Our Team

Mrs O’Brien is an experienced educational leader with over 20 years in teaching and senior leadership across both maintained and independent schools. Her career has spanned roles including Headteacher, Education Director, Compliance Director, Ofsted Inspector, Head of Lower School, DSL, and Head of EYFS, providing a deep understanding of school improvement, regulatory compliance, and high-quality teaching across all phases.

Mrs O’Brien loves Kit Kats and owls, but she doesn’t like traffic jams.

Mrs Burfoot has been part of KSM for the past four years, working across both KS1 and now KS2. This year, she has taken on the role of Deputy Headteacher and is enjoying the challenge and the opportunity to support the whole school community.

With over 17 years of teaching experience, Mrs Burfoot has taught across all year groups – although she will admit that KS2 is probably her favourite! She has also worked as a maths specialist, supporting schools across the South West through the NCETM and local Maths Hubs, as well as designing and creating classroom maths resources. She is also the school’s curriculum lead.

Outside of school, Mrs Burfoot is an animal enthusiast – especially when it comes to horses and dogs (in fact, almost anything with four legs!). One thing she definitely doesn’t enjoy, however, is bananas…a fact the children never let her forget!

Mrs Davis joined KSM in September 2025, bringing with her 11 years of experience as a School Business Manager in another primary school. She loves working with numbers and is passionate about keeping everyone safe and supported at school.

Mrs Davis enjoys spending time by the sea and walking her dogs, but she’s definitely not a fan of spiders!

Miss Waylen is an experienced educator with over 24 years in teaching, including 20 years as a dedicated Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENDCo). She holds the National Award for SEN (NASENCo) and has played a key role in senior leadership within her previous school. Passionate about inclusive education and outdoor learning, Miss Waylen is also in the process of completing Forest School training, bringing creativity and nature-based approaches to her work.

Miss Waylen loves animals and chocolate, but she doesn't like drinking tea.

Mrs Attiogbe has been a valued member of the KSM community for 9 years and has worked with children across all age groups. She loves creating fun and engaging opportunities for pupils, from organising lunchtime games to running a popular lunchtime club. As our school Emotional Literacy Support Assistant (ELSA), Mrs Attiogbe is deeply passionate about supporting children’s wellbeing and helping them build confidence and resilience. Mrs Attiogbe also served in the British Army for 15 years as a Combat Medic, skills she is putting to good use as one of our first aiders.

Outside of school, Mrs Attiogbe adores her sausage dogs and the magic of Christmas, though she is not too keen on coffee!

Mrs Bevan has worked at KSM for just over a year and is the Early Years lead in reception. She has over 20 years experience within KS1, early years and nursery, and has worked in various schools within the South West. Her passion is in the foundation years and she loves leading any type of art or music activity within her classroom. Mrs Bevan is also the PE lead in the school and enjoys organising different sport activities involving outside agencies.

Mrs Bevan loves going to the gym and dog walks, but she doesn’t like Turkish Delight!

Miss Morrish has over 30 years of experience in business finance and has a lifelong love of numbers. She began her teaching career 10 years ago and has been part of the Kington St Michael School community since 2017. During her time at the school, she has taught across several year groups and is currently enjoying her role in the Sparrows class. She also serves as both the Maths Subject Leader and the Music Subject Leader.

In her spare time Miss Morrish loves walking up mountains with her dogs and travelling the world with her family. She doesn't like coriander or goats cheese!

Mrs Hussey has been part of the KSM family for 12 years, working with children across all age groups. Before joining KSM, she was Head of French at a large comprehensive school in Surrey. She is passionate about languages and loves inspiring pupils to enjoy speaking and exploring new vocabulary from different countries.

When she is not in the classroom, Mrs Hussey enjoys travelling, getting lost in a good book and going for long walks. However, she doesn't like spiders or the M25!

Mrs Samuels has enjoyed teaching at Kington St Michael since 2017, having also worked in several primary schools across Wiltshire. She has worked with children across all key stages and finds great reward in watching them learn through a creative curriculum, always striving for high standards.

In her spare time, Mrs Samuels enjoys practising yoga and taking long walks with her cheerful dachshund. However, despite her love of creativity, she doesn’t like mess!

