Governing Board

The Governing Board usually meets six times per year.  It consists of 10 governors.  It has no committees, but governors have lead responsibilities and roles as shown in the table below.

Terms of office are generally four years.  More information about the governors and their roles can be found below.

If you are interested in becoming a Governor at Manor Green School, please contact the clerk: Sharon Glover at sharon.glover@manorgreenschool.co.uk

Annual letter to parents January 2024

Manor Green School: Governing Board 2023-2024

Governors  Roles and Responsibilities

Appointment 

Date

Category Attendance at 2022-2023 meetings
Joolz Scarlett Headteacher

September 2016

Headteacher   6/6
Richard Pelly Chair of Governors, Finance, Pay, HT PM, Risk Register 6 July 2021 Co-opted 6/6

Fiona ODonnell

 Vice Chair, Finance, Pay, Risk Register  24 March 2021 Parent 4/6
Peter Thorn Health & Safety, GDPR, Pupil Premium, HT PM, Vocational Learning & Outreach 24 May 2021 Co-opted 6/6
Tabitha Marsh Staff Wellbeing, Communication 13 December 2021 Parent 6/6
Ash Patel Finance, Pay, Careers, Risk Register 18 March 2021 Co-opted 5/6
Simon Calvert Safeguarding, CLA, Equality and Diversity 07 October 2021 Co-opted 6/6
Lesley Jewitt Attendance 26 September 2022 Staff 4/6
Amy Crowle SEN 7 November 2023 LA N/A
Colin Hayfield Finance, Pay, Risk Register 13 March 2024 Co-opted N/A

The Chair of Governors or Clerk to the Governors can be contacted as follows:

Chair: via the school office or Clerk to the Governors

Tel: 07876 032251

Clerk: Sharon Glover 

Tel: 01628 513800

sharon.glover@manorgreenschool.co.uk

Pen Profiles

Joolz Scarlett, Headteacher                                              

 

I have worked in education for over 20 years and my experience includes working with children and young adults across the primary, special and secondary sectors. 

I joined Manor Green School in 2013 as the Assistant Headteacher for the secondary department, became a Deputy Headteacher in 2015 and was very fortunate to be appointed Headteacher in September 2016.  I love working at the school and enjoy being surrounded by a variety of amazing young people and staff, which fulfils my passion for inclusion and working with children.

I grew up locally in Berkshire and am married with two children, who, along with Manor Green School and our large furry family, keep me happy and busy and, whenever I do have time to myself, I enjoy horse riding and live music.  

 

Richard Pelly
Co-opted Governor

Chair of Governors, Finance, Pay, HT PM, Risk Register                                                    

 

I responded to a request by the Royal Borough of Windsor & Maidenhead (RBWM) in February 2017 to be the Interim Chair of the Governing Board of Manor Green School. I was subsequently co-opted and elected to the Chair in July 2017. I bring experience of 23 years as a governor, including 16 years as the chair of governors at a primary school within the RBWM.  

My working career included 33 years as a Marine Engineer Office in the Royal Navy. Afterwards I was employed for 12 years by a private organisation working closely with government promoting UK skills and expertise worldwide. This work included taking Trade Missions to various countries, mostly in the Asia Pacific markets.  

Now, as well as my roles as a school governor, I am the honorary Chief Executive of the Britain Nepal Chamber of Commerce and a director of a small property investment company.

Both for work and in pursuit of my mountaineering interests I have travelled widely.  I play golf (poorly), run occasionally, and still rock climb, though mostly on climbing walls these days.  My family, grandchildren and a dog also keep me busy!

 

Fiona ODonnell
Parent Governor

Vice Chair, Finance, Pay, Risk Register

My name is Fiona ODonnell. I am a CIMA qualified accountant, currently working at IAG Holdings' head office, near Heathrow Airport, as the Head of Risk Management. I have spent most of my 20-year career in finance and related roles. In 2004 I gained an MBA from Warwick Business School. 

My 12-year-old son Fergus is currently at Manor Green School. He has been in special schools since reception, first at Booker Park in Aylesbury and at Manor Green since 2014. I see the mission of the school as helping each child make the most of their abilities and their life. As a parent to four children, in four different schools, in four different counties, I have gained a considerable breadth of experience of different educational settings and I have become passionate about getting the right education for our children.

