I have been fortunate to be the Bursar and Clerk to Governors at Halstead Preparatory School for Girls since September 2016.  Prior to that I was a qualified School Business Manager for twelve years in the state sector for a large infant and junior school in Surrey. My background is in finance with twelve years in the banking sector, spending the initial part of my career in retail banking before moving on to corporate and commercial banking for the latter part.

Cheryl Connelly was educated at Northumbria University where she completed a honours degree in Business Management. Having spent five years in the Civil Service, Cheryl moved to the Training and Enterprise Council where she advised public and private businesses on best practice and developed and delivered workshops to equip their own staff with the necessary skills to deliver continuous improvement. During this time Cheryl also completed her post graduate diploma in Personnel and Development. Cheryl then became an inspector with the Audit Commission where she led corporate compliance inspections at County and District councils, Police authorities and Fire authorities across the UK. After a decade at the Audit Commission, Cheryl moved into the Education sector as a Business Manager and Clerk to the Governors, spending six years in the maintained sector before spending the last three years in the independent sector. During this time, Cheryl also completed her MSc in Business Education Management. Cheryl has also served for 17 years as a school governor, including as Chair of Governors and Chair of Finance and Resources. 

John has been with ISBA since February 2017.  He is responsible for the head office internal organisation, outputs to members, training and is the main point of contact for the advice and guidance service to schools. 

John spent 31 years in the Royal Navy, retiring in 2007.  Since then, he has worked as the Chapter Clerk in Portsmouth Cathedral, managed a Barristers' Chambers in London and been Bursar in two schools before joining ISBA.