Watermore Primary School

 

Our School Governors

Welcome   

Dear Parents, Friends and Staff I would like to extend a warm welcome on behalf of the Watermore Governing Body.

The governing body is made up of a group of motivated volunteers who have been elected to provide strategic direction in line with our vision and values, and to act as a guide to support the ‘Outstanding’ teaching and leadership we have through our Head teacher, Lisa Rawcliffe.

Our role is to ensure that we continue to provide our children with the opportunities to continue to be ‘exemplary’ in all that they do within a happy and secure environment. We ensure that local and national government legislation is met, that we oversee the spend on the school budget, and to challenge all that we do.

Governors take an active role in the school, not only attending meetings and training, but also school functions, and undertaking visits to classrooms.

Should you wish to contact me or are interested in being a Governor, please do so through our clerk kate.goldring@watermoreprimary.org.uk

 

  • Judi Burman, Chair of Governors
    Chair Curriculum and Standards

    Judi Burman, Chair of Governors

    I have a long-standing connection to Brockeridge & Highcroft schools as my daughters all attended there and now my 2 grandsons attend Watermore.

    I have always had an interest in education as I consider it to be vitally important. I have worked in schools in different capacities both in teaching and in Admin for 20 years and during that time been a staff governor. ￿

    I retired in 2016 and after a couple of years I felt I would like to become involved with something in the community. I became a governor at Watermore Primary School in 2018.

  • Lisa Rawcliffe Head Teacher
    All Committees

    Lisa Rawcliffe Head Teacher

  • Andy Dyer Parent Governor
    Chair Finance and Premises

    Andy Dyer Parent Governor

  • Dan Tapscott, Co-opted Governor
    Finance and Premises

    Dan Tapscott, Co-opted Governor

    My name is Dan Tapscott. I am a co-opted Governor. I became a Governor at Watermore in 2010 after moving to the village. I have a son and daughter who I am proud to say, love Watermore!

    I have had numerous roles, have sat on various committees and attended various events at Watermore over the years, besides those now with children in tow, so should be a familiar face to many. My most notable role in recent years has been the Governor overseeing the design and construction of our new school building and transition from our former buildings over the two sites. It has been a huge but greatly satisfying challenge and it is a delight seeing the building being used now.

    I continue to be involved in residual matters from that and in relation to neighbouring development. As you may have guessed, I work in the construction industry. I am a Chartered Building Surveyor and so my skill set naturally fits with the Finance & Premises committee I sit on, advising on property matters. At the moment I am also the Health & Safety Governor and sit on the Headteacher Review Panel.

    Being a Governor has been a really rewarding experience for me. We have a wonderful school in the community and a great Governing Body of people who care very much for Watermore.

  • Fionnuala Costello Parent Governor
    Finance and Premises

    Fionnuala Costello Parent Governor

    My two children are very happy at Watermore primary. I was elected to be a governor by ￿parents in ￿May 2018 and I enjoy being involved in the school. It feels like a very worthwhile use of my time, ￿supporting ￿the school staff in ￿giving our children an inspiring education. I visit the school three times a year to see how maths teaching ￿is changing and improving. I also sit on the finance committee making sure we can afford teachers, books, IT kit and extra experiences for the children. Do stop to chat when you see me volunteering at PTFA events or at the school drop off and pick up.

  • Nicholas Harris Co-opted Governor
    Finance and Premises, Curriculum and Standards

    Nicholas Harris Co-opted Governor

  • Janet Ilieva Co-opted Governor
    Personnel and Communications, Curriculum and Standards

    Janet Ilieva Co-opted Governor

  • Sara Oughton Staff Governor
    Personnel and Communication

    Sara Oughton Staff Governor

  • Paul Armitage Parent Governor
    Personnel and Communications

    Paul Armitage Parent Governor

    I was appointed parent governor in November 2019 and I currently have two children at the school. I live in Frampton Cotterell and work in Bristol. You will often see me volunteering at school events and at pick up and drop off. Please come and say hello. I am always happy to talk to other parents and I am very much interested in hearing your views about being a parent of pupils at Watermore.

  • Ivan Gregory Co-opted Govenor
    Curriculum and Standards

    Ivan Gregory Co-opted Govenor

  • Sue Reynolds Co-opted Governor

    Sue Reynolds Co-opted Governor

    Hello,

    I am Sue Reynolds . I have two grandchildren at Watermore Primary School and I have just moved from the North West to be near family.

    I am an ex Special School Headteacher and have always enjoyed working with governing bodies. I am looking forward to being a Co-opted Governor at Watermore. I am sure that I will meet some of you at various school functions and activities.