Mrs Myers has worked at KSM for just over 2 years in our Kingfisher Class (Years 4 and 5). She loves all things science and enjoys leading any kind of scientific activity, including running science and STEM clubs for all year groups. Above all, Mrs Myers' naturally empathetic nature ensures that all the children feel safe, valued and inspired to do their best. Mrs Myers is a Staff Governor, and holds a position on the school board, helping to shape and support the strategic development of the school.

Mrs Myers loves cats, Lindt chocolate and a good book, but she doesn’t like spiders!

Mrs Rylance joined KSM in 2021 and is currently working in Hawks class every Friday, job-sharing with our Deputy Headteacher. Mrs Rylance's teaching career spans over 30 years, working firstly in London, and then in Wiltshire. She has taught across Early Years, KS1 and KS2. Mrs Rylance trained as a Wiltshire Numbers Count teacher in 2010 and worked as a Specialist Maths Intervention Teacher for many years.

Mrs Rylance is our DT Lead and loves all art and design. She loves travelling but she is not a fan of mess!

Mrs Croffie has been a popular member of the KSM family for 8 years, supporting children across all year groups with her positivity, organisation and dedication. She is always ready to lend a helping hand around the school and is known for her kind and approachable nature.

Mrs Croffie is a proud parent of two children who attended KSM School. Therefore, she brings both professional experience and a personal understanding of school life. In her free time, Mrs Croffie enjoys long walks and is very fond of chocolate, though she’s not a fan of spiders!

Mrs Rogers first joined our school community 11 years ago as a dedicated parent helper when both of her daughters were pupils here. Her passion for supporting children’s learning soon led her to become a Teaching Assistant, a role she has proudly held for the past 5 years in Key Stage 1. She is also one of our trained paediatric first aiders, always ready to lend a caring hand when needed. Known for her keen eye for detail, she admits she can’t resist straightening and organising things to perfection.

Outside of school, Mrs. Rogers loves long walks on the beach, no matter what the weather brings and has an undeniable weakness for chocolate!

Mrs Kirkman has been a valued member of the KSM team for over 20 years, working across both Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2. She is paediatric first-aid trained and leads the Number Stacks intervention programme throughout the school. In her spare time, Mrs Kirkman enjoys swimming and attending the theatre, although she admits that gardening is not among her favourite pastimes.

Mrs Hughes achieved her TA qualification 15 years ago and has worked at KSM since 2017. She has worked across all the classes and is currently enjoying being the TA in Sparrows where she loves supporting phonics and maths. She also helps children with their speech and language development. She loves her ballet class and watching Arsenal matches, but doesn't like celery.

Mrs Grey is a brilliant TA volunteer who supports classes across the school every Monday and Thursday. She is especially skilled at creating eye-catching displays and working with small groups, including during cooking and art projects.

Outside of school, Mrs Grey loves spending time outdoors, especially riding her bike with family and friends. She is passionate about all kinds of arts and crafts, and enjoys sharing her creativity with others. Mrs Grey will have a go at anything, but she especially loves painting furniture, working with fused glass, and creating with clay. The only thing she doesn’t enjoy is rainy weather – because it keeps her off her bike!

Hayley joined Kington St Michael School in October 2023. She has over 25 years' experience working with children in a variety of childcare settings, including after-school clubs and even coaching a boys’ under-8s football team. Her background has given her strong leadership skills and a genuine passion for childcare, which she brings to her role running The Nest, our school wraparound care.

Hayley loves crafting, solving jigsaw puzzles and enjoying picnics in the sunshine, but she’s not a fan of boat trips that make her seasick.

Elly joined Kington St Michael School in October 2023. She is a one-to-one Teaching Assistant in Year 6 and part of the brilliant Nest wraparound care team.

Elly enjoys playing hockey and walking her puppy, but she doesn’t like really hot weather!

Rachel joined The Nest breakfast and after-school team in June 2025. She has a strong background in working with children, having volunteered for a local children’s charity where she helped deliver fun and engaging activities.

Rachel likes scary roller coasters, Coke Zero and spending time with her dog, Noodle, but doesn’t like being stuck in traffic jams.

Mrs Allott joined the KSM office team in June 2025. She brings a wealth of experience from her previous roles, including 4 years as a Year 6 Teaching Assistant as well as a background in finance and customer service.

Alice loves keeping things organised and running smoothly around the school. Outside of work, she enjoys decorating and is a big fan of action movies, but dislikes itchy jumpers.

