Who's who
Ms Shelley Baker
Chair - 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 | Deputy Headteacher at Varndean School |
governance at other institutions | Governor at Brackenbury |
% attendance | 80% |
Mrs Claire Cornthwaite
Vice 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% |
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% |
Ms Katie Wood
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% |
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
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 |
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 |