The Governing Body of Ide Hill school comprises 14 people, 13 governors and a clerk. The Governing Body of any school has 3 main roles:
- Strategic
- Accountability
- ‘Critical friend’
Although not involved in the day-to-day running of the school, governors support and challenge the headteacher and staff. There are various types of governor: foundation (as Ide Hill is Voluntary Aided school these are people appointed by the Diocese or Parochial Church Council), LA appointed, Headteacher, Staff appointed governor, Parent elected governors and associate governors. Please note, associate governors do not have voting rights. The full Governing Body meets termly but smaller sub-committees, namely the Curriculum Committee and Finance also meet in between, either termly or more often as required.
Mrs Anne Fletcher
Chair of Governors and Chair of the Strategy Committee
We are delighted that Anne Fletcher has been re-appointed as our Bishop's nominee and Chair of Governors.
Anne has served the school in many ways over the last 11 years as Chair, Deputy Chair and Foundation Governor. Anne is the Head of the Strategy Committee and TLC Committee.
Anne is the designated Safeguarding Governor and has a special passion for the Early Years Foundation Stage, as Anne ran the Ide Hill Village Pre-School very successfully for many years.
Miss Elizabeth Alexander
Headteacher
Miss Alexander joined Ide Hill Primary School as Headteacher in April 2024. As Headteacher, she is automatically an ex-officio governor. Miss Alexander is responsible for the organisation, management and strategic direction of the school. As such, it is her responsibility to implement the school improvement plan, and to collaborate with governors to monitor standards across the school. Miss Alexander is also the Designated Safeguarding Lead at Ide Hill School.
Miss Jeanine Johnson
Co-Headteacher
Miss Johnson has been an integral part of Ide Hill Primary School since 2002. She was appointed Deputy Headteacher in October 2022 and Co-headteacher in April 2024. Jeanine leads music and Religious Education. Jeanine is a Designated Safeguarding Lead.
Mrs Sue Caskey
Foundation Governor appointed by the PCC. Deputy Chair of Governors
Sue was voted onto the governing body in April 2015. Having graduated from Nottingham University in 1996 with a degree in mathematics, she worked as a chartered accountant at PricewaterhouseCoopers for 13 years. Sue has two children who both attended the school and now enjoys being a stay-at-home mum.
For the many years, Sue was the treasurer of the PTA and book-keeper for Ide Hill pre school. She also helps at the school on a regular basis. In her spare time, Sue enjoys cooking, crafts and travel.
Mr Niall Dickson CBE
Foundation Governor appointed by the PCC. Chair of the Teaching and Learning Committee
Following university Niall qualified as a history teacher and taught for two years before moving into journalism and senior national roles in the health services. In the 1980s he was Editor of Nursing Times after which he joined the BBC as its first substantive health correspondent moving on to become Social Affairs Editor, broadcasting on both radio and television news. He went on to become Chief Executive of the health think tank The King's Fund, Chief Executive and registrar of the General Medical Council, the statutory body which regulates doctors in the UK, and chief executive of the NHS Confederation. He was the non executive chair of East Kent Hospitals NHS Trust until 2023. Niall is an Honorary Fellow of the Institute of Education and was awarded a CBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours 2017 for services to patient safety.
Mr Richard French
Foundation Governor
Appointed by the Sundridge with Ide Hill parochial Church Council, Richard joined the governing body in October 2010 having moved to Ide Hill when he retired.
On the Governing body, he is responsible for building development and involved in other school activities as a member of the Finance and Premises Committee.
Prior to his retirement, