Governors

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.

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. We are always keen to hear from parents who may be interested in joining the governing body – please contact the school for more details.

Category of Governor	Name	Term of Office	Area of Responsibility	Declaration of business interests
Community Governor Co-opted	Mr Mathew Bennett (Chair)	25 November 2024 To 24 November 2028	Finance and Resources Health & Safety	None to declare Sept 24
Parent Governor	Mrs Marta Kovacs-Curtaj	05 December 2025 to 04 December 2029	Achievement	None to declare Dec 25
Parent Governor	Mrs Nora Durajda	19 October 2023 To 18 October 2027	Safeguarding	None to declare Sept 24
Community Governor Co-opted	Mr Dinesh Thurai	09 March 2026 To 08 March 2030	Curriculum	None to declare Sept 24
Community Governor	Mr Hendrix Emmanuel	12 December 2024 To 12 December 2028		None to declare Dec 24
Community Governor	Mrs Jean Pooley	12 December 2024 To 12 December 2028	Attendance and Behaviour	None to declare Dec 24
Community Governor	Mrs Ayan Issa Ahmed	12 December 2024 To 12 December 2028	Safeguarding	None to declare Dec 24
LA Governor	Mr Frank Omare	6 January 2025 To 6 January 2029	Health and Safety	None to declare Jan 25
Head Teacher	Mrs Katherine Flewitt	Start Sept 2003		None to declare Sept 24
Staff Governor	Mrs Nina Shah-Onwukwe	2 March 2024 To 1 March 2028	Curriculum	None to declare Sept 24
Observer/Deputy Headteacher	Mrs Laura McGregor		English & Maths	None to declare Sept 24
Clerk to Governing Body	Mrs Lesley Tucker			None to declare Sept 24
Parent Governor	Mrs Shamsa Arshad	05 December 2025 to 04 December 2029	EYFS	None to declare Sept 25

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

click here to view the governor appointments and FGB meeting attendance

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.

Nora Durajda

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.

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.