Governance Structure

Barrow Hedges has a ‘Local Committee’, which is a sub-committee of the Cirrus Primary Academy Trust Board. The accountability of the academy rests with the Trust Board, but many responsibilities are delegated to the Local Committee.  Please see the Trust scheme of delegation here.

To find out about the structure of the Trust, please see this page on the Trust’s website. 

Barrow Hedges Local Committee consists of:

2 elected Parent Governors
2 elected Staff Governors
Up to 7 other Co-opted Governors
1 Headteacher

We aim to create a balanced group that will have the right skills, connections and dynamic for the Local Committee to work well and support the school in achieving exceptional performance. Attributes we look for include:

• Good insight into the specific challenges at the school and the general challenges of operating top-quality schools
• Excellent community links
• Specific skills as needed by/relevant to the school

The term of a governor is four years, except for the Headteacher, who remains a governor for the duration of his or her time in post. Governors may be reappointed for further terms.

Trustees (including the Chief Executive Office) are able to attend Local Committee meetings.

The Local Committee works closely with the Senior Leadership Team to oversee the strategic direction of the school. It does this by offering support, constructive advice, a sounding board for ideas, and help where needed. It challenges, asks questions and seeks information to ensure that the best interests of the children at Barrow Hedges are met. All governors work on a voluntary basis.

The Local Committee meets four times a year, to discuss issues and make decisions related to the teaching and learning within the school.  Additionally, the Local Committee Chair attends a termly Chairs' Forum meeting with the Chair of the Trust Board and CEO. 

The Local Committee also performance manages the Head and has a Pay Committee which works with the Head as part of the Performance Management Appraisal process.

The Clerk to the Local Committee is Karen Velissarides kvelissarides@cirrustrust.uk. Governors can be contacted via the Clerk.  

Role of the Local Committee

Establishing the strategic direction, by:

• Setting the vision, values, and objectives for the school
• Setting all necessary policies to meet the vision, values and objectives set
• Agreeing the school improvement strategy with priorities and targets
• Meeting statutory duties

Ensuring accountability, by:

• Appointing the Headteacher
• Monitoring progress towards targets
• Performance managing the Headteacher
• Engaging with stakeholders
• Contributing to school self-evaluation

Ensuring financial probity, by:

• Monitoring spending against the budget
• Ensuring value for money is obtained
• Ensuring risks to the school are managed

 

To read more about our governors, click on their name in the table below.

Name	Category	Appointed by	Term of Office Start            End		POSITION OF RESPONSIBILITY		ATTENDANCE Current academic year       (last academic year in attachment below)
Louise Wood	Head Teacher	N/A	N/A	N/A	Head Teacher		Attended LC meeting 20/9/23, 22/11/23, 19/3/24
Melissa Williams	Parent	Parents	14/12/20	13/12/24	Chair of Governors, Deputy Safeguarding Governor, Behaviour, Staff workload & wellbeing		Attended LC meeting 20/9/23, 22/11/23, 19/3/24
Andrea Todd	Parent	Parents	14/12/20	13/12/24	Inclusion, SEN & Pupil Premium Link Governor		Attended LC meeting 20/9/23, 22/11/23, 19/3/24
Nidhi Misri	Co-opted	Trust	23/03/20	22/03/24	Vice Chair of Governors, Health & safety		Attended LC meeting 20/9/23, 22/11/23, 19/3/24
Srinivasan Lyengar	Co-opted	Trust	29/06/21	28/06/25	Physical learning environment		Attended LC meeting 20/9/23, 22/11/23, 19/3/24
Natasha Nardell	Co-opted	Trust	29/06/21	28/06/25	Safeguarding Link Governor		Attended LC meeting 20/9/23, 22/11/23, 19/3/24
Shahid Chowdhury	Co-opted	Trust	02/12/22	01/12/26	Finance Link Governor		Attended LC meeting 20/9/23, 22/11/23, 19/3/24
Norman Dunn	Co-opted	Trust	08/06/23	07/06/27	Teaching & learning		Attended LC meeting 20/9/23, 22/11/23, 19/3/24
Michelle Rondeau	Staff	Staff	23/11/20	22/11/24			Attended LC meeting 20/9/23, 22/11/23, 19/3/24
Kate Duncan	Staff	Staff	01/10/20	30/9/24			Attended LC meeting 20/9/23, 22/11/23, 19/3/24

Governor Declarations:

GOVERNOR’S NAME	BUSINESS / PECUNIARY INTERESTS	OTHER GOVERNANCE ROLES IN OTHER EDUCATIONAL ESTABLISHMENT	MATERIAL INTERESTS ARISING FROM RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN GOVERNORS or GOVERNORS AND SCHOOL STAFF
Nidhi Misri	None	None	None
Kate Duncan	None	None	Sister to Barrow Hedges teacher / Parent to a child attending the school
Louise Wood	None	Yes - undisclosed for safeguarding/data protection reasons	None
Michelle Rondeau	None	None	None
Melissa Williams	None	None	None
Andrea Todd	None	None	None
Chantel Dyason	None	None	None
Srinivasan Iyengar	None	None	None
Natasha Nardell	None	None	None

Governors who have served on LC in last 12 months  

Governor's Name	Position of Responsibility	Term Start	End of Office
Chantel Dyason	Co-opted	29/06/2021	19/03/2024

How to contact the Chair of Governors

School address: Barrow Hedges Primary School, Harbury Road, Carshalton, Surrey SM5 4LA

Telephone: 020 8643 4428 Email: mwilliams@cirrustrust.uk (Chair of Governors)

Or for more general enquiries office@barrowhedges.com or call 020 8643 4428

Governance arrangements for Cirrus Primary Academy Trust

https://www.cirrustrust.uk/topic/governance

Our meeting dates for 2023/2024

Wednesday 20th September 2023 (6.30pm)

Wednesday 22nd November 2023 (6.30pm)

Tuesday 19th March 2024 (6.30pm)

Monday 1st July 2024 (4pm)