Governing Board

The Governing Board, Headteacher and senior staff form the school Leadership and Management team and share responsibility for the school.  The Governing Board must hold the school to account for the standards it achieves.  It must ensure that all resources (including the school budget and staff) are properly used to meet the needs of all children and provide value for money.  Governors help to develop the School Improvement Plan and are responsible for monitoring all aspects of its effectiveness in terms of outcomes for pupils.

Who are the Governors?

The Governing Board is made up of 4 groups who represent the stakeholders of the school: staff, parents, the community and the Local Authority.  This range of people is intended to provide a broad and balanced selection of viewpoints and to represent each sector of the school’s community. Governors are volunteers. An effective Governing Board will have members who have a wide range of experience and a variety of skills to offer their school. They typically have a term of office of for four years and during this time will have a variety of responsibilities.

Key roles of governors:

• To ensure clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction
• To hold the headteacher to account for the educational performance of the school and its pupils, and the performance management of staff
• To oversee the financial performance of the school and make sure its money is well spent 

The constitution of the Downsview Governing Board is:

•  The Headteacher
• 6 Co-opted Governors
• 1 Local Authority (LA) Governor
• 1 Staff Governor
• 2 Parent Governors

The Governing Board has two committees – the Pay Committee and Headteacher’s Performance Management Committee.  Governors have monitoring and other individual responsibilities and report on their activities to meetings of the full board. 

The Clerk to the Governors is Karen Fitzpatrick.

If you wish to contact the Governing Board please address correspondence to the Chair of Governors or the Clerk to Governors C/O the school. 

If you are interested in becoming a school governor, please enquire at the school office and we will contact you to talk about what the role involves and the opportunities that are available.  At the present time we are very keen to recruit governors from the local community.

These are the people in post, with their terms of office and governor responsibilities:

Resignations this year

• Resignations this year

  Emily Haswell (11^th May 2022)

  James Elwood (31^st August 2022)

  Karen Morgan (31^st August 2022)

  Andrew Lowden (28^th November 2022)

Business Interests

 The governors declare their business interests annually and update them during the year if required.  There is a legal duty on all governors to declare any interest likely to lead to questions of bias when considering any item of business at a meeting and for the governor concerned to withdraw, if necessary, whilst the matter is considered.

This is the summary from September 2021 (including governors who have left within the last 12 months).

Governors’ Attendance at meetings 2021-22 Academic Year

Meet Our Governing Board

Jo Penn – Co-opted Governor and Chair of Governors

I joined Downsview during lockdown and have been Chair of Governors since July 2022.  I am looking forward to my new role, getting to know the school community better and meeting our aspirations to look beyond, reach further and aim higher.

 I have served as a governor/trustee for eighteen years across various settings, starting my governance journey as a parent governor. During that time, I have spoken on governance at local and national conferences, delivered governor training, supported boards as a National Leader of Governance and founded a school governor forum on social media which has been recognised by the DfE, NGA and Ofsted.

 I am married with a grown-up daughter and labradoodle and enjoying semi-retirement with more time for walking, baking, gardening and crochet.  I qualified as an Osteopath in 1985 and have my own practice based at home.  I hold a Post Graduate Certificate in Academic and Clinical Education.  My 34 years as a clinical tutor, lecturer and examiner in the UK and overseas bring many skills and attributes to support governance activities.

Margaret Moyle – Local Authority Governor and Vice Chair of Governors

I have worked in education all my life and have taught right across the Primary age range.  As a Headteacher I led an Infant School and Hearing Impaired Unit through three successful OfSTED inspections.  My passion was developing and nurturing my teaching and support staff, many of whom are now distributed across the area as Primary headteachers, one being the CEO of an Academy Trust.

As a young teacher, I taught at Downsview Infant School.  So much has changed since then but the ethos of the school remains.

I have been a governor in a wide variety of schools but being a governor in my retirement at Downsview has been the most rewarding experience.

I enjoy crafting and experimenting with a variety of craft techniques.  I have three young grandsons who have kept me busy in retirement and I have two dogs.  One is a therapy dog who has visited the school.

 I hope that the skills I have will support Mr Moore, Downsview School and the Governing Board in its future development.

Richard Moore – Headteacher and Governor

I am incredibly proud to be the Headteacher here at Downsview Community Primary School. Since being appointed to the role in September 2019, we have embarked on our journey to ensure that our pupils receive an excellent education and the opportunity to benefit from learning experiences which will stay with them for a lifetime. The pupils amaze me with the achievements and developments that they make each day and I feel honoured to work with a staff that care so deeply for each and every child in our school.

