Governing Board

Welcome to the Governors' section

Information about the Governing Body

January 2023

Who are Sussex Road School's Governors?

The Governing Body of Sussex Road Community Primary School comprises 14 governors in total. The membership is made up as follows:

2 Parent Governors
1 Local Authority Governor
1 Staff Governor
1 Headteacher Governor
9 Co-opted Governors

The Governing Body operates through a hybrid ‘Circle’ model, with a Finance Resources & Personnel Committee, with some delegated authority (constituted in September 2021)

Details of the current membership, and of membership and attendance over the past 12 months are set out below:

(italic text denotes a Governor who has left the Governing Body within the past 12 months)

Name	Category	Appointing Body	Start of Term of Office	End of Term of Office	Positions of Responsibility	% attendance at FGB meetings 2023/24	Committee Membership (Sept 2024 onwards)	% attendance at Committee meetings 2022/23
Emma Burns	Co-Opted Previously Parent	Governing Board Elected by Parents	16/10/2024 14/12/2020	15/10/2028 13/12/2024	Co-Vice Chair Training and development Health & Safety SSP Priority - Curriculum	100%	FRP	100%
Jennifer Elliston	Co-Opted	Governing Board	16/10/2024	15/10/2028	SEND SSP Priority - Assessment	New
Rachael Hosier	Co-Opted	Governing Board	22/05/2024	21/05/2028	Safeguarding Attendance Cybersecurity Wellbeing	100%
Catherine McCarthy	Parent	Stood for parent election unopposed	29/11/2024	28/11/2028		New
Sarah Miles	Headteacher	Ex officio due to role in school	01/09/2014	NA	Headteacher	100%	FRP	100%
Jamie Owen	Co-Opted	Governing Board	24/01/2023	24/01/2027	Co-Vice Chair Finance (Chair) SSP Priority - Curriculum	50%	FRP	100%
Abby Robbins	Staff	Elected by Staff	04/12/2024 04/12/2020	3/12/2028 3/12/2024	EYFS SSP Priority - Coaching	83.3%
Paul Soan	Parent	Elected by Parents	27/02/2024	26/02/2028	Pupil Premium SSP Priority - Assessment	100%
Olly Swann	Co-Opted	Governing Board	25/01/2025 25/01/2021	24/01/2029 24/01/2025	SEND Health & Safety	83.3%
James Thain	Co-Opted	Governing Board	06/12/2022	05/12/2026	EYFS	66%
Michael Webber	Local Authority	Nominated by LA and appointed by the Governing Board	29/04/2024 29/04/2020	28/04/2028 28/04/2024	Chair Health & Safety Safeguarding Attendance Cybersecurity Website Pupil Premium Wellbeing SSP Priority - Coaching	50%	FRP	100%
Leavers				End date
Alison D'Alton	Co-Opted	Governing Board	15/07/2020 15/07/2016	14/07/2024 14/07/2020		100%		100%
Carla Thompson	Co-Opted	Governing Board	20/10/2021	01/08/2024		33%
Thomas White	Parent	Elected by Parents				75%

Current Vacancies

SUSSEX ROAD PRIMARY SCHOOL

Wanted – New Co-opted Governors to join our Governing Board!

Looking for a rewarding and fulfilling voluntary role as part of a committed team of governors? Or do you know someone who is? We currently have opportunities for new governors to join the Sussex Road School governing board and would be delighted to hear from members of the local community.

Our Governing Board is made up of people from a range of backgrounds who come with a variety of different skills and experiences. What we have in common is that we are all volunteers who work together with school leaders for the benefit of Sussex Road children; our aim is to secure the best possible education and outcomes for every child.

The Board already has a number of representatives from the parent and staff community, so we are currently looking for ‘co-opted’ governors from our wider community. Co-opted governors are individuals appointed by the board for the skills and experience they can bring. First and foremost, we are looking for people who:

Are interested in the quality of children’s education,
Have time, energy and commitment to give to the role,
Can work as part of a team in supporting the school,
Have an enquiring mind and the confidence to ask questions and debate issues, and
Can consider matters objectively and make informed judgements.

The most important attributes we are looking for are enthusiasm, interest and the willingness to learn. Although not essential, we would be particularly interested in hearing from people with skills and experience in, or knowledge of any of the following areas:

Previous governor or chairing experience, either within school or another sector,
Understanding of education policy and framework,
Working / volunteering with young people and an understanding of safeguarding practice,
Links with the local community and/or businesses,
Premises and facilities management,
Financial planning and budget management.

If you don’t have these skills and think you could contribute to the governing board, we would still be interested to hear from you. We have access to various free training sources that can help you develop the skills needed and would provide a full induction process to start you on your journey into governing.

What is the role of the governing board?

Governors are essential for the effectiveness and success of the school. Together with the Headteacher, the Governing Board has overall responsibility for the running of the school. The Board has three core functions:

Ensuring clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction;
Holding executive leaders to account for the educational performance of the organisation and its pupils, and the performance management of staff; and
Overseeing the financial performance of the organisation and making sure its money is well spent.

What does the role offer?

A chance to develop your own personal skills,
Access to a programme of free training in respect of education/governance matters,
A sense of achievement in helping make a difference to children reaching their potential,
The support and guidance from fellow governors.

What is the time commitment?

The Board has evening meetings 7 times a year (at least once a term), with papers circulated a week ahead. In addition, governors will perform monitoring roles within the school relating to areas such as health and safety, safeguarding of pupils, delivery of curriculum priorities and pupil wellbeing and outcomes. These visits usually take place during the day and the average commitment is for each governor to attend for a few hours on about 4-5 occasions during the year. Governors prepare written reports back to the full Board on the findings of their visits.

How to apply

If you are interested in applying, please contact our Chair of the Board at chairofgovernors@sussex-road.kent.sch.uk who will be in touch with you to arrange for an initial discussion about the role. We would then ask you to complete a short application form confirming your details and interest.

We look forward to hearing from you!

GOVERNORS’ REGISTER OF BUSINESS INTERESTS

Name	Employment, office, trade, profession or vocation of each Governor	Employment, office, trade, profession or vocation of spouse or partner	Other Interests, including relationships and governorships of other schools
Emma Burns
Jennifer Elliston
Rachel Hosier
Sarah Miles	Headteacher, Sussex Rd CP School	No interests declared	No interests declared
Jamie Owen	TBC	TBC	TBC
Abby Robbins	Teacher	No interests declared	No interests declared
Paul Soan
Olly Swann	No interests declared	No interests declared	No interests declared
James Thain	TBC	TBC	TBC
Michael Webber	No interests declared	No interests declared	Trustee, The Learning Disability Network London (LDN London)