  • Rachel Colman
    Parent Governor

    Rachel Colman

 

Governor Meeting Attendance 2020/21

Governor Name/Committee FGB C&S F&P P&C (Inc. Pay) FGB HT Recruitment
Mr Christopher Hotchin 5/5 4/4      
Mrs Judi Burman 5/5 4/4     3/3
Mr Nicholas Harris 5/5 2/4 4/4   3/3
Mrs Janet Ilieva 5/5 4/4   5/5 3/3
Mrs Linda Porter 5/5   4/4 5/5 3/3
Mrs Christine Marshall 2/2 1/2     2/2
Mr Ivan Gregory 5/5 4/4     3/3
Mr Daniel Tapscott 5/5   4/4   3/3
Mrs Janet Hoyle 2/2   2/2 2/2  
Mr Colin Thompson 5/5     5/5 3/3
Mr Andrew Dyer 5/5   4/4   3/3
Mrs Fionnuala Costello 5/5   4/4   3/3
Mr Paul Armitage 5/5     5/5 3/3
Miss Abigail Hodge 3/3   2/2  3/3  
Mrs Sara Oughton 3/5     3/4 1/3

 

Committees & Chairs

Personnel & Communications Committee

The primary role of this committee is to support the Headteacher and the staff at Watermore to ensure that they are a happy and committed team as this makes a better learning environment for the children. However we are concerned with everything related to staffing within the school and communication to parents.

As part of our roll, we have responsibility for, staff planning – including recruitment/selection and contracts, ensuring staff receive regular and adequate training, plus we make recommendations to the finance committee regarding the annual budget for pay scales. We are also responsible for establishing and regularly reviewing personnel policies and procedures which include: - performance management, disciplinary procedures (for misconduct or leave of absence), disciplinary rules, personal information, equal opportunities, grievance procedure, redundancy, harassment and Health and Safety.

The other major roll of this committee is to ensure that there is good communication between the school, parents and the wider community.

Please feel free at any time to contact this committee should you have questions, concerns or comments regarding the school - good or bad.

 

The Finance and Premises Committee

• The Finance and Premises Committee consists of five governors and the Head teacher and meets six terms a year to review all aspects associated with the schools management of finance and premises, which in our case includes both the buildings and grounds on the Woodend Road and Lower Stone Road sites.

• The management of the schools finance is a primary function of this committee, setting the budget provision and monitoring expenditure and value for money during the year.  There are over 100 areas of school finance, from staff and building costs to stationery and teaching resources, all of which require careful management throughout the year.  The committee reports to the full governing body, making a recommendation on the future budget setting provision, in conjunction with the Head teacher and Senior School Administrator.  The committee are responsible for ensuring that the school can operate a balanced budget within the strict guidelines produced by the Local Education Authority.  These are challenging times with finite financial resources and therefore it’s of great importance that all school budgets are well managed to ensure the school remains viable going forward.  In addition there are also a number of finance policies that the committee reviews on an annual basis, such as Charging Policy, Purchasing Policy, Letting Policy, Governor Allowances Policy and agreeing the limits of expenditure for staff and managers within the school.
 
• The school buildings and sites require on-going management to ensure strict adherence to all health & safety legislation.  This requires regular inspections of the sites by a dedicated premises governor, who is able to identify issues requiring urgent action.  It is for this reason that the premises and finances are managed within the same committee, as running two sites also impacts on the schools finances.  The school is also supported by the Local Authority Property Dept on all aspects of future planned maintenance, through a 5 yearly condition survey.  The committee is also responsible for reviewing health and safety policy and all matters associated with risk assessments across the sites.
 
• The school and governors maintain their ambition of bringing the whole school community onto a single site and this committee continues to liaise with the Local Authority to make that a reality.
 

Curriculum and Standards Committee

The Curriculum and Standards Committee comprising of seven Governors meets four times a year to discuss, develop, review and make policy determinations regarding all aspects of the School’s curricular provision.

Through a process of support and challenge, as well as the monitoring of the progress of curricular actions within the School Development Plan, the committee monitors both curricular and extra-curricular opportunities across the school. This is achieved through:

  • Visits to the school to talk to the pupils about different aspects of their learning
  • Discussions with subject leaders and the development of their curricular areas
  • Subject leaders’ presentations, updates and new initiatives to the committee

Analysis of data and pupil progress across the whole school is one of the many functions of this committee, which also includes the monitoring of provision for vulnerable groups including SEND and challenging the school where pupil outcomes do not meet targets.

The committee meets prior to a Full Governing Body meeting to ensure minutes are presented for approval.

At all times the Governors of this committee remain focused on ensuring the best possible learning opportunities and outcomes for all pupils across the school and this remains the key function of this sub-committee.

Pecuniary and Business Interest 2021/22

 

 
Name Business & Pecuniary Interests Governor at another educational establishment Relationships with staff members
Sara Oughton None No No
Ivan Gregor None Employee of Coleg Gwent No
Dan Tapscott Children at school No No
Fionnuala Costello Children at school No No
Lisa Rawcliffe None No No
Janet Ilieva Children at school No. Trustee at a University No
Colin Thompson None No No
Nicolas Harris None No Yes
Judith Burman Grandparent to children in school No No
Andy Dyer Children at school No No
Paul Armitage Children at school No No
Fionnuala Costello Children at school No No
Chris Hotchin None No No