Governors

The Governing Body consist of two committees: Finance, Staffing and Premises and Quality Of Education. The full Governing Body also meet once a term and chairs of each committee feed back information about their committee work. If you would like to speak to a member of the Governing Body please ring the school office to make an appointment or ask a Governor to contact you.

[email protected]

Governors updates

October 2023

The governors met on Monday 16th October for our first meeting of the year.

Each term the Headteacher and governors discuss school development plan priorities. This term the focus is on supporting children to reach greater depth in their maths, encouraging reading for pleasure and developing the science curriculum, as well as looking at a consistent approach to teaching across classes, and improving regular school attendance so fewer days of learning are lost.

We also looked at feedback from the parent voice survey at the end of last term. We had 70 responses through School Spider. The responses were really positive (90% of parents said their children had enjoyed the year, and 85% were happy with their children’s progress), as well as pointing to some areas where we can continue to improve. The results will really help as we kick off a process to update the school vision over the coming months. Look out for future surveys through School Spider.

Governor Details

Jackie Terry (Chair of Governors)	Jackie Terry (Chair of Governors)I have lived in Stroud for 20 years and my daughter had 7, very happy, years at the school. I have been Chair for 4 years and am supported by a group of incredibly knowledgeable and passionate volunteers. I also chair the Teaching, Learning and Achievement committee with a specific link to the maths curriculum. I believe a good, solid education in “the basics” is the best way to help all our children enjoy learning throughout their life.
Debbie Sleep	As Headteacher of Stroud Valley I am also a member of the Governing Body and work with them to continually look at the provision we offer our children and families. I am usually outside school most mornings at drop off time, please feel free to come and chat about anything that you may be worried about or thoughts you may have about future developments for your school.
Sarah Heague (Teaching, Learning and Assessment)	As Deputy Head Teacher at Stroud Valley no two days are ever the same. I enjoy teaching as much as I ever did; there’s always something new and exciting taking place! As a teacher governor I support the governing body in interpreting and understanding the curriculum, ensuring we’re all up to date with new initiatives.
Christine Minett (Finance, Staffing and Premises Committee-Chair)	I live locally and have been a governor at Stroud Valley Community school for over 25 years. During that time my three children have attended and flourished at the school. I am a co-opted governor serving on the finance and staffing committee and the teaching and learning committee. My lifelong career has been in supporting employment and further education.
Christine Barrett (Teaching, Learning and Assessment)	As a class teacher and the School Senco my life at Stroud Valley is very busy and I wouldn't have it any other way. I have been on the governing body as the teacher representative for the last couple of years and serve on the behaviour and safety and teaching and learning committees.
Simon Pizzey (Teaching, Learning and Assessment)	I was approached to become a school governor a number of years ago in a community link role. At the time I was a staff press photographer for local press with many contacts in the local community and in education at all levels. The school was always willing to co-operate with the press at short notice and I developed a good relationship with Debbie Sleep the head teacher. In the year of Brunel’s Bicentenary I ran a workshop based on the famous photograph of Brunel in front of the chains of The Great Eastern Steam Ship and later on pinhole camera workshops. Many of my family members are teachers and I have always been passionate about the value and importance of education particularly at primary level. I have run many photography based workshops from Primary to University. I hold Further and Adult Education Teaching Certificates. In 2014 I was made redundant and re-trained to become a teaching assistant working one day a week in year 6 for a year at Stroud Valley as part of my qualifications through Stroud College. Presently, I work as a freelance photographer and an agency Teaching Assistant mainly supporting Special Needs students in a variety of primary level settings. I have a strong interest in SEN and have personal experience of dyslexia in my family. I am at present the Link Governor for Special Needs in the school.
John Walton (Finance, Staffing and Premises)	I live locally and have been a co-opted governor for two years and serve on the Finance, Staffing & Premises committee with a particular responsibility for Health & Safety and matters to do with the school buildings and grounds. I work locally as a construction surveyor and consultant and it is very rewarding to be able to give something back to the community which has served me so well over the years.
Tim Davies (Finance, Staffing and Premises)	I was elected as a Parent Governor in 2022 and serve on the Finance, Staffing and Premises committee, as well as acting as link governor for ICT, and Pupil and Parent Voice. I work as a reseacher, fascilitator and consultant on data governance, open government and public participation. In the past I've worked for The National Youth Agency on embedding youth participation in public services, and for the World Wide Web Foundation, running global research networks on open data and public governance. As a parent/guardian governor I'm keen to support good communication between parents/guardians and the school.
Claire Murphy	I studied for my BEd(Primary) in Aberdeen straight from school and graduated in 1992 when at the time education was still in early stages of implementing a National Curriculum and, disillusioned with what that looked like (emphasis on ticking boxes and paperwork rather than children) decided to follow a slightly different career path. Over the next 10 years I was a Trainer (customer service and management development) leading on to being a Training Manager, HR Project Leader, Change Manager and HR Consultant within the contexts of retail, law and various financial services. Whilst I enjoyed these roles, I decided that I didn't want to work for 'The Shareholder' anymore and decided to do a course to return to teaching. Since my return I have worked as a teacher in early years, primary and SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities) settings and led curriculum within SEND. As a former lead for a Teaching School Alliance and as part of my current role over the last 6 years I have had the pleasure of managing cohorts of trainee teachers through School Direct ITT programmes and co-ordinating/ delivering SEND CPD to mainstream and SEND schools within Gloucestershire and across the South West. As SAND Training & Outreach Manager I am a member of the SAND Academies Trust strategic management team with responsibility for CPD for more than 600 staff as well as our external training and outreach arm. SAND Training & Outreach is a partner of both Odyssey Teaching School Hub and Balcarras Teaching School Hub. As well as being a member of the Strategic Boards for each, I sit on the workstreams to support development and implementation of Initial Teacher Training (ITT), Early Careers Framework (ECF) and Continuous Professional Development (CPD) across Gloucestershire and on behalf of the hubs am Cluster Lead for two clusters of mainstream primary and SEND ECTs in Gloucestershire. Outside of work I am lucky enough to be mum of Alfie who is 15, and my partner George is lucky enough to have me! I really enjoy SUPping, marathon kayaking (my car is easy to spot with a strange metal contraption on top to carry boats) and getting muddy in the garden...I'm not particularly good at any of them but I am a firm believer in the process rather than the end result!
Steve Hodgkinson	Steve is a parent governor, and is also Head Teacher of North Nibley C of E Primary School.
Julie Howe (Associate Governor)	I am an associate governor serving on the Finance, Staffing and Resources Committee. Until summer 2021 I had previously served on the full GB since 2015. At the point of stepping down I was asked to continue using my experience to support the finance commitee of the school and agree to become an associate member. All three of my children went to SVCS in their primary years. I work in the creative industry.