Our Governors

The Governing Body

Welcome to the Southwick Primary School Governors Page
The Governing Body of Southwick Primary School comprises representatives of different groups, including the Local Authority, the local community, parents and staff. Governors are volunteers who bring their skills and experience to help run the school. Governors are lay people - they are not experts and their role is to act as a "critical friend" to the headteacher and her staff. Their key purpose is to ensure the school provides the best possible education for all the children at the school. Governors belong to either the Resources Committee or the Standards and Curriculum Committee. As well as attending FGB meetings, each governor's skills are taken into account when deciding on committee membership. The Resource committee is responsible for finance and premises related matters, whilst Standards & Curriculum focuses on the teaching and learning and outcomes for children.

The Governing Body works closely with the headteacher on the management of the school. It meets regularly during the term and there are additional committee meetings to discuss specific matters, such as school effectiveness, health and safety, the school environment and school finances. The minutes of the governors’ meetings are available to all parents. (please ask at reception)

The governors are all local people, caring for the welfare of the children and bringing their interests and experience to support the school. They are always happy to talk with you about any matters related to school and your children. If you do have any concerns about your child or the school in general, please contact the appropriate class teacher and/or the headteacher in the first instance. If you then still feel concerned after these meetings, then please contact one of our parent governors, who are appointed to help you and to represent your views.

Becoming A Governor
There are currently six different categories of governor:

• Parent
• Staff
• Foundation
• Partnership
• Local Authority
• Co-opted

The type of governor you will become depends on your situation; however, all governors have the same roles and responsibilities once part of the governing body.

Parent governors are elected by the parents of pupils for a fixed term of 4 years. Parents are advised in writing when a vacancy for a parent governor arises either if a governor completes their term of office or stands down. Full details of the eligibility criteria and the process for nominations and any election are provided at the time.

Local Authority governors are nominated by local councillors.

Staff governors are members of the school staff who are elected by the staffing body (both teaching and non-teaching).

Foundation governors are only to be found in the governing bodies of voluntary schools and some foundation schools. They are appointed to preserve and develop the religious character of the school, if it has a religious character, and to secure compliance with the trust deed. Normally, foundation governors serve for a four-year term of office.

A Co-opted governor is a person appointed by the governing body and who, in the opinion of the governing body, has the skills required to contribute to the effective governance and success of the school. Co-opted governors may have an area of specialist knowledge or experience or bring a wide range of skills and experience to their role as a governor.

Partnership governors are only to be found on the governing bodies of foundation schools which do not have a foundation or trustees. They must be members of the community served by the school who are committed to the good government and success of the school. The governing body is responsible for seeking nominations for and appointing partnership governors.

The Wiltshire Governor Support organisation provides a good range of training for all governors.

 

Name	Term of office end dat	Governor Type	Governor Links	Committee Member
Mr David Cook	31.08.2050	Staff - Head	None	Both
Mr Andrew Mulligan	29.09.2024	Chair - Parent	Maths, Computing, PP & Safeguarding	Both
Mrs Paula Bartlett	31.08.2027	Vice Chair Co-opted	Early Years, SEN & Music	Chair of Curriculum
Mrs Claire Grant	04.10.2024	Co-opted	Health & Safety	Chair of Resources
Vacancy		Local Authority
Mrs Sandra Singer	12.11.2027	Co-opted	Geography	Curriculum
Mrs Rachel Forrest	15.10.2027	Staff		Curriculum
Vacancy		Foundation
Mr Ben Rhodes	24.11.2025	Co-opted	Science & PE	Curriculum
Mr Bob Sparkes	16.03.2026	Foundation		Resources
Mr John Alpin	12.07.2026	Co-opted		Resources

 

Name	Governor at another Educational Setting	Business Interest	Pucuniary Interest	Other Interest
Mr David Cook	No	Nil	Nil	Nil
Mr Andrew Mulligan	No	Nil	Nil	Nil
Mrs Paula Bartlett	No	Nil	Nil	Nil
Mrs Claire Grant	No	Nil	Nil	Nil
Vacancy
Mrs Rachel Forrest	No	Nil	Nil	Nil
Mr Ben Rhodes	No	Nil	Nil	Nil
Mr Bob Sparkes	No	Nil	Nil	Nil
Mr John Alpin	No	Nil	Nil	Nil

 

Attendance Record for 2023 - 2024 Full Governing Body Meetings
	Term 1	Term 2	Term 3	Term 4	Term 5	Term6
Name	11.10.23	06.12.23	07.02.24	27.03.24	15.05.24	10.07.24
Mr David Cook	√	√	√	√	√	√
Mr Andrew Mulligan	√	√	√		√	√
Mrs Paula Bartlett	√	√	√	√	√	√
Mrs Claire Grant	√	√	√	√	√	√
Vacancy
Mrs Sandra Singer	√	A	A	A	√	√
Mrs Rachel Forrest	√	√	√	√	√	√
Mr Ben Rhodes	√	A	A	√	A	A
Mr Bob Sparkes	√	√	√	√	√	√
Mr John Alpin	√	√	√	√	√	√

Key:   √ = In attendance         P = Part attendance          A = Apologies Given        Abs = Absent