Who's who at Varndean School?
Senior Leadership Team
The Senior Leadership Team comprises the following staff:
| William Deighan | Headteacher |
| Gareth Hughes | Deputy Headteacher |
| Vicky Anstiss | Deputy Headteacher |
| Shelley Baker | Deputy Headteacher |
| Laura Fairbank | Assistant Headteacher |
| Judith Ford | Assistant Headteacher |
| Andy Roberts | Assistant Headteacher |
| Sandra Knights | Associate Assistant Headteacher |
| Lynn Hill | Director of Finance and Operations |
For a full list of staff and their contact details please see the complete staff list.
Governors
Governing Body
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 a Co-opted Governor Responsible Area - Finance, Buildings, School Trips |
Appointed by the Governing Body |
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Parent Governor appointed on 8th March 2018 |
Elected by Parent Body |
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First Appointed as Community Governor on 2nd October 2005 currently a Co-opted Governor Responsible Areas - Governor Recruitment, Evaluation and Development. Finance, Buildings. |
Appointed by the Governing Body |
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Nominations Committee Member Ex Officio Governor since 1st January 2009 Responsible Area - School Operation and Improvement Strategy |
Ex Officio |
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Elected as Staff Governor on 10th March 2015 and re elected on 10th March 2019 Responsible Area - Stakeholder Engagement |
Appointed by staff |
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Appointed as Local Authority Governor on 15th September 2014, reappointed on 15th September 2018. |
Nominated by the Local Authority and appointed by the Governing Body |
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Chair of Governors Appointed as Co-opted Governor on 25th April 2016 Responsible Area - School Improvement Strategy, Finance, Performance & Pay |
Appointed by the Governing Body |
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Hope McAdam |
Appointed as Co-opted Governor on 7th June 2018 Responsible Areas - Careers Guidance , Special Educational Needs, Vulnerable /Looked After Children |
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Emma McCrea |
Appointed as Co-opted Governor on 2nd October 2019 Responsible Area - Student Progress Data |
Appointed by the Governing Body |
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Appointed as Co-opted Governor on 1st December 2016, reappointed on 1st December 2020 Responsible Area - Health & Safety, Premises Management, Buildings, Staffing Matters |
Appointed by the Governing Body |
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Appointed as Parent Governor on 24th March 2017 Responsible Area - Equalities, Safeguarding and Behaviour |
Elected by the Parent Body |
Dee
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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 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.
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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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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,
No Governors that have served at Varndean School in the past 12 months have since stepped down.
Varndean School Governing Body Declarations of Interest 2020/21
Name of Governor |
Date of Declaration |
Name of Business/Organisation |
Nature of Business |
Nature of Interest |
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Julian Benkel |
25/09/20 | Nil Return | ||
| Simon Bowes | 29/10/20 | Nil Return | ||
| Jon Dee | 22/09/20 | BDO LLP | Limited Liability Partnership | Employee - Director |
| Jon Dee | 22/09/20 | Hospitality Action | Charity | Director & Trustee |
| Jon Dee | 22/09/20 | Varndean School | School | Husband of employee |
| William Deighan | 28/09/20 | Varndean Development Trust | Trust | Trustee |
| Judith Ford | 15/10/20 | Varndean School | School | Parent of year 8 and year 10 |
| Giovanni Franceschi | 19/11/20 | Downs Junior School | School | Employee - Headteacher |
| Alex Marsh | 29/10/20 | Varndean Development Trust | Trust | Trustee |
| Alex Marsh | 19/10/20 | Klarna Bank AB | Bank | Employee |
| Alex Marsh | 19/10/20 | Institute of Chartered Accountants Scotland | Professional Body | Member |
| Hope McAdam | 01/10/20 | University of Sussex | University | Employee - Widening Participation |
| Emma McCrea | 01/10/20 | Oak National Academy | Online Classroom |
Employee |
| Emma McCrea | 01/10/20 | University of Brighton | University | Employee |
| Emma McCrea | 01/10/20 | Sussex Maths Hub | Network Hub | Employee |
| Emma McCrea | 01/10/20 | North East Hants & Surrey Maths Hub | Network Hub | Employee |
| Emma McCrea | 01/10/20 | Self employed consulatant | ||
| Emma McCrea | 01/10/20 | Author of Making Every Maths Lesson Count | ||
| Ian Rodgers | 23/9/20 | Nil Return | ||
| Emma Warde -Robinson | 15/10/20 | Varndean School | School | Parent of year 11 and year 7 |
| Emma Warde-Robinson | 15/10/20 | Brighton University | University |
Student |
| Emma Warde-Robinson | 15/10/20 | Previous Public Health Doctor |
Governance Structure
Full Governing Body
- Nominations Committee
- Pay Panel
- Finance Group
- Buildings Group
- Headteacher Review Panel
- Individual Lead Governors
Attendance Register of the Governing Body
1st September 2019 to 31st August 2020
During the academic year there were four scheduled Full Governing Body Meetings and three additional Full Governing Body Meetings , one that was held without the required seven days' notice.
Number of Meetings Attended by each Governor
Julian Benkel - 3
Simon Bowes - 5
Jon Dee - 7
William Deighan - 2
Judith Ford - 4
Giovanni Franceschi - 4
Gareth Hughes - 5
Alex Marsh - 7
Hope McAdam - 4
Emma McCrea - 3
Ian Rodgers - 7
Emma Warde-Robinson - 4
Attendance at Full Governing Body meetings during 2019/20 was at 82%
Full Governing Body Meetings 2020/21
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Meeting Dates |
School Improvement Focus for Meeting |
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1st October 2020 |
Quality of Education - Results |
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10th December 2020 |
Quality of Education - Curriculum & Teaching |
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4th March 2021 |
Behaviour, Attitudes & Personal Development |
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20th May 2021 |
Leadership & Management |
| 20th July 2021 | End of Year Review |
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