Governors

 Petts Hill Primary School governors

Whether you are a prospective or existing parent please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any queries or concerns.

Opportunities to join the governing body arise at regular intervals. There is currently one vacancy for a parent governors. We are always keen to hear from parents who may be interested in joining the governing body – please contact the school for more details.

Click below to see the register of governor appointments and FGB meeting attendance

click here to view the governor appointments and FGB meeting attendance

What do Governors do?

School governing bodies are responsible for working with the school to ensure that it delivers a good quality education.

Together with the headteacher, who is responsible for day-to-day management, they set the school's aims and policies. The governors act as a “critical friend” to the school, monitoring and overseeing the smooth running of the school and supporting and listening to staff and parents. The governing body is responsible for the overall management of the school and for determining its aims, objectives and policies in accordance with all the relevant legislation. The head manages the school from day to day and is the governing body’s principal professional adviser who assists it with the formulation and implementation of its aims, objectives, policies and plans.

School governors help our school provide the best possible education for our pupils by:

• Thinking and working strategically to help raise standards;
• Monitoring and evaluating progress towards the school’s priorities and targets;
• Supporting the head and staff as well as challenging their expectations;
• Accounting to all stakeholders for the school’s overall performance and for the decisions they have made;
• Promote high standards of educational attainment and ensure continued school improvement;
• Set targets for pupil achievement
•  Take general responsibility for the conduct of the school;
• Manage the school’s budget, including deciding how many staff will work there and their pay;
• Make sure that the curriculum is balanced and broadly based, in particular that the National Curriculum and religious education are taught, and report on pupils’ achievement in National Curriculum assessments and examination results;
• Participate in the appointment of staff (including appointing the head teacher) and regulate staff conduct and discipline, and;
• Approve an action plan after an inspection by the Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted);
• Ensure provision for pupils with statements of special educational needs;
• Set standards of behaviour;
• Assist with the preparation of a school profile for parents;
• Deal with complaints;
• Hear appeals against pupil exclusions;
• Fulfil duties placed on governing bodies by the Department for Education. 

Christos Faleye

Since secondary school, I have always wanted to be a governor simply because of my passion for positively shaping the educational experience of students and investing efforts into the future of all learners. I believe it’s our responsibility to ensure every child has the opportunity to learn from exceptional teachers and in a safe and supportive environment.
Christos graduated with a master’s degree in Chemical Biology and currently works in the Financial Technology Industry with 5 years of experience as a Software Engineer. Prior to starting her career, she volunteered as a student teacher, teaching Mathematics in South Africa over two summers during university. She also worked as a Learning Support Assistant (LSA) for college students in the UK after university. Her experiences as a student teacher and LSA further motivated her to be more involved in schools to hopefully make a difference and share her knowledge and skills in a practical manner.
Her hobbies and interests include cycling, learning new recipes, video editing and volunteer teaching young children at Sunday school.

Matthew Bennett

My passion for people, development, education and for wanting to give back, made joining Petts Hill as a governor very easy. 

I believe that there are many transferable skills that I have built and crafted in my professional and personal life that I can share - to the benefit of Petts Hill and ultimately the fantastic pupils at the school. 

My professional experience has spanned various directorates including finance, sales, commercial and operations which has given me a breadth and depth of exposure in the telecommunications industry. 

Therefore, as a qualified accountant and the head of a commercial department - I can help drive the right decisions to achieve the schools goals and objectives while learning new skills everyday. 

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Councillor Chris Summers

Journalist who worked at the BBC for 18 years, mostly on the News website.

A specialist in crime and covering courts, he previously worked for UK News and the Gloucester Citizen, where he covered the trial of serial killer Rose West. He is currently working for the Daily Star Online. He is also a Labour Party councillor representing Northolt Mandeville ward and stood for Parliament against Boris Johnson in Uxbridge & South Ruislip in May 2015.

He was vice-chairman of Ealing’s planning committee and also sat on the Adoption & Fostering Panel.

Shabana Davis

 She completed her PGCE at The Institute of Education and has since worked in further education over the last 13 years as a lecturer, in particular with the 16-18 year old cohorts.

She currently teaches at HE level at City and Islington College, where she holds a number of roles alongside her teaching, such as, an assessor and an internal quality assurance officer. 

 She is proud to have been appointed as a parent governor and sits on the Staffing committee. She has committed herself to the role as a Governor, not only because her own child attends Petts Hill Primary School. But also, due to the fact that she is passionate about education and has first-hand experience and knowledge of the importance of teaching and learning in a safe and supportive environment. 

Her hobbies and interest consist of reading, keeping fit and traveling far and wide, enjoying the delights the world has to offer.
She currently teaches at HE level at City and Islington College

Dinesh Thurai 

Dinesh has been in teaching for nearly 14 years now with a wealth of experience within an educational setting. He has taught in three schools as Secondary teacher with middle leadership, and senior leadership experience teaching ages 12-18. From Head of Department to Assistant and Deputy Head posts he has helped develop new teachers from trainee teachers to ECTs in both a Primary and Secondary School phases in line with the teaching standards.  He has been heavily involved with schools’ examinations, policies, assessment recording and reporting and overseeing the school website to ensure compliance.  

Having relocated Dinesh has now moved to a school in West London taking a middle leadership post to spend more time with his family. He has become a governor to assist the governing board to develop the strategic direction of the school

He has taught in three schools as Secondary teacher with middle leadership, and senior leadership experience. 

Chris Redford

I became a governor because I wanted to help make the school as good an environment for the students as possible, as well as broadening my own knowledge on the inner workings of Petts Hill, which I feel can only benefit me going forward in my career.  I would say I work hard and give my best with everything I do.  I feel I am also very approachable and easy to work with. 

I am the Year 5 teacher at Petts Hill.  I initially qualified to teach Secondary school PE, however felt I was more suited to a primary school environment.  I was the PPA cover teacher at Petts Hill for a year before I took everything I had learnt in that year and applied it to being a class teacher.  In my spare time I play as much Golf as I possibly can.

I am the Year 4 teacher at Petts Hill

I speak Romanian, Russian and French 

 Gillian Laskier

Now retired, I spent over 30 years working within the children’s market.
I was Divisional Director at BBC worldwide (the commercial arm of the BBC) for 12 years . Responsible for children’s magazines, books, video, audio and licensed products. Subsequently I worked at Board level at Egmont (now part of Harper Collins) and have done consultancy work for Random House and Hachette children’s books.
I am absolutely passionate about children’s literacy and the life opportunities it presents.
I have volunteered for a number of charities including Crisis, Home Start and Beanstalk.
For a number of years, I have been a volunteer reader in schools - including two years at Petts Hill, where I continue to read with children every week.
I welcome the opportunity to be even more deeply involved in the school in the role of School Governor.