With four children and a busy job I do not get much time to myself, but I enjoy getting away from everything with the family on a long summer and hosting Christmas at home for family and friends.

 

Peter Thorn
Co-opted Governor

Health & Safety, GDPR, Pupil Premium, HT PM, Vocational Learning and Outreach

I began my career in a business environment within the private sector but with a change into education, I eventually became the Principal of a Further Education College. The college offered a wide range of vocational education and training for young people and adults and offered programmes for ‘Pathways’ to work.

Now retired, I have maintained my commitment to the development of young people at Manor Green School and as the Co-Chair of Governors of an academy secondary school and as a Trustee of the provider for careers education and guidance within the Thames Valley.

I have a strong belief that personal development is lifelong and in the importance of everyone having opportunity to achieve. Governors have an important role advising and supporting the leadership team; it is their collective vision for the achievement and welfare of all students that enables Manor Green School to give an enjoyable, rich and safe experience.

 

Tabitha Marsh
Parent Governor

Staff Wellbeing, Communication

I have been a parent at the school since 2014, when my son started in reception and I have been a governor at the school since 2017.  I am a personal trainer with over 27 years experience and I also work at another local school for children with specialist educational needs.

I hope that my own personal experience with a child with higher needs, that too of teaching and also running my own business, enables me to bring something of value to the governing body.

 

 

Ash Patel
Co-opted Governor

Finance, Pay, Careers, Risk Register

I am a Programme Head for Justice at the Nuffield Foundation. I have over 18 years of experience conducting and commissioning empirical social research and specialises in complex and mixed methods research and evaluation focussing on low income and disadvantaged groups. In my current role, I am responsible for developing the Foundation’s justice portfolio to strengthen access to justice and advice sector related research and support the operational effectiveness of the justice system. Prior to joining Nuffield Foundation, I was Head of Research (Inclusion) at the Learning and Work Institute (L&W) where my work focussed on the interaction between work and health, integrated service delivery and labour market disadvantage. This has included designing and delivering evaluations of integrated work and health interventions, co-located services and Individual Placement and Support (IPS) service models.

I live in Windsor with my wife and two young children, one of whom attends Manor Green School.

 

Simon Calvert
Co-opted Governor

Safeguarding, CLA, Equality and Diversity

I have worked in various sectors of education for over twenty years, and currently am the Assistant Principal of The Skills Hub, an Alternative Provision school in Hillingdon. I have worked in SEN and SEMH (behaviour) schools and now support young people with behavioural challenges who are no longer in mainstream education. My subject area is Health and Social Care and PSHE, and I have always looked to embed equality and diversity into the curriculum.  Throughout my career I have sought to work with young people who do not have the same advantages as their peers, or who need that little more support to reach their potential.

I moved from Manchester in 2013 and worked at Manor Green School for four years, progressing from class teacher to KS5 Leader.  In addition I returned to Manor Green in Spring 2021 for a short period, covering a class in Middle School.  I am keen to serve my community with this role, as I have always admired and replicated Manor Green staff care and commitment to children.   I am the Safeguarding Governor, working with the team to maintain the high standards the school works at.

In my spare time, I am also a Governor at Churchmead School in Datchet.  I enjoy travelling with my partner, both city breaks and far away destinations.  I collect vinyl records (and am running out of space!), and love chilling out with a good book.

 

Lesley Jewitt
Staff Governor

Attendance

My name is Lesley Jewitt and I am a specialist support assistant at Manor Green School. I live in Maidenhead  and I am married with three boys.  I have worked in education for just over twenty years now.  My first job in education was in a mainstream school, working with a student in reception class who had contracted Meningitis.  This resulted in the loss of his hearing which obviously had a negative impact on his behaviour.  When he left primary I realised my calling was with special needs and came to Manor Green School.  I have never looked back; this is such a rewarding and changing role.

I recently retook my Maths  and English, as well as successfully completing my Foundation Degree.  This gave me an insight into the workings of how a school runs which lead me to this role.

In my spare time I love walking, reading and spending time with friends.

 

Amy Crowle
Local Authority Governor

SEN                                                

 

I originally worked as a fashion model for ten years after leaving college, and became interested in education when my own children started school.

