Tenterfield Nursery School

Tenterfield’s governing body works with the Headteacher and Senior Leadership Team to ensure the highest standards of education are delivered to all children in a safe and inclusive environment, with the well-being of all held as a priority.

The board is made up of parents, staff and community, authority and associate governors, who work together to ensure that there is sufficient diversity of views and experience at each meeting.

List of Governors 2024/25

Name	Type of Governor	Committees/ Responsibilities	Declaration of Interests	Date of Appointment	Term of Office	Attendance at FGB Meetings 2023/24
Lucy Hill	Chair of Governors	All Committees	Parent	10/09/21	10/09/21 – 09/09/25	3/3
Vicky Beare	Headteacher	All Committees	Staff	01/09/19	Ongoing	3/3
Mark Borland	Vice Chair	Chair of FPR committee	Spouse of Zara Borland	01/04/23	01/04/23 – 31/03/27	3/3
April Bowman-Morris	Parent	Community Link	Parent	09/02/24	09/02/2024 – 08/02/2028	1/1
Holly Brankin	Assistant Head/ Staff Governor	School improvement SENCo	Staff	01/09/21	01/09/21 – 31/08/25	3/3
Clare Woolmer	Co-opted	School improvement Safeguarding Link HIP Link		01/05/22	01/05/22 – 31/04/26	3/3
Christopher Knapp	Co-opted	Finance, Premises & Resources Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Link		05/01/22	05/01/22 – 04/01/26	2/3
Sarah O’Donovan	Parent	School improvement SEN Link		09/02/2024	09/02/2024 – 08/02/2028	1/1
Please find below the details of our school governors whose terms expired during the last 12 months:
Charlotte Lake	Co-Vice Chair Parent	Chair of School Improvement Well-being Link	Parent	01/09/20	01/09/20 – 31/08/24	3/3
Harley Leversha	Parent	School improvement SEN Link		01/04/23	01/04/23 – 31/03/27	1/1

*Associate members do not have voting rights

Sarah O’Donovan

Hi, my name is Sarah, I am a parent Governor with a focus in SEN. When we moved into the Village a few years ago with our two children then aged 4 and 3, my first job was to look at local nursery provision for our daughter. Tenterfield was always highly recommended and from my daughters first day, I could see why. Tenterfield is such a nurturing environment with not only incredible staff but also incredible provisions. I felt her progress was staggering. Adding to this, I also enjoyed being part of the nursery via the PTA.

I have various Qualifications in Childcare and continued to focus on my passion for Early Years Development by completing a Degree in Early Childhood Studies. Since 2003 I have worked in Children’s Services and currently work in Early Help, where Early Years, Early Prevention and Intervention are my passion.

I am also a Mum to my little boy who has diagnosed SEN needs. As a parent I have had to navigate through the hurdles and stresses of getting him the right support and input, and this continues to be the case. I understand the stress and amount of work that is needed of Parents during these times and know how hard Tenterfield staff work to also support families in their community. I am very excited to be able to work alongside Holly and her team and support in any way I can.

Chris Knapp

My wife and I moved to Welwyn in summer 2015, and our next door neighbours sent their children to Tenterfield, and raved about it! Therefore, when our son was old enough for nusery, Tenterfield was the place to go. I first became a Governor at Tenterfield in Sept 2021.

My professional training is in Learning and Organisational Development, and I've been fortunate enough to work for some fantastic companies in the education and not-for-profit sectors. Currently, I'm working for the Cabinet Office and looking at various contract capabilities across Government.

My aim as a Governor is simple, that in the yeas to come, Tenterfield is still raved about to people that live in, or move to Welwyn!

Clare Woolmer

Hello. I am delighted to have become a Governor for Tenterfield Nursery School .

I am a retired Health Visitor (and ex- nurse ) . The Welwyn area was a big part of my patch and visiting local families with new babies, toddlers and pre-school children for better family health an important part of my role . Together with my NHS colleagues we also ran weekly Baby Clinics and regular Child Development Assessments at Tenterfield Nursery for local parents and their children's health and wellbeing .