Miss Gardner joined the KSM office team in June 2025. She brings 15 years’ experience in children’s books and entertainment, as a book editor at Penguin, and a publishing manager at Nickelodeon, and prior to this, she worked in costume for feature films.

Miss Gardner loves helping things run beautifully - and look beautiful! - in the school office. At home, she runs her own handmade ceramics business from her garden studio. She likes meditating and painting, but doesn’t like having to tidy up!

Mr Crowther joined Kington St Michael School in December 2025. He has over 25 years’ experience in the public and private sectors, embedding technical, procedural, compliance and quality governance systems across regulated environments. He has deep technical literacy and a passion for using technology to support organisations achieve their compliance and governance goals.

Mr Crowther loves feeding the birds and long country walks with his family and dog, but doesn’t like avocado or blue cheese.

Mr Hodson has worked in education for over 4 years. After studying Psychology at university, he gained his PGCE in 2021. He then taught at a maintained school in Bath for 2 years. He is the Curriculum Manager at Up & Under Sports and helps to support other coaches in their development, as well as working closely with other managers to develop various areas of the Up & Under curriculum.

Mr Hodson loves summer and spending time with his friends and family, but he doesn't like Bounty bars.

Mr Minick is an Apprentice Sports Coach, passionate about physical education and inspiring young people. He has past experience with coaching and leading sport at sixth form, where he completed A-level qualifications in PE, Psychology, Criminology and Sports Leadership.

Mr Minick likes football and Nandos, but doesn’t like mushrooms.

Miss Dixon is a lifelong musician who’s been immersed in sound since the age of eight, learning everything from clarinet and guitar to drums. That early passion for music grew into formal study, leading Miss Dixon to pursue Popular Music at both college and university.

After graduating in 2021, Miss Dixon joined Rocksteady, where she and other musicians teach hundreds of children each week how to play together, create together, and experience the joy of being in a band.

Outside the classroom, Miss Dixon loves performing with her own band and keeps creative energy flowing through regular gigs and dance classes. Despite a deep love of loud instruments and lively rehearsal rooms, there’s one sound Miss Dixon can’t stand: knives scraping on a plate.

Mrs Moore has enjoyed over 40 years' teaching experience, which included class teaching in Cardiff and then, after time out raising her family of four daughters, continuing to teach piano and cello both privately and peripatetically.

Mrs Moore loves a triathlon and visiting the Wiltshire countryside, but she doesn’t like being stuck on a hill!

Mr Ladd studied for a BA (Hons) in Music at Dartington College of Arts. After graduating and moving to Bristol, he began performing in a wide range of bands and ensembles. With over 20 years’ experience as a professional musician, he brings a wealth of knowledge to his teaching. His career has included session recording at Maida Vale Studios for BBC Introducing with Typesun, headlining at the Bristol Jazz and Blues Festival with No Go Stop, performing at many major festivals across the UK and Europe, and supporting artists such as Snarky Puppy, the Guillemots and St Germain on tour.

James believes that sharing real musical experiences can inspire pupils and help make areas such as guitar technique, music theory, notation and performance feel exciting and accessible. He tailors every lesson to each pupil’s needs, interests and goals. He also has extensive experience working with SEN pupils and values the opportunity to adapt his approach to support neurodiverse learners.

His teaching philosophy centres on igniting a lifelong passion for music and helping every pupil reach their full potential. For James, teaching goes far beyond instruction – it’s about guidance, mentorship and fostering a genuine love of learning. James likes watching live music and dislikes early mornings.

Ms Holden is a specialist woodwind teacher with nearly 30 years' experience, and holds a CTABRSM. She earned her Bachelor of Music (Hons) from the University of Sheffield, where she studied music history, harmony, psychology, education, criticism and performance. During her final years, she attended weekly techniques classes with Peter Lloyd at the Royal Northern College of Music.

After graduating, Sophie joined Wells Cathedral School’s Specialist Music Department, coaching young musicians across all instruments and teaching aural and theory. She later worked with Wiltshire Music Service and BANES Music Service, and continues to teach woodwind in primary and secondary schools.

In addition to teaching, Sophie enjoys conducting school ensembles and coaches several senior groups for WEMA. She also coordinates BSYM’s Hayesfield Saturday Music Centre and is regularly invited to coach on residential and orchestral courses across the South West. As a performer, Sophie plays with the New Bristol Sinfonia and enjoys a varied freelance career with groups including The Bristol Ensemble and Brandon Hill Chamber Orchestra.