Who's who at Varndean School?
Senior Leadership Team
The Senior Leadership Team comprises the following staff:
| William Deighan | Headteacher |
| Simon Davies | Deputy Headteacher |
| Jo Meloni | Deputy Headteacher |
| Mark Sorrell | Deputy Headteacher |
| Jasmine Marshall-Fraser | Associate Assistant Headteacher |
| Hilary Goldsmith | Director of Finance and Operations |
For a full list of staff and their contact details please see the complete staff list.
Please also see the senior line management structure and areas of responsibility.
Governors
Governing Body 2016/17
Since becoming involved with Varndean, I've found it to be a truly unique school within Brighton - offering our students hugely diverse and exciting learning and extra curricular opportunities, whilst maintaining a sense of community and belonging typically associated with much smaller schools. Our governors are passionate about working in partnership with the headteacher and his team to ensure all our students enjoy their education at Varndean and realise their full potential in their future lives.
Alex Marsh, Chair of Governors
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Vice Chair of Governors First Appointed as Community Governor on 5th April 2004, currently Co-opted Responsible Area - Finance |
Appointed by the Governing Body |
| Simon Bowes |
Parent Governor appoinred on 8th March 2018 Responsible Area - Careers |
Elected by Parent Body |
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Jon Dee |
First Appointed as Community Governor on 2nd October 2005 currently a Co-opted Governor Responsible Areas - Governor Recruitment, Evaluation and Development. Finance. Special Educational Needs.
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Appointed by the Governing Body |
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William Deighan |
Nominations Committee Member Ex Officio Governor since 1st January 2009 Responsible Area - School Operation |
Ex Officio |
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Judith Ford |
Elected as Staff Governor on 10th March 2015 Responsible Area - Stakeholder Engagement |
Appointed by staff |
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Appointed as Local Authority Governor on 15th September 2014
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Nominated by the Local Authority and appointed by the Governing Body |
| Josephine Izard |
Appointed as Co-opted Governor on 8th March 2018 Responsible Area - Staffing Matters |
Appointed by Governing Body |
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Chair of Governors Appointed as Co-opted Governor on 25th April 2016 Responsible Area - School Improvement Strategy. Finance
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Appointed by the Governing Body |
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Rob Reed |
Appointed as Co-opted Governor on 17th March 2016 Responsible Area - Student Progress Data |
Appointed by the Governing Body |
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Ian Rodgers |
Appointed as Co-opted Governor on 1st December 2016 Responsible Area - Health & Safety, Premises Management |
Appointed by the Governing Body |
| Emma Warde-Robinson |
Appointed as Parent Governor on 24th March 2017 Responsible Area - Equalities, Safeguarding, Behaviour and Looked Afet Children |
Elected by the Parent Body |
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Teresa Dee |
Appointed as Clerk to Governors 1st September 2008 Responsible Area - Governance procedure and compliance To contact Governors please email: |
Governors' Personal Statements
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I have been connected to the school since 1995, having seen three of my children pass through Varndean, and I am currently serving my third term as a Governor. By profession I am a chartered accountant with specific responsibilities for compliance and corporate governance for a national provider and operator of university student accommodation. 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 found enough time to also be the Treasurer of St Andrews’ (Old Church), Hove.
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I have been a governor at the school for almost 10 years now. Having previously been the vice chair for several years and chair of the resources committee for 6 years, I was thrilled to be elected as the Chair of Governors in 2013. I am a Director within BDO a leading accountancy firm and a qualified Chartered Accountant with over 25 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 am also a trustee and the Treasurer of a national charity, chairing its Finance and Investment Committees. |
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I have worked for Brighton & Hove Schools since 1998. I have been a deputy head and head of three junior schools during that period. I have been a Local Leader in Education working alongside colleagues in other schools in need of additional support. As a deputy and a head teacher, I have been a governor for the last 16 years and I fully aware of the importance that governors can have on the strategic direction of a school and the ultimate positive impact on pupils’ educational experience. I continue to enjoy the role and am looking forward to being more involved in the secondary sector as this will give me further insight as to how pupils progress after leaving primary.
