‘Leaders, including governors, are ambitious for all pupils’ – Ofsted 2021
The Governing Body at Clapham Terrace Community Primary School and Nursery comprises 12 members, including the head teacher. There are 3 parent governors elected by parents and carers of children at the school, 1 governor nominated by the Local Authority, 1 staff governor elected by members of staff and 6 ‘co-opted’ governors nominated by the Governing Body. The term of office for all governors is 4 years. No governors are paid for their governance role, but, rather, are volunteers with a wide range of experience and backgrounds, not necessarily in the world of education.
The Governing Body has a statutory responsibility to oversee and monitor the operation and effectiveness of the school, including the appointment of staff and the setting of the school’s budget. The Governing Body has sole responsibility for the selection and appointment of the head teacher. Governors are responsible for ensuring that the school fulfils all its statutory responsibilities, for example, those relating to child protection and safeguarding, health and safety, equality legislation and provision for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). They are responsible for ensuring the proper and effective spending of public funds.
‘Leaders, governors and staff are ambitious for disadvantaged pupils and puils with special educational needs and/or disabilities.’ – Ofsted 2021
Working closely with the head teacher and the senior leadership team, the Governing Body sets the strategic direction of the school and ensures that there is a well-focused and effective School Development Plan. We oversee and review numerous school policies, most of which are available on this website. (See Policy section.)
‘Leaders, governors and staff use robust systems to keep pupils safe.’ – Ofsted 2021
Individual members of the Governing Body, as well as the group as a whole, are involved in monitoring school performance, particularly in relation to children’s learning and progress. This involves supporting the school by agreeing improvement strategies, allocating budget resources and general involvement, wherever appropriate, in the life of the school.
The role of Governors also crucially involves holding the head teacher and other staff to account for the quality of the education which our school provides, and challenging school policy and practice when the outcomes for children are not as good as they should be. Most years, governors make about twenty monitoring visits to the school, each of which results in Monitoring Form being completed and submitted to the Chair of Governors and the Headteacher. The Governing Body carries out the annual appraisal of the Headteacher’s performance, and oversees the appraisal of other staff.
Currently, our Governing Body has four full meetings each year. There are also three committees: ‘Curriculum and Standards’, and ‘People, Resources and Premises’, which meet termly, and a ‘Pay Committee’. All meetings are minuted, and the resulting minutes are publicly available on our website. In the minutes, evidence can be found of the Governing Body asking challenging questions and holding the school to account in areas such as:-
We also use various working groups or panels as required. Governors receive frequent and regular reports from the head teacher, as well as other members of staff, and make frequent visits to understand the daily running of the school and to help monitor its effectiveness. The Chair of Governors sends parents and carers a brief termly Newsletter, summarising governor business for the term.
As a Governing Body, we are totally committed to Clapham Terrace School, and do all we can to ensure that the well-being of our children is the school’s over-riding purpose. We feel privileged to be governors at this school and are proud of its many achievements. We never cease to be amazed at the wonderful learning which takes place there, and of the uniqueness, potential and achievements of each and every one of the children in our school.
Our Governing Body has a ‘Code of Conduct’, a ‘Governors’ Allowances Policy’, a ‘Register of Business Interests’ and an ‘Instrument of Governance’.
To download copies of the above documents, as well as the latest Governor Newsletter, please click on the links below:-
Instrument of Governance Final
Register of Business Interests
The Governing body are:
Anna Bayman
Elected as Chair 14th September 2024
Dan Johnston
Elected as Vice Chair 14th September 2024
Ian Stevens
Ian became a Parent Governor in 2014 and moved over to be a Local Authority Governor in January 2019. He is father to 3 children and stepfather to two girls, now at Southam College, who both attended Clapham Terrace. Ian is an engineer with over 30 years’ experience in the aerospace industry. Ian is passionate about music and art, including being lead singer and guitarist in local Leamington based band.
