10 years.

Tony has worked in the office at Roman Fields for over 5 years, leading on all aspects of pupil administration. He manages all transport requests and is qualified in First Aid and Managing Medicines. 

Heidi joined Roman Fields in 2017, having previously worked in a similar role in a mainstream primary school. 

Since being with Roman Fields, Heidi has developed her knowledge and skills within finance and is one of the designated first aiders.

Jan works in the Careers and Transition team. Jan had a 20-year career in Sales and Marketing in London, after qualifying as an Inland Revenue Officer in the Civil Service, and then worked as an Education Officer for a global charity.

After having a career break to look after her children, Jan worked for the Youth Service and eventually found her way to Roman Fields.

Having worked as an Account Director for a couple of international businesses, Jan is familiar with the qualities and skills that employers look for in their employees. She is an enthusiastic and dedicated member of the Careers team and her commitment to building relationships with the pupils and their families in the school community is something that she holds close to her heart. Jan is also an empathetic and committed mentor.

Ally joined the team in April 2025 as EHCP Coordinator, bringing a wealth of experience and a genuine passion for supporting pupils with additional needs. She has worked in a range of roles across education, including HLTA, 1:1 TA, whole-class TA, Nursery Keyworker and SEN Administrator. Outside the classroom, she’s also run her own childminding business and a driving school, proving that she’s got both patience and nerves of steel (and possibly the reflexes of a superhero)

Known for her exceptional organisation skills, Ally takes pride in creating order and efficiency in everything she does. She’s also known for bringing a little unexpected joy to the school day,  from hiding tiny ducks, ghosts, and festive Christmas ducks around the site for pupils and staff to discover, to celebrating the small wins that brighten the school community

Her calm, friendly approach and good sense of humour help her build strong relationships with pupils, families, and staff alike.

Leia joined James Marks Academy Trust in April 2024, initially working at Roman Fields and then moving over to James Marks Academy in September 2024 as the Receptionist.

She has vast experience of working in busy offices, having managed administration teams within the NHS and taking the lead on projects within the Recruitment sector.

Leia also has experience of running her own business teaching Baby & Childrens Yoga in Nursery and Primary schools as well as out in the community and training to be a Nursery Nurse and working in a Nursery and Pre-school.

Sam joined Roman Fields in March 2024 after a career break raising her 2 children.

Prior to this, Sam has spent the majority of her career working in Procurement and Project Management for a large IT company.

In Sam's spare time she likes to spend it with her family and friends, travelling and exploring new places.

Alison is the Exams Officer so interested in all things exams related. Alsion also loves languages, reading, spending time with my family and getting out and doing some gardening - but only when the weather is nice. Alison has a background in education and professional development broken up with several periods overseas, mostly in China, Singapore and the USA. Alison has been working in the exams field for about 6 years now.

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Lara is the Office Manager at James Marks Academy, having joined the Trust in April 2024, to support the smooth transition of pupils from Roman Fields Academy to their new school in Welwyn Garden City. 

Prior to joining James Marks Academy, Lara had worked within the Education sector for ten years, most recently taking the Health & Safety Lead at a mainstream school in St. Albans, for 300 pupils.

Lara has over twenty years’ experience of office management and administration, within a diverse range of sectors including Private Equity, HR Consultancy, Education, and Charitable organisations.  

Lara enjoys the buzz of the School Office and being on-hand to provide administrative support to colleagues, pupils and their families.

Jonny joined the James Marks Academy in September 2024 as the school counsellor, having previously worked as a Children and Young Person Counsellor for Hertfordshire Council. 

Jonny has worked with children and young people for the past 20 years, in mainstream school, specialist provision and the outdoor education sector. 

As well as qualifying as a counsellor, he has gained further counselling specialisms in working with children and young people.

Outside of work, he enjoys watching sports and playing music.

Aline Savalle is our school counsellor. She is originally from France. She has decades of experience working in special education and is passionate about wellbeing and mental health.

After years of managing alternative provisions, Aline decided to retrain as a counsellor to support pupils in a more therapeutic way.

Aline works as person centred counsellor, but is very flexible in her way of working, in order to meet any young person's needs.

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Rebecca’s role at the centre is to oversee pupil progress, to communicate with pupils' parents or carers and all relevant professionals and to support the day-to-day aspects of pupils' experience, helping them to get the best outcomes (both academic and personal) from their time with us.

Rebecca builds excellent supportive relationships with pupils and parents alike, and is always on hand to offer a kind word or a listening ear. Rebecca has a wide range of experience, both within and outside of education, and works extensively and collaboratively with outside agencies to garner the best possible resources for each pupil.

Debra had a career in London in banking and then PR when she left university,  followed by working part-time in a school when her children were young.  She is both a qualified Careers Leader and a School Business Manager, and was instrumental in Roman Fields becoming the first special school in the county to achieve the Quality In Careers Standard.

Having worked for large corporate household names and boutique businesses, Debra knows what practical and soft skills employers are looking for and leads the careers and transitions area to prepare pupils for their next steps, be it further or higher education, or employment. She advocates between pupils, employers and colleges and is a link in the chain to life beyond Roman Fields.

Nora Woodley has been at Roman Fields since 2009, and is originally from the Philippines.

She works as part of the cleaning team. She is friendly and welcoming and always greets people with a smile.