Our Governors are interested, proactive and closely involved in the life of the school.
The role of school governors is to set strategic direction, to hold school leaders to account for improving performance, and to make sure money is well spent. They provide the Headteacher with both challenge and support in all aspects of leading and managing the school.
The Headteacher has a duty to report all the significant happenings of the school to the Governing Body through regular committee meetings and reports as follows.
The Full Governing Body meets once a term
The four sub-committees each meet twice a term. They are:
- The School Improvement and Monitoring/ Curriculum and Ethos Committee (SIMCE) – responsible for setting targets, monitoring standards and ensuring that the curriculum is balanced and broadly based. All curriculum subjects have Governors linked to them so that the Governing Body is kept fully informed.
- The Resources Committee – responsible for monitoring the managing of the school’s finances, the appointment and performance of staff and the school’s premises. We ensure that within the composition of this committee they have the financial skills to oversee the financial management of the school.
- Finance Committee – this is a smaller, working party group made up of HfL Financial Adviser, the Headteacher and the School Business Manager to collect and report information for the Resources Committee.
- The Chairs’ Committee – which comprises the Chair of the Governing Body, The Headteacher and Deputy Headteacher as well as the Chairs of the other two committees and holds an overview of the structure and performance of the Governing Body as a whole.
Other special committees will be formed in the event that they are needed, such as for disciplinary, Headteacher recruitment, grievances etc.
Governors are appointed to serve according to various categories:
- Parent Governors: selected by election and drawn from parents and carers of children at the school
- Staff Governors: selected by election from teaching and support staff paid to work at the school
- Co-Opted Governors: appointed by the governing body to represent community interests
- Local Authority Governors: appointed by the local authority
- Foundation Governors: appointed by the school’s founding body (the Diocese of St. Albans) named in the school’s Instrument of Government
- Associate Members: appointed by the governing body to attend committee meetings and/or full governing body meetings due to their particular skills or experience.
There are Parent Governors to whom you can turn if you have an opinion or enquiry to express. If you have a specific problem, it can usually be resolved by first approaching the Headteacher.
Our Governors 2024-25
The term of office is 4 years
Name | Category | Appointing Body | Date appointed + term
date stepped down (where appropriate) |
Relevant Business and financial interests
Material interests |
Governance roles in other educational institutions |
Anne Pulford
Chair of Governor Body (Elected Oct 2021)
|
Foundation Governor
|
PCC | From: June 2019
Re-elected by PCC and Diocese May 2023 To: May 2027 |
None | None |
Rev’d Sarah Forrest | Foundation
Ex Officio |
PCC | From: Oct 2020
|
None | Ex-officio Governor at St John the Baptist Primary School, Great Amwell |
Teresa Fowle | Associate Member
No voting rights |
Governing Body | From: March 2022
To: March 2026 |
None | |
Maureen Freeman | Foundation Governor
|
PCC | From: Oct 2022
To: Oct 2026 |
None | None |
Helen Gillingham
|
Headteacher
Ex Officio |
Governing Body | From: Sept 2018
|
None | None |
Alex Hulme | Parent Governor | Parents | From: September 2022
To: September 2026 |
None | None |
Catherine Moorcroft | Associate Member No voting rights | Governing Body | From: Autumn 2022
To Aug 2026 |
None | None |
Janet Mulholland | Clerk to Resources and SIMCE committee | Governing Body | From Sept 2021 | None | None |
Maria Lewis | Clerk to FGB | Governing Body | From Jan 2024 | Is Clerk for other Hertfordshire School GB | |
Joanne Phillips | Parent Governor | Parents | From: September 2022
To: September 2026 |
None | None |
Gini Trower | Co-opted Governor | Governing Body | From Oct 2021
To: Sept 2025 |
Owner of The Walled Garden, Stanstead Bury Farm. | None |
Lauren Penrose | Parent Governor | Parents | From June 2023
To: June 2027 |
None | None |
Nev Rees | Parent Governor | Parents | From: June 2023
To: June 2027 |
None | None |
Peter Cuffaro | Co-opted Governor | Governing Body | From October 2023
To: October 2027 |
Local business man | None |
Lydia Hunt | Local Authority | Governing Body | From October 2023
To: October 2027 |
None | Headteacher of St John the Baptist CE VA Church, Great Amwell |
Joshua Chesterman | Staff Governor | Governing Body | From October 2023
To: October 2027 |
None | Teacher at St Andrew’s C of E School |
Charlotte Herod | Parent Governor | Parents | From February 2024
To: February 2028 |
None | None |
Ana Bayford | Co-Opted Governor | Governing Body | From June 2024
To June 2028 |
Governors can be contacted freely, by letter of phone call, via the school office.
The Governors are constantly working to be more visible and approachable and to that end produce a Governors’ newsletter to update the school’s stakeholders on Governors’ activities.