Welcome to the Pirbright Governing Body! We are not inspectors and we don’t make decisions about teaching and learning, that is a job for the professionals. But we do act as critical friends to the school, checking and challenging the decisions made, holding the leadership team to account, trying to ensure that all our children are getting the best possible education the school can give them.  Governors hold the school to account for the progress children make in their learning through national and school assessments, going through the results in great detail.  We also spend time in school, talking with children and staff, matching the plans and the reports with what we see actually happening.  Walking around the school, we see the quality of children’s work and the independence they develop as they work.  We also see the many ways in which children are taught to take responsibility for their behaviour, their belongings (always a work in progress!) and their interactions with others.  

When there are very big decisions to be made, the Local Governing Body (LGB) represents the interests of the school, and not only the current staff and pupils but also thinking also about the children and the community we will serve in years to come. This includes having representation on the Athena-GEP Trust Governing Committee alongside more local decisions in the school. Details of the Athena-GEP Governors can be found here https://www.athena-gep.co.uk/346/key-information/category/20/governance-arrangements 

If you would be interested in joining the Pirbright Governors, please email the Chair of Governors, Julia Douetil at jdouetil@pirbright.surrey.sch.uk or info@pirbright.surrey.sch.uk for further information.   

Details of Local Governing Body

(Updated December 2021)

Current

Julia Douetil, Chair of Governors

Term of office: 11/11/19 – 10/11/23 

Governor Category & Appointed By: Community, LGB 

Meetings attended 2020-2021: 5/5

Dylan Hughes, Vice Chair of Governors

Term of office: 26/3/18 – 25/3/22

Governor Category & Appointed By: Parent, Parents

Meetings attended 2020-2021: 4/5

Gavin Dutton, Headteacher, Governor

Term of office: Ex-officio

Governor Category & Appointed By: Ex-officio

Meetings attended 2020-2021: 5/5

Chiara Dow, Deputy Headteacher, Associate Governor

Term of office: 20/09/19 – 19/09/23

Governor Category & Appointed By: Co-Opted (no voting rights), LGB

Meetings attended 2020-2021: 5/5

Craig Hogan, Governor

Term of office: 15/07/19 – 14/07/23

Governor Category & Appointed By: Community, LGB

Meetings attended 2020-2021: 5/5

Marika Lowe, Governor

Term of office: 15/07/19 – 14/07/23

Governor Category & Appointed By: Community, LGB

Meetings attended 2020-2021: 5/5

Eugene Reid, Governor

Term of office: 15/07/19 – 14/07/23

Governor Category & Appointed By: Parent, Parents

Meetings attended 2020 - 2021: 5/5

Mary Stanley, Governor

Term of office: 08/10/18 – 07/10/22

Governor Category & Appointed By: Community, LGB

Meetings attended 2020 - 2021: 5/5

Captain Joe Read, Governor

Term of office: 7/7/20 - 6/7/24 

Governor Category & Appointed By: Community, LGB

Meetings attended 2020 - 2021: 3/5

Caroline Smither, Governor

Term of office: 1/10/20 - 30/9/24

Governor Category & Appointed By: Community, LGB 

Meeting attended 2020 - 2021: 5/5

April Woods, Staff Governor (Maternity Leave)

Term of office: 12/10/20 - 11/10/24

Governor Category & Appointed By: Staff, Staff 

Meeting attended 2020 - 2021: 4/4

Ellie Collins, Staff Governor (Maternity Leave Cover)

Term of office: 24/05/21 - 31/08/22

Governor Category & Appointed By: Staff, Staff 

Meeting attended 2020 - 2021: 1/1

Historical

Details of Governors who have left within the last 12 months

Meeting dates of the Local Governing Body 2021 - 2022

The Local Governing Body meets twice a term.  These are open meetings to which parents and carers are most welcome.  

The meetings for the 2021 - 2022 academic year are as follows:

Autumn 1         Thursday 9^th Sept – 7pm in school

Autumn 2         Thursday 14^th October – 7pm in school

Autumn 3         Tuesday 14^th December – 8am virtual by TEAMS

Spring 1           Tuesday 8^th February – 8am virtual by TEAMS

Spring 2           Thursday 24^th March – 7pm in school

Summer 1        Tuesday 17^th May – 8am virtual by TEAMS
Summer 2        Monday 11^th July – 7pm in school

All meetings are planned to be held at school. Governors may join by MS Teams if necessary.

If you would like to join any of these meetings, please email info@pirbright.surrey.sch.uk at least one week beforehand so that we may prepare you to be fully briefed prior to the session.

Please feel free to contact us at any time with any queries you have, or points you’d like to raise.  You can reach us via email: info@pirbright.surrey.sch.uk.  

We look forward to welcoming you, or hearing from you.