Governing Body

Varndean is a truly exciting school to be involved in as a governor. Our aim is that all our students should leave us equipped to achieve their full potential – in whatever field they choose. Underpinning this vision is our rich and varied curriculum; our stimulating range of out-of-school activities; and our unique schools-within-a-school structure.

This structure creates a caring community in which students can thrive, and is frequently mentioned by parents as one of the key reasons they choose Varndean. Our governors have a wide range of experience, but we all share a commitment to helping the school’s leadership team and dedicated staff deliver this vision.

Ian Rodgers, Chair of Governors 

Alison Ali

Parent Governor appointed on 26th April 2022

Responsible Area - Student Progress

 

Elected by Parent Body
Shelley Baker

Member of Nominations Committee

Ex Officio Governor as Headteacher of the school

 
Julian Benkel

 

 

 

 

Chair of Finance Group and Pay Panel

First appointed as Community Governor on 5th April 2004, currently a Co-opted Governor appointed until 19th September 2024

Responsible Area - Finance, Careers/Work Experience and School Trips

Appointed by the Governing Body
 Jon Dee

 

 

 

Chair of Nominations Committee and member of Finance Group and Pay Panel

First appointed as Community Governor on 2nd October 2005 currently a Co-opted Governor appointed until 19th September 2024

Responsible Area - Governance Development and Leadership

Appointed by the Governing Body
Sam Harvey

Appointed as Co-opted Governor on 24th November 2022

Responsible Area - Safeguarding

Appointed by the Governing Body

 

Dulani Kulasinghe

Member of Nominations Committee

Appointed as Parent Governor 1st September 2021

Responsible Area - Equalities

Elected by Parent Body

 

Alex Marsh

 

 

 

 

Member of Nominations Committee, Finance Group and Pay Panel

First appointed as Co-opted Governor on 25th April 2016, reappointed until 25th April 2028

Responsible Area - Personal Development

Appointed by the Governing Body

 

Emma McCrea

Vice Chair of Governors and Member of Headteacher Review Panel

Appointed as Co-opted Governor on 2nd October 2019, reappointed until 1st October 2027

Responsible Area - Quality of Teaching

Appointed by the Governing Body
Ian Rodgers

 

Chair of Governors and Member of Headteacher Review Panel

Appointed as Co-opted Governor on 1st December 2016, reappointed until 9th December 2024.

Responsible Area - Health & Safety & Premises, Curriculum, Artsmark and External Partnerships 

Appointed by the Governing Body
Nicola Wright Elected as Staff Governor 27th November 2023  
Teresa 
Dee

 

Appointed as Clerk to Governors 1st September 2008

Responsible Area - Governance Procedure and Compliance

To contact Governors please email:

 

Varndean School - Governors Code of Conduct 

Full Governing Body Meetings

Meeting Dates 2023/24

School Improvement Focus

28th September 2023

 

School Priorities

Examination Outcomes 

 

7th December 2023

Personal Development 

Student Mental Health & Wellbeing

Equalities

Behaviour

7th March 2024

Quality of Education 

Continuing Professional Development

Department & Small School Review

Early Careers Teaching

Attendance

9th May 2024

Pupil Premium

SEND Provision

Vulnerable/Looked After Children

Curriculum

4th July 2024

 

School Improvement Priorities for 2024/5

 

Attendance Register of the Governing Body

1st September 2022 to 31st August 2023

During the academic year there were Full Governing Body Meetings.

Overall FGB attendance was at 73% for the year.

Governor Meetings Attended Notes
Alison Ali 4  

Shelley Baker

5

 

Julian Benkel

3

 

Jon Dee

3

 

Judith Ford

2

Term of office expired after meeting 3

Giovanni Franceschi

2

Stepped down as a governor after meeting 3

Sam Harvey 2

 

Appointed after meeting 1

 

Dulani Kulasinghe

4

 

Alex Marsh

5

 

Emma McCrea

3

 

Ian Rodgers

5

 

Emma Warde-Robinson

0

Absence authorised, stepped down after meeting 2

Thinking of Becoming a Governor?

Governor vacancies

All Governor vacancies are listed on our main Staff Vacancies page. 

Categories of Governors

Parent Governors

Parents including carers of pupils are eligible to stand for election as governors. Other parents at the school elect parent governors. If insufficient parents stand for election the governing body may appoint parent governors. There are two positions for elected parent governors at Varndean School.