I have now been a teacher for ten years and, during my training, spent time at Manor Green School observing best practice. Since then I have always been passionate about supporting students with additional needs.

I am currently SENCo for a local federation of nursery schools and thoroughly enjoy working with children and their families in this role. Alongside this, I am Lead of The Anchor Centre which is a provision that provides intervention in order to develop the school readiness of children and their families, as well as developing the skills of teaching staff across RBWM.

Colin Hayfield
Co-opted Governor

Finance, Pay, Risk Register 

 

My godson joined Manor Green in 2023 and I feel honoured to have joined the governing body.  I am a chartered accountant and a director of Keen & Toms Holdings Limited, the Hypnos bed group.

I have been involved with the financial management of schools for forty years and currently act as finance trustee at a number of charities, including the Pace Centre in Aylesbury and Prior’s Court

Foundation in Hermitage.  I was born and live in Beaconsfield.

 

DECLARATIONS OF BUSINESS INTERESTS

No governors have declared a business interest in the school
The Head Teacher, Jahseen Foster and Lesley Jewitt have declared an interest as employees of the school and Peter Thorn's daughter is also an employee of the school.
For any information requests, please contact the clerk: sharon.glover@manorgreenschool.co.uk

 

TERMS OF REFERENCE

Golden Rules
At our school we always:
Treat people kindly
Listen to each other
Look after our school environment
Do our best
(devised by School Council 2009)

Vision
To be the Centre of Excellence for students with special educational needs.

The Governing Board (GB) - purpose and function as defined by the DfE

The purpose of governance is to provide confident, strategic leadership and to create robust accountability, oversight and assurance for educational and financial performance.  

All boards, no matter what type of schools or how many schools they govern, have three core functions:

  • Ensuring clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction;
  • Holding executive leaders to account for the educational performance of the organisation and its students, and the performance management of staff; and
  • Overseeing the financial performance of the organisation and making sure its money is well spent

Membership

The GB membership is defined by the school’s Instrument of Government dated 26 November 2020.  This specifies that the board consists of ten governors; 

  • One Headteacher,
  • Two parent governors,
  • One local authority governor,
  • One staff governor,
  • Five co-opted governors

A governor’s term of office is four years unless agreed otherwise at the time of appointment.
Co-opted governors are appointed by a majority of other governors.
In attendance - Clerk to the Governors.

The board may appoint, for defined terms, associate members for their particular expertise or contribution.

The GB will meet at least six times a year with the agenda and relevant reports ideally made available a minimum of seven calendar days before the meeting. 

Meetings may include, by exception, governors dialling in through conference calls or the use of Skype, Teams or Zoom for video conferencing to fulfil the quorum requirement when they cannot attend in person.

Minutes from a meeting should be available to governors within two weeks of the meeting.

If a governor fails to attend three consecutive GB meetings, the GB will question that individual’s commitment and contribution to governance. Where a governor has not attended meetings for six months, the GB will consider taking steps towards disqualification from office.

The Role

To undertake its role, the GB at its meeting, will:

  1. Receive and consider reports from the Headteacher and Strategic Leadership Team (SLT) regarding the school’s progress against the School Development Plan
  2. Receive and consider reports about financial performance, budgets and projections
  3. Receive and consider reports from each lead governor regarding the school’s effectiveness in that area
  4. Ensure that all matters requiring action following each GB meeting are agreed and recorded, including appropriate named responsibility and timing.
  5. Ensure that actions are then followed up and outcomes communicated to the GB to confirm completion. The GB will not wait until its next meeting to conclude matters outstanding.
  6. Make strategic decisions that ensure the school’s resources are used to secure the best possible outcomes for all students of the school
  7. Support and monitor implementation of the School Development Plan and relevant policies
  8. Ensure the school’s legal compliance and governance
  9. Make strategic decisions to ensure that the Teaching and Learning (T&L) Model is effectively implemented and monitored to secure best possible outcomes for the students
  10. Respond to identified areas of weakness and support effective strategies to deal with them
  11. Monitor the safeguarding of students and the wider SEN provision 

Quorum

The quorum for GB decisions to be actionable is five governors.
Associate governors do not have a vote. 

Code of Conduct

Governors agree to abide by the Code of Conduct at the Annex.

Review
These Terms of Reference will be reviewed annually.

