About Us

• Finance – this is provided by Michele Johnson (qualified ACCA) and Kim Beazley (FCA qualified)
• Staff Liaison – Sheila Gardner, Staff Director and Team Leader has come on to the Board with this specific role.

A chartered accountant by training.

Kim has spent his career assisting the SME businesses in the PVI sector.  Mostly Kim specialised in charities.  A committed Christian with a passion for helping the poor and vulnerable especially those oppressed by debt.

As a CAP – (Christians Against Poverty) – Money Coach, Kim has assisted many people in debt through his free CAP Money courses in Gosport.

Kim is married with 2 grown up children and 3 grandchildren.

A highly valued member of staff, Gateway Staff Director, Team Lead and Trustee.

Sheila’s team say that she is extremely approachable and is able to give staff confidence to express their highs, lows and concerns.

Evident in all the comments about Sheila is her ability to be available and encouraging to all – staff, parents and children alike. Sheila has set a new benchmark for the managers with her visionary and inspirational leadership.

Staff find her inspiring. She helps them to plan career pathways and access training to facilitate this. Sheila herself has undertaken a degree in Early Years Studies, proving to be an excellent role model for her staff team.

Sheila is the enthusiastic and passionate Managers Team Lead, her years as Manager at Gateway has helped her to gain the knowledge to help the staff.

In her time Sheila has significantly influenced the growth of Gateway. However, the aim always remains the same; to support all families from by providing high quality childcare at affordable prices.

Like all managers in the early years sector, Sheila has to juggle many aspects of the service, but her primary focus is always on the children and helping them reach their full potential. In Sheila’s own words… “Managing a pre-school is different to managing in any other industry, because as well as managing budgets, staff etc., you also have the huge responsibility of having the welfare of the children at the forefront of any decision you make. The key to being a good manager is being able to adapt to every situation, ask for support when you need it, take on board constructive criticism and learn from your mistakes.”

Organisation and adaptability is key. Sheila is often required to quickly switch roles to prioritise between tasks. Managing a Pre-School goes beyond the mountains of paperwork; it requires determination and a willingness to adapt to multiple situations. Managers also need to have the desire to keep up-to-date with the latest policies and the EYFS and Sheila believes every manager should use resources available to them to benefit their Pre-School.

Sheila knows the importance of maintaining an excellent relationship with both staff and parents, and working together to reach Gateway’s goals. Ultimately, the children’s happiness and interests guide everything that she does in supporting the Pre-School settings.

Sheila is married with two grown up daughters and one grandson.

Michèle works in all manner of accounting and finance roles.  She is a Chartered Certified Accountant and has a BSc in Accounting, Finance and Economics.  She has worked for small businesses, start-ups, charities, and some global brands and more recently in the social enterprise sector. During that time, she’s seen some really good accounting systems and some terrifyingly bad ones, too. Unlike most accountants in practice, Michèle has worked in businesses not external to them.  Michèle has been using her expertise to help a variety of clients with all aspects of their accounts and systems, through her company,  Johnson Accounting Solutions.  She provides business and tax advice and accountancy services to businesses in the PVI sector as well as charities and social enterprises.

Michèle has been an invaluable support to Trinity Gateway Community Services for over two years. Providing Management Accounts and budgetary information along with support to the Office Administrator and the bookkeeper.   Michèle has an in depth knowledge of Trinity Gateway Community Services, not only in terms of finances but on all levels of the service.

Michèle sits on the board of trustees and gives much personal time to Trinity Gateway Community Services. As with all Gateway Trustees, she is committed to the sustainability and ongoing success of the services offered to families and children.

Michèle lives near Portsmouth with her husband Richard.

I served in the Royal Navy for 22 years from the age of 18 and trained as an general adult nurse in the hospitals RNH Plymouth and RNH Haslar in Gosport. After qualifying, I worked in medical and surgical nursing, gastroenterology and the accident and emergency department and was fortunate enough to be drafted to RNH Gibraltar for one year. I later went on to train as a mental health nurse and worked within Naval psychiatry before becoming a lecturer in mental health nursing in the universities of Portsmouth and Southampton.

I retired from full-time work in July 2018 and have been seeking God’s guidance on the next chapter. Since retirement, I have trained and am practising as a School pastor in Gosport Schools, a college pastor in Fareham College, working with Farm-4-life charity’s arm called “container aid” and have recently been part of a group setting up a mental health support group in the church I attend.

I joined the board of directors of Gateway in October 2018 and am also employed as the “handy-man” in Gateway undertaking a range of DIY tasks. Going into the settings gives me a great opportunity to see first-hand, our practitioners at work and also interacting with the children in those areas, a role I really enjoy.

What I bring to Gateway is experience of large corporate organisations, of safeguarding of all ages, of student management, education and support, investigations and complaints procedures in allegations of malpractice.

A role I have and for the last 3 years has been as a harassment contact supporting those who believe they have been bullied or harassed and supporting those who have been accused of such. Needless to say, I have been involved in investigations and worked alongside senior managers and HR in trying to achieve resolution in disputes.

I have been a Christian since the age of 13 and have had extensive experience in all ages young peoples’ work including youth ventures in Wales and the Lake District and for 10 years, have taken groups to Soul Survivor (a Christian houseparty under canvas).

I am married to Ruth, also a retired senior nurse and we have two sons, Sam aged 29 and in the wine industry in New Zealand and Harry 26, a doctor married to Julia (also a doctor). They live in Leeds. Both very active in their respective churches.

The Directors
Trinity Gateway Community Services
Gateway Central Office
Unit 8 The Old Railway
Spring Garden Lane
Gosport
Hampshire
PO12 1FQ

T:  023 9298 2360

Email: trustees@gatewaypreschools.org
W:  www.gatewaypreschools.org