Governors

The school Governors are unpaid volunteers, who oversee the life and work of the school. We meet at least twice each term and receive reports from the headteacher, members of staff and sub committees; this keeps us informed about what is happening day to day in school and whether the objectives of the school improvement plan are being achieved. Governors are regularly in school and wear a badge to identify themselves, they welcome comments and contact with parents.

If you wish to contact a school governor please use the "contact us" facility on the website or ask at the school office, who will be happy to forward your query.

Correspondence for the personal attention of the Chair of Governors or Clerk of Governors should be addressed "care of" the school.

Chair

Mrs Rosemary Harrington-Lynn (Aug '14)

Vice Chair

Mrs Terri Bourner (Nov '13)

Parent Governors;

Mrs Ali Patel (Sept '12), Mrs Terri Bourner, Mrs Lucy Pedder (Oct '11), Mrs Hannah Laming (June '13)

Community Governors

Mrs Eileen Harris (June '13), Mr Andrew Mayo (Dec '12), Mrs Rosemary Harrington-Lynn

LEA Governors

Mr Bryan Walker (Jan '14), Mr Ian Sharpe (March '12)

Staff Governors

Ms Laura Scott (Feb '14), Ms Katie Lees (Sept '13)

Clerk to the Governors

Ms Priscilla Simmons

Signed Minutes and Agenda of future Governors' Meetings are available at the school office.

Rosemary Harrington-Lynn – community governor (chair of governing body)

I am Rosemary Harrington-Lynn. I have been a governor for about seven years now and am into my second year as chair. I became involved with Mandeville through the Family Numeracy Programme and have run numeracy programmes at the school for many years. This involvement has brought me into contact with many parents and children at the school. I live in Watford, where I was a teacher for many years before retiring. As well as teaching in a local primary school I was involved in the training of teaching assistants and Family Numeracy. I am still involved in the training of teaching assistants for Primary Numeracy. Being chair at this time when we are seeing the expansion of the school is an exciting, yet challenging time. My role is to ensure the excellent education provided by Mandeville is continued, so as to give your children the best possible start in life. I look forward very much to seeing these changes and expansion being successfully completed. Since my retirement life has become very busy. I am a keen gardener which can sometimes be difficult, as travelling is one of my passions. We have a small caravan, which enables us to visit many different places both in England and in Europe and wherever we go we get out and about hiking. I have just returned from a walking holiday in Croatia which involved some steep climbs and my husband and I trying to walk as much as we can of the Grand Union Canal over the coming year.
Terrie Bourner – parent governor (vice chair of governing body)

I have been a parent governor for 8 years now and am beginning my third term as the vice-chair of the governing body. The reason I first became a governor was that I was new to the area and wanted to find out how education in Hertfordshire worked. When I graduated (I was a very Mature student - I only graduated in 2004!) I was asked to lead a book group in school. It then seemed natural to put myself forwards as the governor who pays attention to how literacy and maths are taught in school and what we do as a school to make them interesting for our children. I think a child’s life is very important and I see my role as a governor in helping children make the most of all they have on offer - that includes supporting parents to enable them to become involved too. I am mum to Tom in year 3 (and still struggling to come to terms with him being so old. Many of the teachers at the school remember him being born!). I have two older children who did really well at Mandeville and they left year 6 with level 4's and 5's in their subjects. The confidence they developed at Mandeville has helped them settle into Marlborough where they are enjoying all that is on offer for them there. I enjoy books and gardening and so I volunteered to run these after school clubs for Keystage 1 - as there are not many of them. I work for a local Christian organisation which supports secondary schools and I am married to Andy. As a family we go to St Paul’s church on Hatfield Rd and also have links with St Julians and St Stephens locally.
Ali Patel – parent governor

I have been a parent governor for five years now and initially chose to put myself forward as one when my oldest daughter, Taya, came into the school.

The experience was at first mind blowing as there seemed so much to learn, but over the years, I have focused on my main passion in the governing body, which is communicating Mandeville to the outside world. As my day job is working in a public relations agency, putting forward good messages about corporate clients to the media, it seemed the natural thing to do here. Hence, over the past few years, you might have seen Mandeville more frequently in our local press and begun to see just how good a school it is, even before you set foot in it! I am involved in the Resources committee and as such am one of those responsible for overseeing how the money is spent around the school. I am also the governor allocated for Year 4 and have already been in to watch a fantastic lesson on 'how to write as a journalist' (a subject close to my own heart!). So I am looking forward to seeing many more great lessons over the coming months. Kiera and Taya are in Years 3 and 5 respectively and I am a passionate allotmenteer! So Saturday mornings they are dragged down to the allotment to get some 'fresh air' (I keep telling them they will look back with fondness on it one day!) As a family we go to a large church in St Albans called the Vineyard, where I help with the 5-11 year olds (as a church of 1,000 members you can imagine that Sunday morning is quite lively!).
Hannah Laming - parent governor

I became a governor in 2008 when my eldest daughter started at Mandeville nursery. Now, both my daughters are at Mandeville – and loving every minute!