The Governing Board approved these Terms of Reference on: 11th October 2023

Signed:   Richard Pelly, Chair of Governors
Signed:   Joolz Scarlett, Headteacher

 

ANNEX – CODE OF CONDUCT FOR GOVERNORS

Governance – strategic vs operational

The governors accept the following demarcation of responsibilities:

The Headteacher is responsible for the day-to-day management of the school, the implementation of policy and procedure and the operation of the curriculum.

The governors are responsible for leading the school`s strategic direction, and monitoring and keeping under review the policies, plans and procedures within which the school operates.

Duties

These include ensuring accountability, by:

  • Appointing the Headteacher
  • Monitoring progress towards targets set in the school improvement/development plan;
  • Performance managing the Headteacher;
  • Engaging with stakeholders both with the school and the wider community;
  • Contributing to school self-evaluation

Ensuring financial probity, by:

  • Agreeing the budget;
  • Monitoring spending against the budget;
  • Ensuring value for money is obtained;
  • Ensuring risks to the organisation are managed.

Roles and Responsibilities

As individuals on the GB, governors agree to:

  • Abide by the seven principles of public life (Appendix A)
  • Accept that we have no legal authority to act individually, except when the GB has given us delegated authority to do so
  • Only to speak on behalf of the GB when we have been specifically authorised to do so.
  • Accept collective responsibility for all decisions made by the Governing Body or its delegated agents. This means that we will not speak against majority decisions outside of GB meetings.
  • Act fairly and without prejudice, and in so far as we have responsibility for staff, to fulfil all that is expected of a good employer.
  • Encourage open government.
  • Consider carefully how our decisions might affect the community, Borough and other schools in the area.
  • Be mindful of our responsibility to maintain and develop the ethos and reputation of our school.
  • Follow the procedures established by the GB when making or responding to criticism or complaints
  • Actively support and challenge the Headteacher.
  • Individual Governors are delegated the authority to lead certain areas of the Governing Body. These Governors being held accountable by the GB for the quality of governance in their lead area.

Commitment

  • We acknowledge that accepting office as a governor involves the commitment of appropriate amounts of time and energy
  • We will each involve ourselves actively in the work of the GB and accept our fair share of responsibility, including service on committees or working groups.
  • We will make every effort to attend all meetings and, where we cannot attend, explain as far in advance as possible why we are unable to do so to the Clerk and Chair of Governors.
  • We will get to know the school well and respond to opportunities to involve ourselves in school activities.
  • All visits to school will be arranged in advance with the staff and undertaken in accordance with the Governor Visits Policy.
  • We will consider seriously our individual and collective needs for training and development and will undertake relevant training.
  • We accept that in the interests of open government, our names, terms of office, roles on the GB, category of governor and the body responsible for appointing us will be published on the school’s website.

Relationships

  • We will strive to work as a team in which constructive working relationships are actively promoted.
  • We will express views openly, courteously and respectfully in all our communications with other governors.
  • We will support the Chair in their role of ensuring appropriate conduct both at meetings and at all times.
  • We are prepared to answer queries from other governors in relation to delegated functions and take into account any concerns expressed and we will acknowledge the time, effort and skills that have been committed to the delegated function by those involved.
  • We will seek to develop effective working relationships with the Headteacher, staff and parents, the local authority and other relevant agencies and the community.

Confidentiality

  • We willobserve complete confidentiality when matters are deemed confidential or where they concern specific members of staff or students, both inside or outside school.
  • We will exercise prudence at all times when discussions regarding school business arise outside a GB meeting.
  • We will not reveal the details of any GB vote.

Conflicts of interest

Breach of this Code of Conduct

  • If we believe this code has been breached, we will raise this issue with the Chair for investigation; the GB will only use suspension/removal as a last resort after seeking to resolve any difficulties or disputes in more constructive ways.
  • Should it be the Chair that we believe has breached this code, another governor, such as the Vice Chair, will investigate.

Terms of Reference

Governors' Visits' Policy 

Instrument of Government

RETIRED GOVERNORS

Governor  Roles and Responsibilities Date Term of Office ended Category

 Attendance at

meetings

Helen McHale Communications, HT Performance Management 06.11.23 LA (2022-2023)   4/6
Jahseen Foster SEN, Diversity 16.01.24 Co-opted (2022- 2023) 3/6