Although I am originally from North London, Kent has well and truly become my home. After competing my PGCE in Primary Education in 2008, I joined a nearby school in Dartford. My previous roles include maths leadership and responsibility for the progress made by vulnerable children across two large schools before becoming a Deputy Headteacher. I have also worked as a Specialist Leader of Education which involved supporting local schools in their maths provision.

Away from school, I am the proud father of two girls who are currently in year 3 and year 4. They are an immense joy and, when time and circumstances allow, we love nothing more than taking short trips to different places both at home and abroad. I feel that having two children of primary school age gives me the understanding and experience of the challenges faced by parents on a day-to-day basis.

Instilling our values of Respect, Aspiration, Integrity, Resilience, Inclusivity and Kindness in all our staff, pupils and parents is incredibly important to what we seek to achieve as a school. By instilling our Downsview Values in all members of the school community, I hope that we will be making our children’s world a much better place.

Alicia Logan – Parent Governor

Initially I joined the Governing Board in March 2021 as an Associate Member as Chair of the Friends of Downsview.  I was later elected as Parent Governor in October 2021.  I had started to learn what governors did for the school and really enjoyed what I was learning.  Helping to support my own children by having an involvement and better understanding of how the school runs. 

 I am an Early Years Practitioner, now working in the school.  I am an avid reader and can easily lose myself in a good book.  I love anything creative and hands on – DIY, growing my own vegetables, foraging and walks.  I enjoy cooking different cuisines and learning new skills.  I also have a passion for photography and enjoy capturing special moments.

I look forward to helping to support the school vision and values, knowing that the children will be encouraged to be individuals and develop values such as trust, self-respect and self-belief.

Abbie Fulks – Co-opted governor

I have previous experience as a governor for a primary school where my eldest children attended.  I focused on the Early Years Foundation Stage and embedding the curriculum.  I worked closely with the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities team on the support for Pupil Premium children.  I feel that I have knowledge and skills that will support the existing governing board.

I am a mum to four boys and enjoy creating memories as a family.  I live in the area local to the school, but have no personal links with it.  I am an Apprenticeship Tutor working for a training provider and delivering apprenticeships. 

I became a school governor as I strongly believe in schools being at the heart of the community and creating a creative and memorable learning experience that nurtures a lifelong love of learning.  I feel that the ethos and culture of a school plays an important part in a child’s development.  I am passionate about promoting equality in education and raising the standards for learning.

Luke Donnellan – Co-opted Governor

I have been a co-opted governor at Downsview since 2019. I have always had a passion for education and have long worked in the sector. This includes several years experience working as a primary school teacher, maths leader, and a practitioner of philosophy for children. Currently, I am the director of an education programme at the charity Humanists UK, where I manage their resource development and teacher training.

Moving to Swanley a few years ago, I wanted to do something to get involved in the local community. With two children at Downsview, I joined the governing body to do what I could to support the school to ensure a high-quality education for all its pupils. I believe that a good primary education is essential to equip young people with the knowledge, skills, and opportunities to lead happy, full, and flourishing lives. 

Christine Allsop – Co-opted Governor

I was invited to join Downsview governing board in 2011 as a local authority governor, after retiring from primary school headship.  My headship was advertised as the “chance of a lifetime” and it certainly was.  I opened, established in the community and grew a brand new Kent County Council primary school.

Prior to my teaching career I worked in central and local government and I have also been the chair of a primary school PTA and a governor in a local secondary school.  My husband and I live in Bromley, have three children, six grandchildren and somehow find the time to enjoy walking, travelling, big DIY projects and anything art based.   

Having worked closely with all school stakeholders, I know how important the role of the governing board is in enabling educational excellence for all pupils.  Now, as a Co-opted Governor, I continue to be committed to achieving the very best for all the pupils in a role I am privileged to hold.

Matthew Turner – Staff Governor

I work as the Year 5 teacher at Downsview Community Primary School where I have been teaching for nearly 4 years.

This is my first position as a governor and I hope to make a positive impact on the school through my contribution as part of the governing board.

I have an interest in music and play guitar. I also enjoy playing both traditional and non-traditional board games. I have recently taken up sketching and have come to enjoy taking a sketch pad on walks.

I have taught at Downsview Community Primary School for nearly 4 years.  I have been helped so much on my journey as a teacher by the school and wanted to do everything I can to have a positive impact on the place that has done so much for me.