Our People

Steve Tindall

Founder & Trustee of Bee-lieve Foundation

Bee-lieve Foundation was established in 2020 to celebrate my 30th year as a teacher. The charity is my way of trying to give a little extra back to support young people and their families.

When I hatched the plan to set up the charity in the summer of 2019, little did I know that the forthcoming academic year would turn out to be the strangest and most difficult of my entire teaching career. The coronavirus pandemic that swept across the world saw schools closed and the country in lock down. Suddenly the need to focus on the mental health & wellbeing of young people magnified exponentially. At Bee-lieve Foundation we want to make a positive difference to the lives and life chances of young people.

As a teacher, my greatest passion has always been turning negatives into positives, turning perceived problems into successes. I have always been a strong advocate of a positive ‘can do’ mind set, of challenging children to bravely step out of their comfort zone then supporting and praising them every step of the way. There is nothing more special in teaching than witnessing that moment when a child transfers from ‘I can’t do it’ to the smile and excitement which shows they now believe they can.

High levels of self-esteem, being valued, a feeling of connection & belonging are essential elements of good mental health and these ultimately lead to happiness and success. These values will underpin all the work we do at Bee-lieve Foundation.

As a very proud Northerner, my life-long passions outside of my professional life are rugby league, cricket, hiking in any mountain range I can visit and rock music. When I get a spare minute I also love painting and spending time in my garden.

Dr Mike Meredith MA (Oxon) PhD (Cantab)

Chair & Trustee of Bee-lieve Foundation

Mike is a director and shareholder of an organisation whose aim is to improve public services in the UK for all those who need them – whether they are hospital, schools, regulatory bodies to government departments. He is also the parent of 2 young children and a foundation governor of Holy Family Catholic Primary School so sees at first hand the dedication it takes to provide the best possible environment for of all ages and backgrounds in which to flourish. With this is mind, Mike was delighted to be asked to become of trustee of the Bee-lieve Foundation and help in any way possible to improve the support for young pupils in the area – we can enable each child to feel as though they can achieve amazing things.

When not working, Mike enjoys running (particularly whilst pushing his daughter in a pram!), playing golf and bbq-ing in the garden. He is attempting to learn the ukulele at the moment so please do recommend songs for him to learn which have a good guitar riff!

Chris Fields

Treasurer & Trustee of Bee-lieve Foundation

I am a Chartered Management Accountant and have held a number of financial controller roles in industry during my career. I currently work for Gatwick Airport Limited as Head of Sales & Operations Planning.

I have been a governor at Holy Family School since 2008 and get tremendous satisfaction from making a positive difference in young people’s lives. The work of the Bee-lieve Foundation is critical to help young people deal with the mental pressures that they face.

I am married with three children, an active runner and tennis player and in my youth played rugby for Hong Kong

Dr Alison D'Amario

Education Psychologist & Consultant of Bee-lieve Foundation

I am an Educational Psychologist, working for the Xavier Catholic Education Trust. Within my role I lead a team of Mental Health Champions, train and supervise Emotional Literacy Support Assistants, deliver training and parent workshops, as well as working with children at a group and individual level. I am proud to be on the editorial advisory board for the NurtureUK publication, The International Journal of Nurture in Education (IJNE), and co-authored ‘Philosophy for Children- The Man In the Moon’ with Dr Tina Rae in 2014.

Whilst I love all of the variety within my role, my passion lies within the area of mental health, so I was beyond delighted when Steve approached me to be involved with the Bee-Lieve Foundation.

Niamh Hunter

Secretary and Trustee of Bee-lieve Foundation

Surrey born and bred, I went to school at Salesian, Chertsey before studying primary education at St Mary’s University, Twickenham - ranked by Ofsted themselves, as one of the top university’s for teaching. As a teacher, it’s no surprise that I love to learn. Last year I received my motorbike licence, and this year I’ll be completing my Level 3 British Sign Language certification.

I was delighted to be invited as a trustee for the Bee-lieve Foundation. I preach regularly that happiness should come before education, and my core mantra is that children have got to be seen laughing, before they can be seen learning.

I’m a firm believer that the classroom isn’t the only place for a child to thrive. Having specialised in physical education and music at university, I understand the value that creative learning and physical activity has on children’s mental health. For that reason, my favourite days of the academic year are typically Sports Day and the annual school production.

Hannah Green

Website Designer and Communications

Hannah is another very talented and successful graduate of Salesian School, Chertsey and St Mary’s University where she qualified as a primary teacher in 2020. Hannah fully embodies the spirit of Bee-lieve Foundation with her infectious enthusiasm, positive ‘can do’ attitude and a genuine willingness to brighten the lives of other people.

We are delighted that Hannah took on the key role of designing the Bee-lieve website and co-ordinating our communication via a variety of social media platforms. She worked tirelessly over many weeks to turn our website ideas and vision into an online reality and is leading the way on raising our social media profile.

Hannah wanted to be involved with Bee-lieve Foundation because the mission of the foundation reflects her teaching philosophy. Hannah believes that education should develop the whole child. This belief led her to research how primary schools can use physical activity to support children's wellbeing for her dissertation.

When she’s not teaching or volunteering for Bee-lieve, Hannah enjoys going on long walks and bike rides.

Philippa Holt

Logo and Image Designer

The fantastic active bees which form such an important part of the Bee-lieve website are the creation of 16 year old Philippa Holt. Philippa’s artistic talent and creativity has turned our fledgling ideas for bees to brighten and animate the pages of the website into spectacular reality. We are delighted with the positive impact of her fabulous work.

Philippa is a talented young lady who has a very bright future ahead; this perfectly encapsulates the mission of Bee-lieve Foundation which is why we are so proud to call her one of our people.

Philippa is proud to be able to contribute towards such a worthy cause and hopes that many young people and families will benefit from the work of Bee-lieve Foundation.

If you are out and about at any Bee-lieve Foundation event, keep an eye open for Philippa’s bee designs as they will adorn all of our merchandise and promotional literature