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Welcome to the Governors’ website for Oliver Goldsmith Primary School in Kingsbury, North-West London. Here you can find out all about the governors – who we are, how we are organised, and what we do.

According to Ofsted, Oliver Goldsmith ‘… is a good school. Central to its success are the strong leadership, the inclusive ethos and the emphasis placed by all staff and pupils on promoting and respecting each other’s rights. Pupils get on together well and value the customs and traditions of their different cultures. Their contribution to the school and the wider community is outstanding. The vast majority of parents are very pleased with the school. One wrote, “I feel the school has really brought out the best in my child.”

What Do School Governors Do?

(extract courtesy of the National Governors' Association)

School governors provide strategic leadership and accountability in schools. Governors appoint the head teacher and deputy headteacher. It is governors who hold the main responsibility for finance in schools, and it is governors who work with the headteacher to make the tough decisions about balancing resources.

Each individual governor is a member of a governing board, which is established in law as a corporate body.
Individual governors may not act independently of the rest of the governing board; decisions are the joint responsibility of the governing board.

The role of the governing board is a strategic one, its key functions are to:

• set the aims and objectives for the school
• set the policies for achieving those aims and objectives
• set the targets for achieving those aims and objectives
• monitor and evaluate the progress the school is making towards achievement of its aims and objectives
• be a source of challenge and support to the headteacher (a critical friend).

The OGS Governing Body

The OGS Instrument of Government states that our Governing Body shall consist of:

• 5 Parent Governors, who are elected by the parents of children at school: Ms Wendy Dawkins, Mr Irfan Mundiya, Mrs Jane Palmer, Ms Petra Wilson and Mrs Iram Yaqub (Vice Chair of Governors).
• 6 Co-opted Governors, who are appointed by the Governing Body: Mrs Dipti Babhania, Mr Dave Cooper, Ms Mary-Jo McGrath, Ms Hannah Panayiotou (Chair of Governors), Mr Nick Rozanski and Mr Dennis Varcoe.
• 2 Staff Governors, who are elected by the staff of the school: Mr James Simmons (Ex Officio / Head Teacher) and Mrs Lina Yerolemou.
• 1 LA Governors, who appointed by the Local Authority (Brent): Cllr Ellie Southwood.
• 4 Associate Governors, who attend meetings but are not allowed to vote: Mr Wajid Bokhari, Mr Colin Clifford, Ms Zakiya Dean (Deputy Head Teacher) and Mrs Annette McAndrew (Assistant Head Teacher).
• 1 Non-voting Governors, who also attend meetings but are not allowed to vote: Mr Michael Thompson (Clerk to the Governing Body).

Chair, Vice Chair and Head Teacher

The Chair of Governors (Ms Hannah Panayiotou) leads Governing Body meetings and performs other statutory duties. The Chair is elected each year by the other Governors. The Vice Chair takes the place of the Chair if he or she is not available.

The Head Teacher (Mr James Simmons) is automatically a member of the OGS Governing Body. Our Deputy Head Teacher (Ms Zakiya Dean) has been brought into the Governing Body as an associate member.

The Clerk to the Governors (Mr Michael Thompson) takes minutes of meetings and performs other administrative tasks, but does not vote or participate in decision-making. The Clerk is appointed by the Governing Body and their contract is renewed annually.

Parent Governors

Parent Governors are elected by the parents of children at school. A Parent Governor must have a child at the school at the time of their election. Each Parent Governor serves a term of four years, after which they can stand for re-election if they still have a child at the school.

Co-opted Governors

Co-opted Governors are appointed by the Governing Body. They are drawn from the local community, and often have a connection with the school (for example, they may have had children at the school in the past) although this is not a requirement. Each Co-opted Governor serves a term of four years. There is no limit to the number of terms that a Co-opted Governor can serve.

Staff Governors

Staff Governors are elected by the staff of the school. They must be members of staff of the school. They serve a term of four years as long as they continue to work for the school.

LA Governors

LA Governors are chosen by the Board from a Local-Authority approved list for a term of four years.

Associate and Non-Voting Governors

Associate and non-voting Governors attend Committee and Governing Body Meetings without voting rights. Associate Governors are appointed by the Governing Body from time to time.

Terms of Office

Governors

Parent, Co-opted and Staff Governors each serve a term of four years. The Chair and Vice-Chair are elected each year by the Governing Body.

The terms of office for each governor are listed below. Click on a heading to sort the table.

Non-Voting Members

Non-voting members attend meetings but are not entitled to vote. The clerk records the minutes and advises us on governor matters.

Becoming a Governor

Are you interested in becoming an OGS Governor?

If you are the parent or carer of a child at the school, you can stand in the next Parent Governor election. All eligible parents and carers are invited to stand for election as parent governor when a current Parent Governor’s term ends. You can nominate yourself or ask someone to nominate you.

If you are a member of staff, you can stand in the next Staff Governor election. All staff are invited to stand for election as staff governor when a current Staff Governor’s term ends. We are particularly interested in nominations for admin staff.

Co-opted Governors are appointed by the Governing Body. If you are interested in becoming a Co-opted Governor (for Oliver Goldsmith or another school) you should contact Brent Governor Support.

LA Governors are appointed by Brent Local Education Authority.