I have always been very impressed with the lovely facilities , hard working staff and happy children at Tenterfield Nursery, so I'm delighted to have been asked to be a Governor , and contribute my skills wherever needed .

I live in the area , with 2 grown up offspring , an antisocial pet cat and a very sociable pet rabbit !

Holly Brankin

Lucy Hill

Hi, my name is Lucy and I joined the Board as a Parent Governor at Tenterfield in 2021 after seeing first hand from my daughter attending both the 2 year old ‘Pink Group’ and now 3 year old ‘Red Group’ what a fun, supportive and nurturing environment the school provides.

Before having my children, my career was within Human Resources in the Automotive Industry, so I have not had any experience of the Education sector, however, I have extensive experience in Learning and Development, creating relationships and working with people.

My son will join the Tenterfield ‘Pink Group’ in Sept 2022 so I am looking forward to gaining more experience in my role as a Parent Governor and supporting both the school and the children to the best of my ability.

Mark Borland

I am a parent governor of Tenterfield, where both my children have been lucky enough to attend. I was born and raised in Wales. I attended primary and secondary schools in Bangor and went to university in Cardiff. I work at Peartree Primary School in Welwyn Garden City as the Assistant Head Teacher. During my ten-year career I have taught most year groups but mainly focusing on years 3,4, 5 and 6.

Becoming a teacher is something I have always wanted to do. Both my parents were university lecturers, my brother teaches in secondary schools and my sister was a nursery school head. I am very proud to carry on the family tradition of teaching.

I am extremely proud to be a governor at Tenterfield. The school has given so much to my children that I wanted to give something back and support the school any way I can.

Victoria Beare

Hello, I am the headteacher of Tenterfield Nursery school. I started at tenterfield in 2017, and since then I have been on a journey from class teacher progressing to headteacher!

My two children attended Tenterfield, so I feel very proud to be leading the nursery alongside the governing body and staff team. It is fantastic to work with a group of people who are all so passionate about early years education, with same outlook regarding our vision, values and aims.

I enjoy walking my dog, and looking after my two children whilst I am not busy at Tenterfield!

The role of the Governing Body

There is a Full Governing Board (FGB) meeting every term, and our two sub-committees meet termly, too. Governors receive meeting documents in advance, so they can submit questions and prepare accordingly. This allows for effective governance.

Some meetings are held out of work hours but, where possible, they are scheduled during the school day to allow governors the opportunity to undertake visits and produce Governor Visit Reports. This is also an indication of governors’ support for the wellbeing of school staff who need to attend meetings.

Governors are expected to attend all meetings but may provide apologies where appropriate. Failure to attend 3 meetings per year may lead to the removal of a governor from the board.

Governors have three main roles;

Establishing strategic direction by:
- Setting and ensuring clarity of vision, values, and objectives for Tenterfield
- Agreeing Tenterfield’s improvement strategy with priorities and targets
- Meeting statutory duties
Ensuring accountability by:
- Appointing the headteacher
- Monitoring the educational performance of Tenterfield and progress towards agreed targets
- Performance managing the headteacher
- Engaging with stakeholders
- Contributing to school self-evaluation
Overseeing financial performance by:
- Setting the budget
- Monitoring spending against the budget
- Ensuring money is well spent and value for money is obtained
- Ensuring risks to the organisation are managed

All our governors adhere to the NGA Code of Practice and our own Code of Conduct, which has been signed by all members of the board.

Contacting the Governing Body

The Tenterfield governing body welcomes the views of parents and is always happy to discuss ideas and suggestions on how to improve our nursery school. Please be aware that all complaints must follow the school’s complaints policy and that the Chair of Governors will not be able to intervene unless the correct process has been followed.

The Chair of Governors can be contacted via letter sent to the school office or via email at l.hill@tenterfield.herts.sch.uk.

Governors

List of Governors 2024/25

The role of the Governing Body

Contacting the Governing Body

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