When I first visited Mandeville, its vibrant energy and the commitment and enthusiasm of the teachers was infectious. I wanted to find a way of being more involved in school life. Being a governor gives me the opportunity to play a part in setting the school’s goals and making sure we achieve them. I sit on the resources committee as well as attending full governing body meetings. The expansion of Mandeville is an exciting project which creates a number of new challenges for Mandeville. I want to make sure that the new, bigger building offers the best possible educational and community space.

I am heavily involved in trying to raise money for the school through MANDAID. I am linked to Year 6 and thoroughly enjoyed visiting them to find out about their learning. I am passionate about ensuring that all pupils receive an education that enables them to achieve their full potential.

On my last visit, I saw how Mandeville achieves this by treating each pupil as an individual and having a number of different tasks which ensure that all children are engaged and learning at their own pace. As well as being a mum and a governor, I work full time in London as a barrister. In my spare time I enjoy reading, dancing and skiing.
Katie Lees – teacher governor

I am relatively new as a governor, as I only took up the post of teacher governor at the beginning of this school year in September 2009. As a teacher, I am passionate about the outcomes for all children at Mandeville in terms of progress, standards and well-being, but decided I wanted to become a governor to get a wider picture of the functioning of the school as a whole. I am hoping that my time as a governor will enable me to understand more broadly what influences the policies and decisions made at the school. Also as a teacher governor, I get to represent the ideas, views and concerns of the staff within the governing body meetings. As a former broadcast journalist I am very interested in current affairs and try to keep up-to-date with what's going on in the big, wide world. I am also ever so slightly obsessed with keeping fit and healthy and am currently taking part in British Military Fitness classes three times a week. This sees me running around Verulamium being shouted at by men in army gear! Additionally I run several times a week although my proper training starts after Christmas when I'm going to get ready for the London Marathon in April.
Ian Sharpe – Local Education Authority governor

I have been part of the Mandeville governing body now for almost a year. I became an LEA governor in March 2008 as I wanted to take on a role during my retirement that would give something back to the community. I head up the Resources committee and also play a main role in monitoring the financial workings of the school alongside Liz Allpress. I am quite well placed to do this, as in my previous working life, I spent over fifty years working in the banking industry, holding a variety of roles in and around London and overseas in places as far flung as Zambia, Botswana, Fiji and Hong Kong. I am married to Liz who is a nurse and we have two children. I love playing tennis and have played for Herts Veterans. I love my garden and grow and show alpine garden plants. I also love travelling and in particular love Eastern Africa.
Eileen Harris – community governor

I have been a governor of Mandeville School since June 1997. I have the pleasure of visiting the school every week, on Thursdays, to run the school’s lending library. I work as an adviser for the St Albans Citizens Advice Bureau and have been a District Councillor for Sopwell Ward since 2003. I have lived in St Albans since 1960 since moving down with my parents from Hartlepool, Co Durham. I have been married to Richard since 1968 and we have two adult children who were educated at local schools. Our son is a development engineer and our daughter is a barrister. For relaxation I enjoy reading, gardening, walking, cycling, politics and family life.
Bryan Walker – community governor

I am one of the longest serving governors in the Mandeville School Governing Body. So much so that I have now forgotten exactly how long I have been doing it for! However I recently got the 10 year award from Hertfordshire County Council so that should provide a clue. A former teacher, I have always felt a need to promote and actively be a part in Education. I feel that it is one of the most important things that we can all provide and benefit from. Education has helped me a great deal and it something that we should all guard and protect so that current and future generations will continue to benefit from it, regardless of our personal circumstances. As a governor I am very pleased to be able to say that I am part of making a very valuable contribution towards achieving this. I was very pleased when I was asked to become a Mandeville School Governor and to be involved with the school again, as my wife Deirdre Walker was deputy head in Mandeville some years back. Since I have been a governor I have seen a lot of progress in the school and I am very pleased to be able to say that this progress continues all thanks to our pupils, helpers and teachers.
Andrew Mayo – community governor

My motivation to become a community governor in 2008 was more a desire to get involved and support Mandeville, as a tribute to the years of work with the school by my late wife Elisabeth Mayo. Since doing so, I have been immensely impressed with the management and facilities of the school and am passionate about seeing it go from strength to strength. One of my areas of responsibility on the governing body is that I sit on the Improvement Committee, and have recently been assigned to oversee and spend time with Year 6 - which I am looking forward to. I am now a granddad and this has increased my interest in the educational system still further. However, much of my life has been spent working with young adults and I am currently a part time professor at Middlesex University. I was born and brought up in St Albans and have lived in King Harry Lane for 30 years. I am a keen gardener and traveller, and am chairman of the Herts Alpine Garden Society.