Meet the Staff

School Leadership Team 

Executive Principal:  Annie Sutton

Annie joined St Joseph’s in the Summer term of 2010, initially with responsibility for Inclusion and Achievement, as well as Leader of Religious Education. Following the retirement of the long standing Principal, Mary Fawcett, Annie was appointed as Executive Principal in April 2016. Annie has a BA in teaching mathematics and NPQH.

Annie has been employed in Education since 1998, returning to work after a career break to raise her five children. She started as Special Needs Teaching Assistant before qualifying as a Mathematics Teacher and becoming Head of Year in a large Secondary School in West Sussex.

Head Teacher and Director of Education:  Simon Jaggard

Simon joined St Joseph’s in Autumn 2016 as Head Teacher and Director of Education. Simon has an MA in Education Leadership and Management. Simon is responsible for ensuring the high quality support for the education department and all of its students.

Simon has been in Education since 2000 and qualified as a History Teacher before becoming a Head of Subject, Head of Department and School Director of an English International School. He is a school governor of another special school in Somerset. Simon has also been a History Examiner and is a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London.

Director of Therapies:  Karen May

Karen qualified as a Speech and Language Therapist in 1990 and is a member of the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists. She is registered with the Health Professions Council and is a Makaton regional tutor.

She has worked in a variety of settings including geriatric hospitals, community clinics, opportunity playgroups and pre-school domiciliary services.

Director of Care:  Alan Day

Alan joined St Joseph’s in 2007. Alan has an MBA and City and Guilds 325:3 Advanced Management for Care as well as a QCF Diploma In Health and Social Care. Alan oversees all aspects of Admissions and Marketing and also the St Joseph’s Lead on Child protection. Alan has over 25 years experience in the Care sector and has managed residential Care homes for both Mencap and the RNID as well as a recuperation centre for the Fire Fighters Charity

Director of Business: Lizzie Hurst

Lizzie became a Governor at St Joseph’s in 2015, and joined the staff in the Business Department in 2017. She is a qualified solicitor and member of the Law Society with an MA (Oxon) in English Language and Literature. Lizzie has worked for and volunteered with various disability charities as a trustee, researcher and advisor. She has sat on panels for university social work degree curriculum standards, local implementation (disabled services), local authority social worker recruitment and an early years disability association. Lizzie has represented a rare genetic diseases charity at UK and European levels and was the CEO of a charity before working at St Joseph’s. Lizzie has a background in private practice and in-house legal services and has written for major broadsheet newspapers and various journals.

Director of Human Resources: Liz Sanders

Liz joined St Joseph’s in 2014 as Deputy Business Manager and Clerk to Governors. Liz is a qualified School Business Manager through the National College of School Leadership and member of the ISBL, having worked in education since 2004. Graduating with the CSBM qualification; specialising in HR, Finance, School Office Systems and Services, Risk, and Health and Safety. Liz also has an NVQ2 taken whilst working for six years as a SEN Teaching Assistant specifically supporting autism.

Previously, Liz volunteered as Chairman of a local pre-school whilst taking a career break to raise her children. Liz had worked as a financial advisor, holding the Financial Planning Certificate (FPC) through the Chartered Insurance Institute. Prior to that, she undertook the City and Guilds certificate in Sales, Management and Marketing.

As Human Resources lead at St Joseph’s, Liz is a Mental Health First Aider heading up a team trained through MHFA England and feels passionately about supporting the mental health and wellbeing of St Joseph’s staff.

Director of Finance: Cedric de Souza

Cedric joined St Joseph’s as Interim Finance Controller in 2018 and became Head of Finance in 2019 and Director of Finance in 2020. Cedric is a member of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants and has held senior positions in the global commercial and insurance sectors largely in London. Cedric has volunteered with numerous local charities including a charity which deals with the homeless, disadvantaged and vulnerable, for which Cedric helped to fund raise and organise temporary respite placement for school age children local families in the parish. Cedric is also a member of an association that raises funds and supports the disadvantaged people from his place of origin (Goa) and has successfully organised large fundraising events.

Director of Estates & Facilities: Adrian Maxey

Adrian joined St Joseph’s in 2019 as Head of Estates and Facilities and became Director of Estates & Facilities in 2021. Adrian has over 20 years estates and facilities management experience in the education sector and has helped various schools, colleges and universities, successfully manage and develop their estates. Prior to joining St Joseph’s, he was Assistant Director (Estates & Facilities) at a local independent school.

He is a member of the Institute of Workplace and Facilities Management (IWFM) and the Institute of Leadership and Management (ILM) and holds formal qualification in the same.

Prior to working in the education sector, Adrian was in the British Army and now volunteers with the Army Cadets.