Christchurch Infant School
Governors
Helen was elected as a co-opted governor in January 2023. She is the SEND link for the school.
Helen is mum to three wonderful children. She has a love of learning and believes ‘every day is a school day’. Her teaching career began in Glasgow over 30 years ago and since then she has lived and worked in Paris, Bournemouth and Denmark. She has worked as a Head Teacher, School Improvement advisor and is a specialist in assessing specific learning difficulties. She is currently Head of Service for SEND in BCP.
Helen enjoys being with her family, living by the sea, learning languages, walking her 13-year-old daschund and shopping in Aldi for bread and leaving with a 30litre water butt!
Adnan was elected as a co-opted governor in October 2022. His link role is maths.
Adnan is a respiratory physician working in clinical research at the University of Southampton and R&D at AstraZeneca. He has experience in data analytics, project management and teaching. He was motivated to become a governor in order to support the local community.
In his spare time, Adnan enjoys cooking, travelling and exploring the outdoors especially with his wife and two young children.
Governing Body Structure
The full governing body meets on a regular basis of at least six times per year. In December 2019 we changed our governing body from two sub-committees based on the areas of interest and expertise of the members and instead with meet as a Full Governing Body going forward. These committees were ‘Learning and Curriculum’ and ‘Teaching and Resources’. The new format of meeting as a Full Governing Body will allow greater knowledge sharing and speed of decision making going forward.
All members of the governing body attend training sessions to keep us up to date with changes in schools and education, and to help us do our job effectively. We also go into school to meet with the Headteacher, other members of staff, and pupils, to help us find out how the school is progressing towards its targets.
Our Governors come from a range of backgrounds, and bring different areas of expertise to the school.
A Governor’s role is to support and challenge the senior staff to continue to improve the school. It is largely a thinking and questioning role and Governors are not there to manage the school or do the jobs of school staff. Governors fulfill their role by regularly attending Governing Body meetings, providing strategic guidance and by asking probing and challenging questions of leaders within the school. They also undertake visits, serve on relevant committees and oversee the Headteacher’s performance management.
As a governing body we are proud of all the staff, pupils and parents of Christchurch Infant School and all that they achieve. We are committed to supporting Christchurch Infant School to be a safe, enjoyable and effective place for children to learn and develop.
The Chair of the Governing Body, may be contacted via the Clerk to the Governing Body. Email: jthorne@christchurchinf.dorset.sch.uk
Governor Information
Further governor information including registered business interest can be found in these documents:
Governor Attendance
