Governing Body
We are extremely fortunate to have a dedicated and proactive team of governors at Kimpton Primary School. They are more than willing to go out of their way to ensure that the staff and children feel supported and cared for, whilst diligently supporting us in working to provide the best possible education for your children. The governors have a wide skill set and support the school in many ways.
The governing body meets five times a year and delegates some of its work to a Resources Committee, which has termly meetings. All governors have a link role and regularly conduct monitoring visits on educational and other aspects of school life.
Copies of approved minutes of our meetings can be obtained on request by contacting the school office.
The role of a school governor
Governors are volunteers who contribute to the work of the governing body, ensuring high standards of achievement for all children in the school by:
- setting the school's vision, ethos and strategic direction;
- holding the headteacher to account for the educational performance of the school and its pupils;
- overseeing the financial performance of the school and making sure its money is well spent.
As part of the governing body team, a governor is expected to:
Contribute to the strategic discussions at governing body meetings, which determine:
- the vision and ethos of the school;
- clear and ambitious strategic priorities and targets for the school;
- that all children, including those with special educational needs, have access to a broad and balanced curriculum;
- the school's budget, including the expenditure of the pupil premium allocation;
- the school's staffing structure and key staffing policies;
- the principles to be used by school leaders to set other school policies.
Hold the senior leaders to account by monitoring the school's performance:
- agreeing the outcomes from the school's self-evaluation and ensuring they are used to inform the priorities in the school development plan;
- considering all relevant data and feedback provided on request by school leaders and external sources on all aspects of school performance;
- asking challenging questions of school leaders;
- ensuring senior leaders have arranged for the required audits to be carried out and receiving the results of those audits;
- ensuring senior leaders have developed the required policies and procedures and that the school is operating effectively according to those policies and procedures;
- acting as a link governor on a specific issue, making relevant enquiries of the relevant staff, and reporting to the governing body on the progress on the relevant school priority;
- listening to and reporting to the school's stakeholders: pupils, parents, staff, and the wider community (including local employers).
Ensure the school staff have the resources and support they require to do their jobs well:
- including the necessary expertise on business management, external advice where necessary, effective appraisal and CPD (Continuing Personal Development) and suitable premises
- ensuring that the way in which those resources are used (and support given) has impact
Serve on panels and committees of governors to:
- appoint the headteacher and other senior leaders;
- appraise the headteacher;
- set the headteacher's pay and agree the pay recommendations for other staff;
- hear the second stage of staff grievances and disciplinary matters
- hear appeals about pupil exclusions
Our governors
To find out more about the members of our governing body, please click on their names for a little biography about their background as well as the skills and attributes they bring to our team.
I have been a parent governor since 2016 and a co-chair of the Governing Body since September 2018. I now just have one child at Kimpton, and he is in year 5. My twin daughters are in Year 7 at Katherine Warington school.
I have lots of happy memories of my primary school, which laid the foundations for a love of learning that carried on through comprehensive school, A-levels, Oxford University and, finally, a Professional Doctorate. I want to help Kimpton Primary School provide a happy and inspiring experience for all pupils so that they also develop a love of learning and go on to achieve their full potential.
I am a registered Counselling Psychologist with experience of working in the NHS, private healthcare and the charity sector. Before becoming a Counselling Psychologist, I worked in Human Resources for seven years - during this period, I was the HR manager at Europe’s biggest biscuit factory!
Parenting, working and being a governor takes up much of my time, but I also enjoy seeing friends, walking the dog, reading and seeing my wider family.
I have been a Co-opted Governor at Kimpton since December 2018 and in September 2021 I stepped up to be co-chair of governors but have a long relationship with the school having been Clerk to the Governors from 2008-2016.
Originally from Liverpool, I have lived in Harpenden for over 25 years and have 3 grown up children who all attended local state schools.
I am now retired and split my time between Hertfordshire and the Lake District..
I joined the Governing Board in December 2018 and have lived in Kimpton since 1992. I recently retired from a long career in management consultancy and am looking forward to applying my knowledge and experience of enterprise transformation, and helping the staff, pupils and parents/carers bring the school’s vision to life.
I am a parent of four children, who have all attended Kimpton Primary school - the eldest started in 2007 and my youngest, the last one at Kimpton, is now in year 6. The school has been very special to our family so it felt right to join the governing board in September 2021 and feel like I could give something back. Having watched my children progress from Kimpton to secondary school and then university, I realise just how important the role of primary school is in establishing the foundations for learning - so that children are ready for tomorrow.
I am excited to be part of a governor team that is preparing children for their learning journey and privileged to be sharing this very special time in their lives.
Professionally, I manage a construction company with my particular specialism being in construction health & safety.
I am new to school governance having lived in the local area for 15 years. I have two sons both of whom attended Kimpton Primary School, and hold many fond memories. I am keen to support the school and help it achieve the very best for each pupil in the future.
Professionally, I have over 20 years’ experience of working in public services. In my spare time I enjoy several hobbies and volunteer roles including being a member of the Kimpton May Festival Committee.
The Headteacher is a governor of the school ex officio.
The staff governor is elected by the staff to serve on the governing body
Details coming soon
Bio coming soon
I am new to school governance having lived in Kimpton for over 30 years after moving from London where I was raised. I have two sons- both of whom attended Kimpton Primary School and we all have fond memories of their time there. I feel that the school is an integral part of the village and therefore I am keen to support it and help it achieve the very best for each pupil in the future. I have recently taken early retirement which will give me the opportunity to become more involved with the school .
Professionally, I have over 30 years’ experience of working in public services. In my spare time I enjoy several hobbies and volunteer roles, although my three grandchildren keep me busy!
I was Chair of Kimpton Preschool Management Committee from 2017 until the closure in December 2023. My experience there covered staffing, safeguarding, fundraising, and liaising with the Primary School, as well as external village bodies including the Parish Council and May Festival Committee. In the later part of my role, I was responsible along with the other Trustees for supporting the staff through the redundancy process and working with both the school and North Herts District Council.
Both of my children currently attend Kimpton Primary, and I am proud to be joining as a Parent Governor. In my professional life, I run a tourism marketing consultancy and lived in Kimpton from 2009 – 2021; we now live in Bendish, but remain active in the village on a daily basis.
Bio coming soon
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COULD YOU BE A SCHOOL GOVERNOR? To find out more, please speak to the Headteacher or Co-Chairs of Governors |
