Your Governors are responsible for all aspects of the School’s performance. We need to set the strategic direction of the School, ensure that its budget is used in the most effect way and that the School provides a safe, healthy, enjoyable, stimulating environment that enables its pupils to progress to the best of their ability.
There will be two standing committees to carry out the day-to-day duties of the Governing Board, namely:
Please see information in the table below about the constitution of the governing body:
(click on the table below for a larger view)
The terms of reference for the St. Giles’ governing body are below:
Under our constitution there are 13 governors. There are 4 different categories of governor in set proportions:
The whole Governing Body meets at least once per term and delegates some business to the following committees which also meet each term:
We are lucky to have governors who come from a wide range of backgrounds bringing skills and knowledge from, for instance, management, commerce, government, finance IT, Personnel and of course education.
Minutes of all formal meetings of the governors and the sub committees are available through the School Office. You can contact governors via the school office or directly during school functions such as parent evenings. We are always very happy to receive feedback, comments, queries and suggestions or for you to raise any issues or concerns with us.
My name is Hazel and my role is Staff Governor. Most of you will know me as Family Support/Deputy safeguarding lead at St Stiles.
I joined as staff governor in November ’23 but was previously a staff governor here a number of years ago from which I learnt a huge amount about governance and enabled me to understand the school from a different perspective. My current governor role is on the Achievements and Standards committee with a responsibility/interest in Staff well-being and Health and Safety.
I have worked at St Giles for a number of years. My background is in Early Years and I worked in the previous St Giles nursery for a number of years and then moved into Reception. I am passionate about Early Years and building those positive relationships with children and families, hence my subsequent move into my current role.
Away from school, I am married with two grown up children – a son and a daughter. I enjoy gardening, swimming and walking in my spare time.
Hi My name is Gillian Manson, I was appointment by the local authority to the school, so I am the LA Governor. I have been involved in all aspects of a governor to many ranges of schools within the borough of Croydon for the last twenty plus years, I also sit on panels for the local borough and neighbours to assist them to ensure governance is adhered too. I have been involved in all aspects of a school life, including chair of the school. I have a background of Finance, audit, HR, Payroll, Health & Safety Building Maintenance and Construction and a parent and wish to make a difference to a school.
I have worked in education since 1997 when I began my teaching career in Luton. Over this time, I have been a Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator, worked as a Head teacher at two separate mainstream schools in Essex and London, worked as a consultant at a variety of schools in the UK and abroad and I have recently been a Head teacher of a Special Education Needs school. Being a father of two, I am very much aware of the responsibility that my staff and I have in ensuring that the highest standard of safeguarding and teaching and learning is achieved. We have a hugely committed team and wonderful children at St. Giles’ School.
The needs of the children are always paramount in the life and decision making within a school. I strongly believe in providing the children with exciting, creative and meaningful learning experiences, which build their enthusiasm for learning and help them to grow and develop positively in a variety of ways. I think it is crucial to involve the children and their families as partners in their education. I am also keen on building a whole school community which thrives on mutual respect and values positive relationships. I know how vital working in partnership with parent/carers really is for children to find school a positive and rewarding experience. As key educators in your children’s lives, I feel that it is important that you have a voice and that as a school we are approachable and allocate time to listen to your concerns, worries or thoughts about the school.
You can be assured that as Head teacher, I will strive to create the best education for your child/children whilst they are members of our St Giles’ school family. Please do come up and introduce yourselves outside school. I look forward to meeting you in the coming weeks/months.
I have been a parent governor at St Giles’ School since 2015 and in 2020 I was voted in as vice chaired the governing body. I took on this role as I was intrigued to find out how the school runs behind the scenes and help out the school in any way I can. I am now the Chair of the governing body and just appointed as Co-opted governor.
My professional background is in Catering and hospitality where I qualified as a professional Chef in 2007. I have worked in various types of restaurants from bistro pubs to fine dining and have done quite a few banquets in my time! My favourite cuisine is Italian. As well as cooking, I have also worked as a youth worker for Croydon Council. I found helping the young people in my community very enjoyable and rewarding.
I am married with 2 children, one of whom is currently in a Primary Class at St Giles’. I also enjoy playing and coaching rugby at the weekends where I am currently the 2nd Team Captain and in 2019 I’ve helped set up a thriving girls rugby teams at my local Rugby Club.
Lead Governor for Safeguarding.
I became a Governor at St Giles in October 2017. I am a barrister practising in different areas of law.
Before training as a lawyer I qualified as a teacher: I taught English and French in a secondary school in Leeds. I enjoy working with young people and wanted to be involved with education after I left the classroom, so I decided to become a school governor. I believe all children should be well-served by their school and given support to fulfil their potential. Being part of St Giles’ governing body is a way for me to help achieve this goal and to give back to my community.
I enjoy travelling, cooking, going to concerts and hiking.
I have taught for twenty years, initially as a history teacher but then head of sixth form in a SEN School, setting up work experience and travel training programmes for my students. We ran a cafe ‘The Beach Hut’ which generated money for the group and which was used to buy equipment of their choice ( TV, karaoke machine, playstation etc) and for days out.
I am a passionate football fan and my team is Arsenal. I also steward at Twickenham, luckily watching all of the World Cup matches.
I love going to the cinema, to see bands and concerts and to the theatre and am in a book club.
Hello, my name is Caroline Horgan and I am a co-opted governor at St Giles. I have been a teacher for over 32 years and most recently worked at St Giles as the Deputy Headteacher until I took retirement in December 2023. My career as a teacher has given me detailed knowledge about schools, education and SEND.
The skills I have gained as a senior leader at St Giles enables me to be a well informed and supportive governor. In this role I scrutinise the work of the school to ensure that St Giles pupils get the provision they need to access their learning in a safe and holistic way.
Working with my fellow governors and the school community I want to ensure that the pupils have positive and productive learning experiences so they can continue to realise their potential to be the ‘Be the Best They Can Be’
My name is Ken Morcombe. I am now an associate governor having served as a governor at St Giles for 25 years in many roles including that of Chairperson. I am a member of the Achievement and Standards Committee with a particular interest in pupil progress and the well being of both pupils and staff.
In my working life I worked at Senior Executive level in financial services and in retirement work in a voluntary capacity number of areas of which St Giles is the one of which I am most passionate. Over my time with St Giles I have been inspired by the skill and dedication of the staff and the achievement of our young people, despite their special needs and feel honoured to be able to play a part in their education,
I now have my own special needs being visually impaired but hope that my long experience means that I can still contribute to life and success of St Giles