Staff
Executive Group
Fran Russell
Executive Director
Fran is a former solicitor and senior charity executive. She played a key role in the development of Greenwich Steiner School from early years' initiative to become a thriving school. During that time she sat as a member of the Greenwich Children's Safeguarding Partnership (Schools Group). After leaving Greenwich she was an inspector with HM Inspectorate of Prisons where her work included inspecting the quality of provision for children held in secure facilities.
Fran initially trained in commercial law going on to specialise in human rights and judicial review where she advocated for children in the prison and care systems. She was Assistant Director at the Howard League for Penal Reform and founding director of its children's law department, winning the Liberty/Justice Human Rights Award; and was senior legal advisor at Voice (now Corum Voice). Fran previously worked as a special advisor in the UK Parliament and researcher for the civil liberties organisation Liberty. She has also worked in the Middle East and the Caribbean on human rights issues. Other work has included Associate Independent Complaints Assessor at the Department for Transport and Interviewer for the Independent Review of Workplace Culture at Save the Children UK (2018). She has twin girls who were educated at Greenwich Steiner School.
Kath Bransby
Education Coordinator
After working in publishing and health administration, Kath began her teaching career in state education, working as a teacher and senior leader in early years and primary for 15 years. During this time, she trained as a Waldorf kindergarten teacher, and introduced many aspects of the pedagogy into her work. This innovation was recognised by Ofsted, the local authority and teacher training partners, and Kath began delivering training in storytelling, literacy, outdoor learning and craft more widely in the north of England.
Alongside her role at Waldorf UK, Kath also works part-time as a lecturer and researcher in teacher education at Sheffield Hallam university, with a focus on curriculum innovation, early literacy and neurodiversity.
Sam Greshoff
Early Childhood Coordinator
Sam studied Renaissance History at Warwick University between 1985-1988 and then went on to a career in the organisation of Medical Conferences working for the Royal Society of Medicine, Royal College of Physicians and Teenage Cancer Trust.
For the past twenty three years she has worked as a Parent and Child Group Leader and Kindergarten Teacher and has co-ordinated training and continuing professional development for educators working with children from birth to seven. She began working for SWSF in 2017, collaborating with Janni Nicol to support early childhood settings. In 2021 she completed an MA in Childhood and Youth Studies (Merit) focusing in particular on the experience of children under the age of three in early childhood settings. Sam is also a core tutor on the Holistic Baby and Childcare Course and the NESWEC Kindergarten training.
Consultants
Janni Nicol
Early Childhood Coordinator
Janni worked as a Waldorf Kindergarten teacher in South Africa and Cambridge, where she was the founding teacher of the Cambridge Steiner school. She worked for the SWSF for over 20 years, before retiring from the Early Childhood Coordinating role in 2022. She was instrumental in starting the SW Foundation Degree at Plymouth University and teaches on the NESWEC EC kindergarten training course. She lectures internationally and has written a number of books on Steiner Waldorf early childhood education and care. She is the editor and publisher of KINDLING, Journal for Steiner Waldorf Early Childhood.
Janni continues to represent the SWSF on IASWECE (international Kindergarten Association) where she is also a board member. She holds a number of other trustee roles and works as an advisor and mentor to the SWSF.
Operations Support
Cath Thurlow
Cath has a background in management in Community Mental Health, has worked as Child Protection Social Work and in Youth Justice and is a trained counsellor.
She was a parent and child leader before becoming the School Lead at Beechtree Steiner Initiative for eight years, a small Steiner School and Kindergarten in Leeds. Cath's two children attended Beechtree and York Steiner School.