Staff Governors

Shelley Baker the Headteacher is a staff governor by virtue of her office. Other staff both teaching and support may become a staff governor as long as they are paid (volunteers do not qualify). The school staff elects one staff governor to the Governing Body.

Local Authority Governors

The Local Authority appoint highly skilled and experienced governors to schools to provide support to schools irrespective of any political affiliation or preference. The Local Authority recommend appointment of one Local Authority to the Governing Body.

Co-opted Governors

The Full Governing Body appoint a number of governors based on the skills and experience that they can bring to support Varndean School.

If you are interested in becoming a Governor at Varndean please contact the Clerk to the Governors at teresadee@varndean.co.uk.

Why become a governor?

  • You care about the education children receive
  • You want to make an important contribution to your local community
  • You enjoy a challenging and rewarding role
  • You are keen to help all children do better at school
  • You want to help strengthen the link between schools and the communities.

Hear from Dulani and Alex about their governance journeys at Varndean.

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What do Governors do?

Governing Body Core Functions

Extract from Governors Handbook January 2015

“The Department of Education has high expectations of governing bodies. They are the strategic leaders of our schools and have a vital role to play in making sure every child gets the best possible education. For maintained schools this is reflected in law, which states that the purpose of maintained school governing bodies is to conduct the school with a view to promoting high standards of educational achievement for all.

In all types of schools, governing bodies should have a strong focus on three core strategic functions:

  • Ensuring clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction.
  • Holding the Headteacher to account for the educational performance of the school and its pupils, and the performance management of all staff.
  • Overseeing the financial performance of the school and making sure its money is well spent."

Governors play an important part in overseeing the running of the school in the interests of the community it serves. Individual governors have no power or responsibility. It is only the Full Governing Body, which has legal duties and powers. All governors share in that corporate responsibility.

The day-to-day management of the school is the responsibility of the Headteacher and staff.

Governors govern rather than manage.

They are there to give direction and focus by performing a vital strategic role. Governors work with the Headteacher making decisions about:

  • Standards – ensuring a strategic and systematic approach to promoting high standards of educational achievement.
  • Curriculum – ensuring that the curriculum is balanced and broadly based, and that the National Curriculum is taught.
  • Policies – deciding how, in broad strategic terms the school should be run.
  • Finance – determining how to spend the budget allocated to the school.
  • Staffing – deciding the number of staff, the pay policy and making decisions on staff pay.
  • Appointments – appointing the Headteacher and assisting with the appointment of Deputy Headteachers and other senior staff.
  • Discipline – agreeing procedures for staff and student conduct and discipline. 

Term of office

The usual term of office is four years. However, governors are volunteers who can leave at any time and can similarly be re-appointed or re-elected.

If you are interested in becoming a Governor at Varndean please contact the Clerk to Governors: 

Diversity and Governance at Varndean School

Diversity and Governance at Varndean School

At Varndean School, we firmly believe that our governing body should reflect the rich diversity of our community, that we proudly serve.

Diversity isn't just a goal; it’s a cornerstone of our commitment to creating an inclusive school and providing diverse role models for our young people.

To uphold this commitment, we collect a range of diversity data from our governors. This data not only informs our recruitment processes but also ensures that we have an array  of perspectives and skills around the governing table. This range of thought and experience is crucial for fostering robust decision-making and encouraging the critical conversations necessary to ensure Varndean remains true to its mission to nurture students and staff of all backgrounds,

However, due to the relatively small size of our governing body and our duty to protect personal data we do not publish diversity data online. We recognise that individual governors might be identifiable through this data and it is our responsibility to safeguard their privacy.

