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 2021/22

Name	Type of Governor	Committees/ Responsibilities	Declaration of Interests	Date of Appointment	Term of Office	Attendance at FGB Meetings 2020/21
Dan Roach	Chair of Governors	All Committees Health and Safety Link Curriculum Link HIP Link	Parent	01/09/19	01/09/19 – 31/08/23	3/3
Vicky Beare	Headteacher	All Committees	Staff	01/09/19	Ongoing	3/3
Richard Loader	Clerk		Employed by HfL	01/09/2020	Ongoing	3/3
Kelly Fairhall	Co-opted	School Improvement (Chair) Safeguarding Link SEN Link Pupil Premium Link	Assistant head at Tewin Cowper School	01/09/20	01/09/20 -31/08/24	3/3
Lucy Hill	Parent	School Improvement	Parent	10/09/21	09/09/25	2/3
Christopher Knapp	Parent	Finance, Premises & Resources	Parent	05/01/22	04/01/26	1/3
Holly Brankin	Assistant Head/ Staff Governor	School improvement SENCo	Staff	01/09/21	Ongoing	2/3
Charlotte Lake	Co-opted	School Improvement Well-being Link		01/09/20	01/09/20 – 31/08/24	3/3
Rob Taunton	Co-opted	Finance, Premises & Resources Chair School Improvement		01/09/21	01/09/21- ongoing	N/A
Clare Woolmer	Co-opted	School improvement		01/05/22	01/05/22 – 31/04/26	N/A
Tom Hassan	Associate*	All Committees	Headteacher at Oaklands Primary School	05/05/2020	05/05/2020 – ongoing	3/3

Ian Matthews	Co-opted	School Improvement Wraparound		30/06/2021	30/06/21 – 29/06/25 Resigned Jan 2022	1/3
Neil Bradley	Co-opted	Finance, Premises & Resources (chair)		09/12/20	09/12/20 – 31/08/24 Resigned March 2022	2/3

*Associate governors do not have voting rights

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 !

Dan Roach

Hello, I’m Dan and I’m very proud to be the Chair of Governors at Tenterfield. I first became a governor in 2019 and have been lucky enough to see both of my children receive the most amazing start to their education here.

The nursery holds a special place in my heart for remaining true to its values and playing such a vital role in supporting our local community. I volunteered to become a governor to help the nursery to continue to thrive and maintain its high standards for many years to come.

My working background is in Commercial Property Management, meaning I am able to lend support on premises, health & safety and compliance matters.

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.

Charlotte Lake

Hi, my name is Charlotte and I became a Co-opted Governor in the summer of 2020, when my eldest daughter was leaving to start primary school. After five fun and incredibly enriching terms at Tenterfield, two of which unfolded against a global pandemic, I felt compelled to give something back to the Nursery.

I’m a journalist specialising in health and beauty. I sit on the School Improvement Committee and I am also the Wellbeing Governor Link - which means I liaise with the Senior Leadership Team and report back to the Governing Board on mental health and wellbeing provision within the Nursery.

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!

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!

Tom Hassan

Holly Brankin

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.

Declaration of Interests 2021-22 (77KB)

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 d.roach@tenterfield.herts.sch.uk.

Governors

List of Governors 2021/22

The role of the Governing Body

Contacting the Governing Body

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