Parent Governor Vacancy Open - October 2025
On Thursday 9th October 2025 the Clerk to Governors Tess Jones has written to all parents with notice of a Parent Governor vacancy. The vacancy will arise when Sarah Watson’s term of office ends on 21 October 2025. Huge thanks to Mrs Watson and the parent governors who stepped down at the end of last term, Gareth More and Lawrence Matthews. We would like also to express our warm welcome to the new parent governors, Maliha Carey and John Burns, who were elected at the end of the summer term.
Please find attached below the documents including a copy of the letter sent out giving notice of notice of the election to parents, nomination forms and supporting documents provided to parents. The deadline for nomination forms to be returned is 3pm on Thursday 23rd October 2025. If a ballot is necessary, documents will be sent out after half term.
Becoming a parent governor is an ideal opportunity for you to contribute to and support our School. Please see below information about the current Governors and their role in our school. If you would like to know more about the role and speak to any of our current parent governors, please contact our Clerk to Governors on tjones@wallacefields-jun.surrey.sch.uk.
The Governors at Wallace Fields Junior School
The Governors at Wallace Fields Junior School are all volunteers who give up their time because they care about the School. Below are the Governors of Wallace Fields Junior School
Governors
Mr Jonathan Barker
Chair of Governors from September 2025 and Parent Governor appointed 02/05/2023
I'm delighted to take on the role of Chair of the Governors for the school. The Governing Board exists to provide a level of strategic oversight; holding the school to account for educational and financial performance and ensure that the voices of all stakeholders (children, staff, parents and local community) are heard. I have been a Governor for just over 2 years, and have really enjoyed the additional insight it has provided me into how the school operates and supports our children (my eldest child finished Year 6 this summer, and my youngest child has just started Year 5, so I have lots of experience as a parent at WFJS. My professional background is in HR and Operations, and I volunteered to be a governor to help the school leadership continue to provide a fantastic education for the children of our local community. I work in the Tech sector, and I am especially passionate about the opportunities that STEM subjects will provide students in the future. My professional roles have been closely linked to university-level educational programs but with 2 children at WFJS from September 2023 I'm excited about playing an active role in a junior school.
Mr C Kingsley
LA Governor - appointed 11/12/2020, Vice Chair for 2025-2026, Safeguarding Lead Governor
I have been in secondary school leadership for over 20 years and am currently the Head of a Secondary School in South London. In 2017 I established a Multi-Academy Trust with a local Primary School and now jointly lead a group of 4 schools with a strong focus on inclusion and diversity. I was initially elected as a parent governor in January 2021 and am now appointed LA governor. I am proud to be able to support the leadership of the school in partnership with the governing body.
Mrs D. Maroothynaden
Co-opted Governor, Member of Pay Committee, Finance Lead Governor, appointed 12/07/21
I currently work in the independent sector with a Business and Financial remit. I have been working in education, overseeing the strategic business, finance and operations of schools since 2016. My prior experience was with The Prince’s Trust overseeing the Team programme for South West London. I am very pleased to be working with the school to ensure the pupils continue to meet their full potential through an excellent and challenging curriculum.
Mrs N. Hamblin
Co-opted Governor and Appointed Lead Governor for SEND - appointed 22/05/2019
"My name is Ni Hamblin. I volunteered to become a Governor in September 2019, when I was a parent of a Wallace Fields Junior School pupil because I wanted to make a positive difference to the life of all the children in the school. I bring my experience as a class teacher with over 20 years of work at schools in Merton, Kingston and now locally in Ewell to the role. I have a specialism in education for children with additional needs and I love to engage with the enthusiasm and commitment of all the staff at Wallace Fields who strive to ensure the children are happy in the classroom, having fun as they learn. Being a school governor is challenging. The governors work well as a team to help make important decisions about the school. We ensure that the various needs of the children are at the very heart of those choices, and this is the part of the role I enjoy the most, and believe is the most valuable."
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Mrs J Clayton
Co-opted Governor and Head Teacher Appraisal Panel - appointed 24/03/2022. Governor for Quality of Education.
I feel privileged to have worked as a teacher at Wallace Fields Junior School for 17 years as a class teacher, a member of the senior leadership team and English Lead, following an earlier career in banking. I currently volunteer at the school to support reading and thoroughly enjoy meeting the children. I know that the school has a dedicated and enthusiastic staff who deliver a curriculum that is varied, challenging, inclusive and enriching. I was therefore excited to be welcomed as a member of the governing body so that I could use my experience to support the leadership team and staff with their dedication to continually making school improvements, enabling all children to reach their full potential academically, with skills and values that will equip them to become caring and respectful members of society.
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Mrs L Berry
Governor - Appointed November 2024. Governor for Quality of Eduction
I am delighted to have the opportunity to be a governor at Wallace Fields Junior School. With 25 years of experience in the education sector I currently teach on the primary teacher training programmes at St Mary’s University. I joined St. Mary’s University in April 2019 after teaching in primary schools in Surrey for 19 years. During my time in school, I was a member of the Senior Leadership Team. I was also seconded from teaching and joined Surrey as a primary (PE) advisor. In this role, I supported staff in schools throughout Surrey. I look forward to having the opportunity to support my local school.