Governor Declarations Register

Name of Governor Date Name of Business/Organisation  Nature of Business  Nature of Interest
Alison Ali 06/11/2023 More Than a Score Campaign  Contracted to run campaign and comms
Alison Ali 06/11/2023 NEU Trade Union Occasionally work on campaigns
Alison Ali 06/11/2023 Save our Schools Parent Led Group Volunteer
Shelley Baker 17/10/23 The Learning Rooms, Brighton Private company - Educational Support Partner is Director
Shelley Baker 17/10/23 Varndean School School Son in year 9
Shelley Baker 17/10/23 Varndean School School Daughter works 1 day a week in admin
Julian Benkel 23/10/23 Seraphic Assist Ltd Business Consultancy Owner
Jon Dee 17/10/23 BDO LLP Limited Liability Partnership - Accountancy Employee - Partner
Jon Dee 17/10/23 Hospitality Action Charity Trustee & Director
Jon Dee 17/10/23 Varndean School School Related to an employee
Sam Harvey 01/11/2023 Brighton College School Housemaster
Sam Harvey 01/11/2023 Varndean School School Work colleagues have children in the school
Dulani Kulasinghe 29/09/2023 Patcham Infant School School Employee
Dulani Kulasinghe 29/09/2023 B & H Anti Racist Education Team Council Employee
Dulani Kulasinghe 29/09/2023 Varndean School School Parent of Y7 and Y11 students
Alex Marsh 3/10/2023 Varndean School Development Trust Fund Trust Chair of Trustees
Alex Marsh 3/10/2023 The 93% Club Charitable Organisation Advisory Board Member
Emma McCrea 13/11/2023 Oak National Academy Online Classroom Head of curriculum design
Emma McCrea 13/11/2023 Department for Education Government Department ITT market associate
Emma McCrea 13/11/2023 Author of Making Every Maths Lesson Count    
Emma McCrea 13/11/2023 Husband is in education: author, Steplab employee and former Ambition Institute employee    
Ian Rodgers 3/10/2023 Worshipful Company of Tin Plate Workers alias Wire Workers  City of London Livery Company Court Assistant
Nicola Wright 13/12/2023 Edexcel Pearson Exam Board Associate Marker for history

Meet the Governors

Alison Ali

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I am delighted to have won the parent governor election and am looking forward to working with the governing body to ensure all our children benefit from the very best that Varndean can offer. 

School plays a pivotal role in ensuring our children are engaged and “in love with learning”, so that they get to explore and fulfil their potential. Every child deserves the best that education can offer, no matter what their life experiences; for some, school offers hope and opportunity that cannot be provided at home or elsewhere. 

I am passionate about education supporting all children’s learning; I know the difference it made in my parents’ and my life and wish to see such benefits enjoyed by all our kids. 

Through first volunteer, and then professional involvement in the education sphere, I understand the barriers to “love of learning”. In 2017 I founded Save Our Schools, a volunteer parent group that began locally and quite quickly became a national campaign. Alongside teaching unions and headteachers, we helped win £7.1 billion in school funding from the government. I was then approached to run More Than A Score – a coalition of parent groups, academics, heads and teachers pushing for a rethink of primary assessment. I’ve spent the last three years building common ground between cross-party groups of MPs and union leaders and between heads, teachers and parents to bring about the systemic change education needs. 

I have worked closely with local MPs as well, taking a group of primary children to directly address Parliament on funding for example, and would like to do more with Varndean pupils – their voice is crucial as we continue recovery.  As a parent governor I will do my level best to help create an environment where Varndean students can achieve to the very best of their abilities.

Julian Benkel Julian Benkel

I have been connected to the school since 1995, having seen three of my children pass through Varndean, and I am currently serving my fifth term as a Governor. 

By profession I am a chartered accountant with specific specialisation in compliance and corporate governance and I am a partner in a consultancy providing services to Higher Education sector, and in particular those involved in residential student accommodation in the UK. I therefore bring experiences as a parent and as businessman to the governing body.

As well as being a keen follower of Brighton and Hove Albion, I have a young family and old family including many grandchildren.

Jon Dee

Jon Dee

I have been a governor at the school for over 15 years now.  I was the Chair of Governors from 2013-2017 and I am currently Chair of the School’s Nominations Committee and a member of the Finance Group. I am a Partner at BDO a leading accountancy firm and a qualified Chartered Accountant with over 30 years’ experience in providing assurance and consultancy services across both the public and private sectors. I also have considerable experience in the voluntary sector. I have also been a trustee and the Treasurer of a national charity for over 15 years, chairing its Finance and Investment Committees.

Sam Harvey

Sam Harvey

I am delighted to serve as a governor at Varndean School in Brighton. I have worked as a governor at another school for just over a year, and I am now proud to play a role in shaping the education of our young people here at Varndean.
 
In my professional life, I am a qualified Design and Technology teacher and hold roles responsible for the pastoral well-being of a large group of pupils at a local senior school and running the entire school's co-curricular programme. I have been teaching for over fifteen years in various schools across the country and leading an academic department. This gives me a unique perspective on the challenges schools, their staff and students face. As a governor, I am passionate about providing high-quality education and pastoral care, ensuring that every student at Varndean has the opportunity to thrive - I firmly believe the two go hand in hand.
 
