Meet the Governors

The Governors of Thurlstone Primary School are elected as a legal requirement in order for the school to operate.

There are currently ten members of the Governing Body. The chair of the Governing Body is Ms Nicky Shaw  and Mr Ben Smith is Vice Chair.

The governors are a well informed and committed group of people with varying professional backgrounds and experiences, who work closely with Mrs Gibbins, the headteacher, to serve the school and foster its aims. They are entrusted to maintain and develop the schools distinctive character, where each child is valued and provided with a welcoming, safe, happy and stimulating environment conducive to the best possible learning outcomes.

The governing body act as a critical friend to the school by providing support and constructive challenge. The full governing body meet once a term and more regularly as smaller committees; which look in more detail and depth at matters of finance, curriculum, property and personnel. These committees then feedback to the full governing body but they may also have tasks delegated to them by the full governing body.

There is huge variety to the work of a governing body. The Finance committee is responsible for budget setting and financial performance within the allocated funds set out by the local authority. It has responsibility for decisions on the overall upkeep of the school premises and its facilities. It also deals with matters of health and safety. The designated governor works with the headteacher to monitor, on a termly basis, the schools health and safety documentation, practices and procedures.

The Curriculum and Personnel committee look at school policies and how these relate to what takes place in the classroom and other learning environments. They also look at the school improvement plan and consider how the school is meeting the challenges it has set itself.

The Curriculum and Personnel committee are also responsible for the recruitment, selection and appointment of staff at the school, and implementing personnel procedures.

Governors receive continuous professional development and support from the local authority and other governance development organisations to help them fulfil the roles effectively.

The support of the headteacher and staff is also critical to the effectiveness of this governing body. Governors are always happy to be contacted and to hear the views of parents and children. Governors can be contacted by leaving a message with the school administrator. Alternatively, there are regular “governors drop in sessions” held after school for parents to come and discuss any concerns they may have; these are detailed in the ‘Shuttle’, the schools weekly newsletter.

Click on the links below to see what our Governors have been up to:

Governors newsletter June 22

Curriculum Newsletter September 22

Safeguarding Newsletter November 22

The following link will take you to the Government website. Here you can find out about the schools finances and compare them to other schools.

Government Financial Benchmarking

Meeting Attendance 2021-22 2022-23 (1)

Governors Register of Business Interests