Dr John Burns
Parent Governor - Appointed September 2025 and Governor for Health and Safety
I applied to be school governor primarily as I believe I could contribute strongly to the school, especially in the promotion of STEM. I am passionate that all children at WFJS should be supported to achieve their maximum, especially in areas that they excel. My son is now in year 6 and it seems only yesterday he was entering year 3. My career, which started in chemical engineering research at Newcastle University, has taken me on a journey through several technology spin-out companies where I have held senior roles including Head of Research and Development and Director of Process Engineering. My current role at the National Physical Laboratory (NPL) in Teddington is one focused on the dissemination of NPL’s capabilities across UK industry. NPL contributes to world leading science and is a strong supporter of STEM and outreach. I look forward to supporting the school and sharing my experience where it is most useful.
Mrs M Carey
Parent Governor - Appointed July 2025. Governor of Community and Communication.
I was elected a Parent Governor on 18 July 2025. I have two daughters, one is currently in Year 3 and the other is in Year 1 at WFIS. Both have attended WFIS since nursery, giving me a long-term vested interest in the success of both schools and the surrounding community. I qualified as a solicitor in the City with a global US law firm and spent fourteen years advising companies on a broad range of corporate, commercial and regulatory matters. For the past four years I have chaired the WFIS PTA, with the vision of fostering a strong community spirit by organising fun events and activities for both children and parents. These efforts raise much-needed funds to enrich the children’s learning experiences. I am delighted to bring this blend of professionalism, legal experience, leadership and community spirit to the WFJS Governing Body, contributing to the school’s vision of being an environment where every child thrives.
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Mrs C Curran
Staff Governor - Appointed 25/06/2024. Governor for Community and Communication.
Mrs Curran has been a class teacher at Wallace Fields Junior School since September 2022.
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Mr S. Lee
Head Teacher governor; ex-officio by virtue of office as headteacher from 1/09/2013.
The Governing Body
The Governing Body of Wallace Fields Junior School consists of:
- 4 Parent Governors,
- 1 Headteacher Governor,
- 1 Staff Governor,
- 5 Co-opted Governors, and
- 1 Local Authority Governor.
This constitution is defined in the School’s Instrument of Governance.
Governors serve a four-year term of office and, depending on the category of governor, may be either appointed or elected as follows:-
- Parent governors are elected by the school’s parent population. Parents (including carers) of registered pupils at the school are eligible to stand for election as parent governors and can nominate themselves for this role.
- The Staff governor is elected from all the people who work at the school.
- The Head Teacher governor is an ex officio governor by virtue of their role as head teacher.
- The Local Authority governor is nominated by the Local Authority and appointed by the Governing Body.
- Co-opted governors are appointed by the Governing Body and are individuals who have been identified to have skills required to contribute to the effective governance of the school.
In addition, Associate Members may be appointed by the Governing Body to bring specialist knowledge or experience deemed by the Governing Body to be needed generally or in respect of specific projects. Their term of office can vary and they do not have voting rights.
Governors bring a wide range of skills and experience and the Governing Body currently includes members from areas such as the Civil Service, communications, banking and of course education and parenting. At Wallace Fields Junior School, we regularly undertake a governor skills audit to highlight any gaps in experience and skills needed. The results are used to inform recruitment and to recommend training to be undertaken by our governors. The School invests in a range of different training opportunities to help governors keep up to date with changes in the education landscape and support governors’ development and contribution to governance.
Governors at Wallace Fields Junior School sign up to a Code of Conduct which provides the standards expected of governors, including adherence to the Seven Principles of Public Life (The Nolan Principles). They also sign the declaration of eligibility to become a governor and appointment is subject to satisfactory references and clearance through the Government’s Disclosure and Barring Service.
Being a school Governor is a very rewarding role and it is a fantastic way to contribute to the local community.
Interested in Becoming A Governor
We would be delighted to hear from you if you would like to contribute your experience to supporting your local Junior School. Please contact Tessa Jones, Clerk to the Governing Body by emailing Tjones@wallacefields-jun.surrey.sch.uk if you are interested in joining the Governing Body of Wallace Fields Junior School.
School Governance
In her foreword to the 2020 Department of Education Governance Handbook, Baroness Berridge, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Schools, states that Governance has never been more critical to the education of our nation’s young people…. The governance duty is, above all, to drive relentless ambition for the young people served by our schools system, whatever the circumstances.’
The Handbook defines effective school governance as:-
- Ensuring clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction;
- Holding executive leaders to account for the educational performance of the organisation and its pupils, and the effective and efficient performance management of staff; and
- Overseeing the financial performance of the organisation and making sure its money is well spent.
At Wallace Fields Junior School, the focus of the work of the Governing Body is school improvement and high standards of educational achievement. Governors are not expected to be involved in the detail of the day-to-day management of the school but to maintain strategic oversight of the school and hold school leaders to account for educational standards.
As part of its strategic role for example, the Governing Body agrees with the Headteacher which areas the School should focus on to improve in order to provide the best possible education for our children. Governors have a monitoring role and seek assurance regarding progress in achieving the School’s priorities, including in the educational performance of pupils, and in fulfilling its third core function, governors provide oversight of financial performance to ensure value is derived for the public money spent.
Governance at Wallace Fields Junior School is operated through a ‘no committee system’ and therefore the Governing Body meets as a full Governing Body twice or three times a term and does not delegate any of its functions to sub-committees (apart from statutory panels and committees such as for pay, head teacher appraisal, appeals).
Governor Impact Statement
Governor register including attendance