Mrs Claire Cornthwaite

Chair - Co-opted 

Claire has been involved in education in Brighton and Hove for over 10 years, in governance and teaching. She has been a Chair and Vice Chair in other schools and has been part of 3 school Governing Bodies previous to joining Balfour. Claire is currently teaching in a Primary school in Portslade and has two daughters who attend a local senior school. Claire is passionate about providing the best possible start in life to all children through their education and educational opportunities.

Alongside her teaching responsibilities, Claire has a passion for Physical Education, especially encouraging girls into sports including football. She believes participating in physical activity has an immediate impact on children’s mental health and academic performance. She enjoys coaching and can often be found on the netball court herself.  

date of appointment	20/11/2019
current term of office start date	20/11/2019
term of office	4 years
date end of service due	19/11/2023
appointed by	Governing Body
declaration of interests	Teacher at Brackenbury
governance at other institutions	N/A
% attendance	100%

 

Ms Katie Wood

Vice-Chair - Parent Governor

Katie has two children in Balfour, currently in year 1 and year 4. She has worked in the education sector for almost 20 years, in primary, secondary, special and International schools, with a common focus on pastoral development, policy and leadership. She is currently undertaking a Professional doctorate in Educational and Child psychology, which combines research with school based intervention at individual and systemic levels.

Katie is passionate about social justice and ensuring that all children receive the very best opportunities to learn and achieve.

date of appointment	05/02/2020
current term of office start date	05/02/2020
term of office	4 years
date end of service due	04/02/20204
appointed by	parents
declaration of interests	parent
governance at other institutions	none
% attendance	100%

 

Ms Shelley Baker

Co-Opted

Shelley has been involved in education in Brighton and Hove for over 20 years in various positions in teaching, leadership, management and governance. She has been a Chair of Governors in two other local schools and is currently a National Leader of Governance, supporting other governing bodies. Shelley has a passion for school improvement and determined that all children should be able to achieve regardless of their starting point. Shelley recognises the importance of a well-rounded curriculum and the benefits of working with everyone in the local school community. Shelley has two children in local schools in close proximity to Balfour Primary School.

date of appointment	21/10/2019
current term of office start date	21/10/2019
term of office	4 years
date end of service due	20/10/2023
appointed by	Governing Body
declaration of interests	Headteacher at Varndean School
governance at other institutions	Governor at Brackenbury
% attendance	80%

Mr Nick Huxley

Staff Governor

Nick is in his 7th teaching year at Balfour, currently teaching in Year 2, but previously in Early Years (Reception). Whilst in EYFS, he had leadership experience, being the EYFS leader for 2 years.

Before teaching, Nick worked for 12 years in the Telecommunications and Networking industry, which links with his other current responsibility as subject co-leader for Computing at Balfour.

Before re-training as a teacher, Nick was the main carer for his three daughters for 3 years, during which time he became Chair of the PTA at Goldstone Primary in Hove. His daughters now all attend Blatchington Mill Secondary school. As well as his teaching responsibilities, Nick can also be found involved with music, inside and outside of school. Look out for him at many an Open Mic night across town, as well as the school’s Christmas and Summer Fairs.

date of appointment	11/10/2018
current term of office start date	11/10/2018
term of office	4 years
date end of service due	10/10/2022
appointed by	Staff
declaration of interests	Staff
governance at other institutions	none
% attendance	72%

Ms Neelam Parmar

Parent Governor
 

date of appointment	13/03/2019
current term of office start date	13/03/2019
term of office	4 years
date end of service due	12/03/2023
appointed by	Parents
declaration of interests	parent
governance at other institutions	none
% attendance	55%

 

Mrs Charlotte Bonham-Carter

Parent Governor

Charlotte Bonham-Carter has extensive experience in cultural management and academic leadership. She has held curatorial positions at a number of public arts institutions, including the Irish Museum of Modern Art, Barbican Art Gallery, Institute for Contemporary Arts and Art on the Underground. She is currently Programme Director of Culture and Enterprise at Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts, London, where she oversees several BA, MA and MBA courses at the intersection of culture, curation, innovation and enterprise. She has two children at Balfour, and a third one making his way there in a few years.

date of appointment	13/03/2019
current term of office start date	13/03/2019
term of office	4 years
date end of service due	12/03/2023
appointed by	Parents
declaration of interests	parent
governance at other institutions	none
% attendance	91%

 

Miss Carolyn Bristow

Local Authority

Carolyn has worked at the local authority  in a variety of roles. She has managed school admissions, been the Head of SEN statutory services and is currently the lead for Policy in the Families, Children & Learning directorate. She is also a qualified librarian with a specific interest in children's literature. Carolyn has lived in the city for many years and enjoys being a governor at a school with such a vibrant and engaged community. She looks forward to supporting the school to go from strength to strength. 

date of appointment	18/12/2019
current term of office start date	18/12/2019
term of office	4 years
date end of service due	17/12/2023
appointed by	Local Authority
declaration of interests	none
governance at other institutions	none
% attendance	100%