Outside of my work and role as a governor, I enjoy the fantastic restaurants and eateries Brighton offers - in good moderation, of course! I am also fitness-focused, getting up at the crack of dawn to challenge myself for the day ahead. I believe having hobbies and interests outside of work is crucial for maintaining a healthy work-life balance, and I encourage students at our school to explore their passions and interests outside the classroom.
 
As the safeguarding lead, I take my responsibility to ensure the safety and well-being of our students very seriously. As a governor, I work closely with the school's senior leadership team and staff to ensure that all safeguarding policies and procedures are followed rigorously and that every student feels safe, secure, and supported while at school. I believe that safeguarding is a fundamental part of our duty of care to our students. I am committed to ensuring that our school continues to provide a safe and nurturing environment for all its students.
 
I look forward to seeing more of the fantastic opportunities and work over the coming years in this role
 

Dulani Kulasinghe

Dulani Kulasinghe

Given my background in law and education I am particularly interested in equalities and inclusion and have been impressed by the school’s respect for students as citizens, particularly in its acknowledgement of the persistence of gender-based violence and its active participation in anti-racist work. From what I have seen, Varndean’s small school structure and dedicated staff and leadership team nurture the kindness and confidence that can lead to lasting positive change. As parent governor I look forward to supporting this important work.

Alex Marsh

Alex Marsh jpg

My wife and I both grew up in Brighton, returning to raise our two children here after 10 years in London. As part of this move I was keen to get actively involved in our local community and in particular education, which has been a long-standing passion influenced by my own positive state school experience. I feel fortunate to have been a co-opted governor of Varndean School since April 2016, including being the Chair of Governors between 2017 to 2021. I am extremely proud of the efforts of the School’s Leadership Team and  the members of the Governing Body over this period, partnering to deliver a world class education for our students. By profession, I am a chartered accountant and experienced executive and non-executive director in the banking and fintech sectors. I also volunteer for and advise a number of initiatives that encourage business links with schools and universities to provide young people with inspiration, knowledge, skills and opportunities to help achieve their full potential.

Emma McCrea

Emma McCrea

I contribute educational expertise to the governing body having worked in the sector for almost 20 years. I currently lead Oak National Academy's curriculum and pedagogical development as their Head of Curriculum Design, overseeing the creation of curricula and teaching resources at a national scale. I also work for the Department for Education advising Initial Teacher Training (ITT) providers on curriculum, having previously worked in ITT for over a decade, at the Universities of Brighton and Sussex.

I have a Fellowship in Teacher Education, am an author of a book on maths education and was the founder director of two EdTech start-ups.
I began my professional life as a maths teacher at an innovative local secondary school before becoming head of maths. I qualified as an Advanced Skills Teacher and led on teaching and learning and teacher professional development in schools as part of the SLT.
I also have a parent perspective - from my own children attending the school.
With this experience, I hope to bring a wealth of knowledge and expertise in education to the governing body.

Ian Rodgers Ian Rodgers

Following my retirement, I became a governor as a way of getting more closely involved in my community – after a lifetime of commuting.  I live close to Varndean and have done for over 40 years.

For the last ten years of my career, I ran a national membership-based organisation.  Amongst other things, this gave me extensive expertise in stakeholder engagement, governance, and government & media relations, as well as general management.  I was also a non-executive director of a number of not-for-profit companies, a role very similar to that of a school governor.

I am a passionate believer in the importance of a well-rounded state education as a means of improving the quality of life for all.  For me that means not just meeting targets for exam results, important though that is, but also enabling students to achieve their potential in whatever field of activity they aspire to. 

Nicola Wright

I have been teaching history at Varndean School since 2010. During this time I have had a variety of additional roles including middle leadership for curriculum and pastoral responsibilities.

I qualified as a teacher after taking my first degree in History as a mature student after the birth of my daughter in 2003. Prior to this, most of my professional career was working for Unilever plc in Head Office roles including in accounting and as a Buyer.

I have previous experience of school governorship when I was a Parent Governor at my daughter's Primary School in Mid-Sussex.

Teresa Dee

Teresa Dee

I've been supporting Varndean's Governing Body as a professional clerk since September 2008. With extensive experience, I currently serve as the Clerk to Governors for three schools in Brighton & Hove.

My role involves ensuring the smooth operation of the Governing Body by providing administrative support and guidance to ensure compliance with legal and regulatory requirements. I offer advice on procedural matters and contribute to the design of structures for effective school governance.

For any inquiries or to reach the Governors, please email me at teresadee@varndean.co.uk 

I'm dedicated to contributing to the success of Varndean School and appreciate the opportunity to serve the educational community

 

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