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Josephine Izard I decided to become a Governor at Varndean to have an influence within the local community and give back to the education sector that has given me my career. I work for DCAT, an East Sussex based MAT as the Academies Business Officer. My experience lies with the finance and HR side of schools. I hope to bring my knowledge and experience in a positive way to Varndean. I want to play a part in improving the education of young people and support the staff along the way. Outside of schools I am a competitive swimmer I enjoy going to the theatre. Sport and arts studies are an important part of child’s education something I will have a passion for as my role as Governor. |
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My wife and I both grew up in Brighton and after spending over 10 years in London, have recently returned to Brighton with our two young children to be closer to our families. 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 of mine influenced by my own state school experience. I feel very fortunate to have been appointed a co-opted governor of Varndean School in April 2016 - with the aim to work collaboratively with the other members of the Governing Body and the School Senior Leadership Team, towards raising the standards of education for all children, including the most and least able. By profession, I am the Managing Director of a Retail Finance business within Close Brothers Group having trained as a Chartered Accountant, with extensive experience of delivering business transformation, financial performance oversight and improving employee engagement. I also volunteer for a number of initiatives that encourage business links with schools to provide young people with inspiration, motivation, knowledge, skills and opportunities to help achieve their potential. |
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Ian Rodgers
Having recently retired from a lifetime of commuting, I applied to become a governor as a way of getting more closely involved in my community, and to give something back to that community now that I have time on my hands. I live close to Varndean, and have done for over 35 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. While I have no direct experience of the education sector (other than as a father), I am a passionate believer in a well-rounded state education as a means of improving the quality of life for all, and my hope is that, using my past skills, I will be able to assist with the continuing improvement in Varndean’s attainment levels and the quality of the students’ experience. |
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Emma Warde-Robinson I believe in supporting to my local community through active contribution of skills and experience. And so I applied to become a parent governor in 2017. I am passionate about supporting children in Brighton & Hove, by making sure they achieve their potential through the support of their teachers. I feel strongly that school should be a happy and safe place to learn. To achieve this, the school and its staff need to be supported in turn by its governors, acting in their role as both sounding board and critical friend. I am a Public Health Doctor and have significant management experience at senior level in the NHS and more recently local government. I have a deep understanding of how good governance can enable an organisation to achieve better outcomes. Likewise, in education, I have first-hand experience of the considerable benefits of a school having a strong and diverse board of governors. I am currently the Varndean School governor lead for Equality. |
Past Governors
The following have served as Governors at Varndean School in the past 12 months.
Di Francombe - Co-opted Governor appointed by the Governing Body on 21st September 2016 , stepped down on 10th March 2018
Jess Morris - Parent Governor elected by parents. Term of office expired on 8th May 2017
Oliver Cattermole - Co-opted Governor appointed by Governing Body. Term of office expired on 5th January 2018.
Varndean School Governing Body Declarations of Interest 2017-18
| Name of Governor | Name of Business/organisation | Nature of business |
Nature of interest |
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Julian Benkel |
UPP Group Ltd & Associated Companies |
University Accommodation Management |
Group Director, Compliance and Company Secretary |
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Jon Dee |
BDO LLP |
Accountancy Firm |
Employee - Director |
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Hospitality Action |
Charity |
Trustee |
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Varndean School |
School |
Husband of staff member |
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William Deighan |
Sound City |
Brighton & Hove Music Hub |
Chair |
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Varndean School Development Trust |
Charity |
Trustee |
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NUT |
Trade union |
Member |
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ASCL |
Trade union |
Member |
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Judith Ford |
Varndean School |
School |
Parent of Year 7 Student |
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Giovanni Franceschi |
Downs Junior School |
School |
Employee - Headteacher |
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Downs Junior School |
School |
Governor |
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Di Francombe |
Adur & Worthing Councils |
Local Authorities |
Employee - Housing Business Support Manager |
| Alex Marsh | Close Brothers | Banking Group | Employee - Managing Director |
| Varndean School Development trust | Charity | Trustee | |
| Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland | Professional Body | Member | |
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Rob Reed |
Aldridge Education SE Cluster |
Group of Academy Schools |
Employee- Executive Principal |
| Duke's Aldridge Academy | School |
Governor |
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| Ian Rodgers | Short term contingency projects for Manufacturing Organisations on Trade/Law in the context of Brexit | ||
| Emma Warde-Robinson | Independent Consultant |
Governance Structure
Full Governing Body
•Pay Panel
•Finance Group
•Headteacher Review Panel
•Individual Lead Governors
Governor Meeting Attendance During Academic Year 2016/17
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Governor |
Attended |
% Attended |
Date stepped down |
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Julian Benkel |
3 |
75% |
N/A |
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Oliver Cattermole |
2 |
50% |
N/A |
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Jon Dee |
4 |
100% |
N/A |
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William Deighan |
4 |
100% |
N/A |
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Judith Ford |
1 |
25% |
N/A |
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Giovanni Franceschi |
3 |
75% |
N/A |
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Di Francombe |
3 | 75% | N/A |
| Alex Marsh | 4 | 100% | N/A |
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Jess Morris |
2 |
67% |
8th May 2017 |
| Rob Reed | 2 | 50% | N/A |
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All Governors |
31 |
72 |
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Governing Body Core Meetings
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Meeting Dates |
School Improvement Focus for Meeting |
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5th October 2017 |
Outcomes for Students |
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11th January 2018 |
Quality of Teaching, Learning & Assessment |
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8th March 2018 |
Personal Development, Behaviour & Welfare |
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7th June 2018 |
Leadership & Management |
| 13th July 2018 | End of Year Evaluation and Priortities for Next Year |
Thinking of Becoming a Governor?
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
William Deighan the Headteacher is a staff governor by virtue of his 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.
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: teresadee@varndean.co.uk