School Governors
The governors are appointed by the Dunraven Educational Trust, the charitable company and Multi Academy Trust which runs the school. The governing board has a wide range of responsibilities - clearly defined by the scheme of delegation and by law. The governing board provides strategic leadership and accountability in schools. It has three key functions:
- Overseeing the financial performance of the school and making sure its money is well spent
- Holding the headteacher to account for the educational performance of the school and its pupils
- Ensuring clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction
Governors or Trustees set the aims and objectives for the school and set the policies and targets for achieving those aims and objectives. They monitor and evaluate the progress the school is making and act as a source of challenge and support to the headteacher. In action, this means:
- Appointing and performance reviewing the Headteacher and senior leaders, including making decisions about pay
- Managing budgets and deciding how money is spent
- Engaging with pupils, staff, parents and the school community
- Sitting on panels and making decisions about things like pupil exclusions and staff disciplinaries
- Addressing a range of education issues within the school including disadvantaged pupils, pupils with special needs, staff workload and teacher recruitment
- Looking at data and evidence to ask questions and have challenging conversations about the school
Governors and Trustees must be prepared to adopt the Nolan principles of public life: selflessness, integrity, objectivity, accountability, openness, honesty and leadership.
Governors and Trustees should also be committed to their role and to young people; confident in having courageous conversations; curious with an enquiring mind; able to challenge the status quo to improve things; collaborative to build strong relationships; critical to improve their own work and that of the board; and creative in problem solving and being innovative.*
For details about the Trust's Governance, please view the website HERE.
The Annual General Meeting of the Dunraven Educational Trust is being held online via Zoom on Friday 13 December 2024 at 8.00am. The notice, agenda and how to register for the AGM is available on the Trust's website HERE
We are always happy to hear from anyone who may be interested in the role of the Governor either for Van Gogh or one of our Trust's schools. If you would like to find out more, please contact governance@det.org.uk
Meeting minutes and agendas are available by request. If you wish to request minutes for the Local Governing Board, please email the Clerk at governance@det.org.uk
*Source: National Governance Association
Meet the Governors
Kirsty Pearce
Chair of the Local Governing Board
Safeguarding Link
Kirsty is a Qualified Accountant who spent most of her employed career in the banking sector- in Regulation, Capital and Risk. More recently she has been working with local small businesses and charities as a sole practitioner and is now a business manager at a primary school in Deptford. She is an experienced school governor having been a governor of local schools for 14 years and has been on the Van Gogh board since the school opened. She is committed to working with trustees, governors, staff and parents to ensure the best possible experience for Van Gogh’s children.
Term of office: Nov 2022 - Nov 2026 (second term)
Eleanor Aberman
Eleanor has spent the majority of her career in executive search, working in particular on leadership and succession projects for global organisations. Her earlier career was in finance. Having come from a family of teachers and benefited from being taught by teachers in the state school system who believed in the potential of their students, she was motivated to take on this role with Van Gogh Primary School. She has lived in Lambeth for many years.
Term of office: Sept 2023 - Sept 2027
Sarah Baker
Health & Safety Link
Sarah grew up and attended school in South London and has subsequently had a career teaching English in a range of secondary schools in the area. Having previously served as a staff governor, she is keen to bring her experience to Van Gogh Primary and work collaboratively with the school community.
Term of office: June 2024 - June 2028 (second term)
Cassandra Biltoo
Staff Governor
Sandra is originally from Trinidad, she has spent the last 6 years working in the administrative office at Van Gogh Primary. Prior to this, she spent 4 years as a teaching assistant between nursery to year 8. She then moved to Trinidad in 2013 and worked as an office manager. Sandra returned to the UK in 2016 and started at Van Gogh Primary. Sandra provides a cheerful and welcoming environment to visitors, parents, teachers and children in the school.
Term of office: September 2024 - September 2028
Kimberlin Dunkley
Parent Governor
Kimberlin has a daughte who attends Van Gogh Primary. When she is not volunteerings as a parent governor, she works as a family support worker at a local children's centre. Recently Kimberlin has become the link governor fro Nurture and OPAL play - where she works closely with the SEND inclusions officer. Kimberlin is keen to share her views from a parent's perspective as part of the board and hopes to use her experiences to contribute to the long-term success of the students and school.
Term of office: April 2022 - April 2026
Alexander Ireland
SEND Link
Alex is a civil servent who has worked across a number of government departments on topics from medical supply chains to climate change. He lives in the local area and is keen to use his exeperience as a civil servent to benefit Van Gogh and the local community.
Term of office: Dec 2022 - Dec 2026
Eleanor Jubb
Parent Governor
Eleanor has a son in year 1 and is a civil servent working in the Department for Education. She has worked in education policy since 2008, focusing on improving outcomes for young people from disadvantaged backgrounds. A lifelong South Londoner, she has lived locally since 2010 and is committed to helping Van Gogh navigate the changing world while staying rooted in the local community.
Term of office: Sept 2024 - Aug 2028
Murray Hawthorne
Murray is a local resident and civil servant since 2019 working in the Cabinet Office, focused on coordination across government on a number of topics. Having lived in south London since 2018, Murray is keen to find ways to bring together local communities as well as bringing his experience from central government to best support the school. Murray passionately believes in giving all children the best start in life, particularly those with special educational needs which builds on his personal experiences.
Term of office: Sept 2024 - Aug 2028
Sophie Taylor
Sophie is a communications specialist with over 10 years' expertise in the education and charity sector. She has worked in marketing, communications and press for a range of organisations that focus on improving social mobility and outcomes for young people. She is originally from South London, used to be a language teacher and now lives nearby Van Gogh Primary School.
Term of office: Sept 2023 - Sept 2027
Governors who have left in the last 12 months:
Sarah Botchway - resigned September 2023
Kim Mezoui - resigned December 2023
Eleni Hack - resigned July 2024