Anna Bayman
Anna has been a governor at Clapham since 2015 (originally a parent governor, now co-opted) and now serves as Chair. Both her children attended the school before moving on to their secondaries. Anna is an academic historian: she taught in higher education for more than a decade and now runs a journal and charitable foundation which supports students and scholars of history. She’s often in school and happy to chat, or you can contact her through the office.
Dan Johnston
Dan has been involved with Clapham Terrace since 2008 when his eldest son joined the Nursery, and as a Governor since 2014. His youngest son left in 2018, but he still takse delight in seeing the children enjoying a broad, modern, globally aware curriculum. Dan is proud of the unique place Clapham has in the community and the high regard in which it is held by our parents, our local schools and our Local Authority – working as a Governor to help the school maintain that status is an absolute pleasure. Dan lives very locally and makes fairly frequent visits to school during the day, so please do feel free to talk to him at any time about school (or indeed about rugby, cycling or flying).
Mike Leigh
Originally from the North West of England, Mike has lived in the Leamington area since the mid 1980s, currently living just round the corner from school. His two daughters attended Clapham between 2004 and 2013 and have fond memories of their time there. Mike became a volunteer reader a few years ago and took on the role of governor shortly afterwards. He always finds it a pleasure to come into school and finds it a friendly, welcoming place.
Andy Brettell
As a parent of 4 (now adult) children and having spent 4 decades in primary education as teacher, governor and head teacher Andy knows that truly great schools need leadership which is visionary and dedicated. Andy firmly believes that children learn best when they are happy, safe and have a curriculum rich in active experiences. Andy is delighted to be a governor at Clapham Terrace
Jo Lally
Jo was elected Parent Governor in April 2019 and has one daughter who has been in the school since reception and left in ’23. Jo now continues as a Co-opted Governor and is passionate about staying close to a school she loves for its distinctive culture, ethos and continued dedication to quality of education AND experience for its children. Outside of governing, Jo works as a Leadership Coach, Facilitator and Consultant working both in the corporate and education sectors and is a lover of running, the great outdoors and books. Most definitely an advocate of our ‘reading for pleasure’ passion at Clapham amongst many other things! Always happy to chat.
John O’Maoleoin
John got to know Clapham Terrace when his eldest son was lucky enough to get a place in Reception in September 2019. He was subsequently joined by his younger brother who started nursery in January 2022.
John was delighted to be given the opportunity of joining the Board of Governors in 2023 and very much looks forward to supporting staff and parents to ensure that each child thrives at Clapham Terrace and is the best version of themselves. If you’d ever just like to have a chat or raise an issue with John, he is often at the playground for pick up or drop off so you can speak to him then. Alternatively, you can also contact me via the School Office.
Anurag Chandra
Anurag has been a parent governor since January 2023.
Paul Williams
Paul joined as a co-opted governor in 2024. He is a parent of three children, all of whom are currently at, or have attended Clapham Terrace. Paul has a background in finance in the education sector and is always available and happy to chat and is often at the school at the start and end of the school day.
Lisa Clarke
Lisa has been our elected staff governor for 8 years (re-elected in April 2017), and is currently our Reception class teacher and Early Years Foundation Stage leader. She has taught at Clapham Terrace since 2004 in Early Years, Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2. Prior to this, she taught in Rugby and in British schools in Saudi Arabia.
Julie Miles, headteacher, is also a member of the Governing Body.
None of our Governors currently hold governance roles in any other educational institutions.
Meetings are currently minuted by the Clerk, Jill Green who was appointed by the Local Authority.
If you would like to contact any of the Governing Body then please leave a message with the school office.
Dates of Full Governing Body Meetings in 2024/2025:
We are enjoying a lovely last day in Early Years. There are lots of games being played including one with role reversal… three new teachers and Mrs Clarke is a pupil!
KS2 are partying! Merry Christmas everyone! #games #dancing #partyfun
