Governors

Chisenhale School Governing Body

School governors act as ‘critical friends’ to the school. This means they work with the staff and local authority to support the school. They help to set strategic aims and achievement targets for the school, monitor procedures and budgets and contribute to the drafting of policies. They are unpaid volunteers and at Chisenhale we are lucky to have a very committed governing body with a wide range of skills and experience.

There are 14 school governors at Chisenhale, four are elected parent governors, seven are co-opted community governors, chosen by the governing body, and one is a local authority governor, appointed by Tower Hamlets. The Headteacher is a staff governor andone other staff governor is elected by the teachers and support staff.

How do governors carry out their job?

At Chisenhale the governors meet once a term for a full governors’ meeting and twice a term for committee meetings. The Chair of Governors meets more frequently with the Headteacher to discuss matters as they arise. Much of the governors’ work is done at committee level and at Chisenhale we have three main committees. The Resources Committee deals with finance and staffing, the School Improvement Committee looks at learning and teaching, standards and the curriculum and the Building Links Committee concentrates on issues concerning the maintenance and improvement of the school building, and relations with parents and the wider community.

Who are the governors at Chisenhale?

The Chair and Vice Chair of governors and the Chairs of committees are elected annually by the governors. Currently the Chair is Neil Cunningham and the Vice Chair is Father Brian Ralph.  The Chair of Governors can be contacted via the school address and school telephone number.

Being a Governor is a challenging but rewarding experience. If you are interested in becoming a governor please speak to one of the parent governors, the Headteacher or to Ruth Crossan, our parent engagement officer.

Be a governor

Please click here for information about being a governor and the national Goverance Association

Chisenhale Governing Body February 2021

The school is a maintained community school. It is governed by a body of 14 governors, some of whom are elected and others appointed. The Governing Body has a significant role in making strategic decisions, particularly on finance, and in holding the school to account through its challenge to the Headteacher. The governing body of Chisenhale Primary School usually meets four times a year. In addition there are two standing committees – School Improvement and Finance & Resources. The governors and associate members at 1 February 2021 are:

 

		Category & Expiry	1st name	2nd name	Chair/ Vice chair	Register of  Interests	Committee Attendance *	Governing Body Attendance *
1	Ex officio	Head Ex officio	Sharon	Taylor-Sezgin		Governor at Canon Barnett School	05/05	05/05
2	01/09/2019	Staff – Elected 31/08/2023	Harriet	Bowrey		Nil	05/05	05/05
3	16/05/2017	Parent – Elected 15/05/2021	Meika	Dulman		Nil	05/05	05/05
4	01/11/2020	Parent – Elected 31/10/2024	Rob	Hughes		TBA	N/A	N/A
5	01/11/2018	Parent – Elected  31/10/2022	Sarah	Hannett	Vice chair	Nil	04/05	04/05
6	01/03/2019	Parent – Elected 28/02/2023	Neil	Cunningham	Chair	Nil	05/05	05/05
7	07/03/2017	LA – Appointed 06/03/2021	Jennifer	Lowe		Nil	04/05	04/05
8	15/11/2020	Co-opted by GB 16/11/2024	Paul	Kenning		Nil	04/05	00/02
9	12/11/2019	Co-opted by GB 11/11/2023	Brian	Ralph		Spouse employed at school	04/05	02/05
10	05/03/2019	Co-opted by GB 04/03/2023	Ben	Woolner		Nil	05/05	03/03
11	05/03/2019	Co-opted by GB 04/03/2023	Caroline	Tyson		Headteacher /governor at London Fields School, Hackney	04/05	03/03
12		Co-opted	Vacancy
13		Co-opted	Vacancy
14		Co-opted	Vacancy
	14/05/2019	Associate 13/05/2023	Jonathan	Clamp		Nil	01/05	01/03
	16/05/2017	Associate 15/05/2021	Tania	Kaiser		Nil	01/05	02/02
	15/11/2020	Associate 16/11/2024	Giles	Ridley		Nil	05/05	00/02

*School Year 2019-20