The Board of Governors has many responsibilities set out by law. The Board answers to parents and the wider local community, and ultimately to Ofsted inspectors, for the school’s overall performance. It works with the Headteacher and staff to help the school deliver the best possible education by fulfilling the following roles:
Providing a strategic view
The Governing Body is ultimately responsible for the school’s strategy for improvement. Its most important task is probably in the appointment of the Headteacher and Deputy Head, and in working with them and the staff to achieve the highest standards for the school.
Ensuring accountability
The Headteacher reports to the Board of Governors on the school’s performance. The Board does not get involved in managerial decisions, but it holds the school to account on whether it delivers on its policies and performance. This covers everything in the life of the school from Safeguarding and exam results to personnel and financial management.
In all its various activities the governors’ role has been summarised as acting as a ‘critical friend’. We are friends of the school, its staff and teachers, but a friend who does not ask difficult questions is not helpful.
The governors at St Anne’s School provide their time on a voluntary basis. They come from a range of different backgrounds including the local authority, parents, staff, and foundation governors (appointed either by election, the Local Authority or the Parish Council at St Anne’s Church or the Southwark Diocesan Board of Education).
The Governing Body meets once a term, and all governors are expected to sit on at least one of the three main committees (Curriculum, Community, Resources). These committees meet at least once a term to deal with detailed aspects of the Governor’s work. ‘Named’ Governors have responsibility for particular areas such as Safeguarding and SEN.
Governors are usually around at parents’ evenings but are often in and out of the school. You can contact the governors by emailing the school office.
Our Governors
| Name | Martin Baker | Andrew Thomson | Leila Hassan Farah | David Harrison | Aldwyn Boscawe | Joyce Greaves |
| Picture |  |  |  |  |  |  |
| Responsibilities | Chair of Board | Vice Chair, Treasurer, Chair Finance Committee | Chair Curriculum Committee, Chair Admissions Committee | Member of Resources & Admissions Committees | ||
| Date of Appointment | December 2017 | September 2021 | February 2022 | March 2018 | October 2019 | February 2019 |
| Term of Office | November 2021 – November 2025 | September 2021 – August 2025 | February 2022 – February 2026 | June 2022 – June 2025 | October 2019 – August 2023 | February 2019 – February 2023 |
| Appointed | Foundation Governor | PCC Appointed | Parent Governor | Foundation PCC Appointed | Local Authority Governor | Staff Governor |
| Declarations of Interest | None | None | None | None | None | None |
| Attendance Record | 90% | 75% | 50% | 65% | 50% | 100% |
| Bio | Martin is a member of the Chartered Surveying profession and has worked in private and public sector organisations. at board level during his career specialising in Property Management, Facilities Management and New Development Projects. He has more recently been involved in the Carbon and Energy Reduction sector promoting energy efficiency to reduce energy usage and save costs. Martin is passionate about education and, having two daughters who have been to St Anne’s, is keen to support the school in continuing to provide excellent educational standards. He is also focused on communicating the importance of the role of parents in partnership with the school to ensure the best outcomes for their children. | Andrew is the Vice Chair of Governors, treasurer, and chair of the finance sub-committee. He was co-opted as a Diocesan governor in January 2020 whilst a member of the Parish Church Council and charity trustee for St Andrew’s Church in Earlsfield. Since then, his daughter has joined St Anne’s school, his wife supports the PTA, and as a family they worship at St Anne’s Parish Church. Andrew works for a Cyber security services and consulting company. | Leila has served as apparent Governor in St Anne’s School for over four years. Her son is I Year 6. Leila is a member of Community and Faith Committees of the Governing Body of the school. Leila is passionate about working with children and families to achieve good outcomes. Leila is a registered Social Worker and her role in Wandsworth Children’s Social Care is Service Manager of the teams where all the referrals to the department go through initial assessment of needs. As a practicing Muslim, Leila chooses to send her son to St Anne’s School and serve in the Governing body because her ethos and beliefs are aligned to the Christian Values of the school. | David worked for the BBC for 30 years in News and Current Affairs including as a nightly Editor of ’24 Hours’ (which became ‘Newsnight’) also Deputy Editor of Panorama. Later as a freelance continued to make documentary films both for the BBC and C4. These included the series with David Dimbleby ‘The White Tribe of Africa’ on which David also wrote a book. He continued to make a range of films in Africa and is currently writing another book “Exploring Africa”. After working long spells in Paris and French Africa he speaks good French. After captaining Oxford at football, he went on to play and run teams for many years for Corinthian-Casuals F.C, in particular helping to promote the game in schools. He has been Chairman and is now an active honorary Vice President of the club | Aldwyn is Entrepreneur and consultant who has worked across many sectors including retail, property and financial services. He has strong experience in marketing and business organisation. Aldwyn is a local Authority Governor and sits on a number of committees while also Chairing the Curriculum Committee and the Admissions Committee. | Joyce is a Staff Governor and joined St. Anne’s in 2004. Prior to St. Anne’s, Joyce has worked for BBC, Prudential Portfolio Estates, Prudential Lettings, Eastman Kodak and Berg Electronics. Joyce is the School Business Manager covering Admissions, Finance, Catering. Premises and Human Resources. |
Further Information
To see a list of Governor’s Committee Membership click here.