 

Mr Simon Davies

Headteacher

 

 

date of appointment	04/11/2019
current term of office start date	04/11/2019
term of office	whilst in post
date end of service due	04/11/2023
appointed by	n/a
declaration of interests	Headteacher
governance at other institutions	none
% attendance	100%

 

Kirstin Baker

Co-Opted Governor, Finance

Kirstin was a senior civil servant for many years and is a qualified accountant. She now works as an inquiry chair at the Competition and Markets Authority and as a Non-Executive Director. Kirstin is a co-opted governor and has two children at the a school. 

date of appointment	01/04/2020
current term of office start date	01/04/2020
term of office	4 years
date end of service due	31/03/20204
appointed by	Governing Body
declaration of interests	parent
governance at other institutions	none
% attendance	100%

 

Fiona Dowley

Co-Opted Governor

Fi has been a teacher for over 26 years including 10 years as a headteacher of an infant school in Crawley.  She has extensive experience of Early Years and Key Stage 1 education but has spent the last two years developing her understanding of Key Stage 2 and primary schools.  She has worked in a variety of schools in Norfolk, West Sussex and Brighton and Hove.  She is currently an intervention teacher in a large primary school in West Sussex.  Fi has undertaken a role as governor for over 15 years in two schools as well as her role on the governing body as headteacher.

Out of school, Fi can be found watching live music at different venues around Brighton or attending small festivals in her campervan.

 

date of appointment	08/12/2020
current term of office start date	08/12/2020
term of office	4 years
date end of service due	07/12/2024
appointed by	Governing Body
declaration of interests	none
governance at other institutions	none
% attendance	n/a

 

Jessica Sullivan-Wrenn

Co-Opted Governor

Jessica is a vibrant and enthusiastic new Governor, keen to develop a range of skills and contribute to the school community.

With an analytical and enquiring mind, Jessica is well placed to offer challenge, expand new ideas and support Balfour as it moves forward.

Having first-hand experience of discrimination, Jessica fully understands the need for equality, increased awareness of invisible disabilities and the necessity of constant accessibility for all.

Her interests are rooted in arts, crafts, health and the environment. She believes it is of the utmost importance that young people are educated about the natural world, understand how their city runs and ultimately how their behaviour impacts those around them. Enabling and encouraging children to develop the positive attitudes, that will one day make well-rounded adults.

 

date of appointment	24/03/2021
current term of office start date	24/03/2021
term of office	4 years
date end of service due	23/03/2025
appointed by	Governing Body
declaration of interests	none
governance at other institutions	none
% attendance	n/a

 

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EX-MEMBERS

Mrs Barbara Danahar

Co-Opted - Finance

date of appointment	01/03/2011
current term of office start date	17/07/2019
term of office	4 years
date end of service due	16/07/2023
appointed by	Governing Body
date of resignation	03/11/2020

 

Mr William Deighan

Co-opted Governor

date of appointment	14/11/2018
current term of office start date	14/11/2018
term of office	4 years
date end of service due	13/11/2022
appointed by	Governing Body
date of resignation	25/09/2020

 

Mr Ben Marle

Co-opted Governor - Premises

date of appointment	04/04/2017
current term of office start date	04/04/2017
term of office	4 years
date end of service due	03/04/2021
appointed by	Governing Body
date of resignation	22/06/2020

 

Mr Paul Eddy

Vice Chair - Co-Opted - H&S

date of appointment	11/05/2010
current term of office start date	17/07/2019
term of office	4 years
date end of service due	16/07/2023
appointed by	Governing Body
date of resignation	14/02/2020

 

Ms Clare Kitchen

Parent Governor

date of appointment	16/12/2016
current term of office start date	16/12/2016
term of office	4 years
date end of service due	15/12/2020
appointed by	Elected by parents
date of resignation	22/01/2020

 

Mr Nick Taylor

Co-Opted

date of appointment	15/03/2017
current term of office start date	15/03/2017
term of office	4 years
date end of service due	14/03/2021
appointed by	Governing Body
date of resignation	17/07/2019

 

Mr Pierre Dowsett

Co-opted Governor - SEN

date of appointment	18/01/2017
current term of office start date	18/01/2017
term of office	4 years
date end of service due	17/01/2021
appointed by	Governing Body
date of resignation	17/07/2019

 

Miss Sandra Mulholland

Acting Headteacher

date of appointment	N/A
current term of office start date	1/12/2018
term of office	Whilst in post
date end of service due	03/11/2019
appointed by	N/A

Ms Dawn Loader

Acting Headteacher

date of appointment	N/A
current term of office start date	1/12/2018
term of office	Whilst in post
date end of service due	03/11/2019
appointed by	N/A

Ms Rachel Cashman

Chair - Local Authority

date of appointment	04/04/2017
current term of office start date	04/04/2017
term of office	4 years
date end of service due	18/12/2019
appointed by	Local Authority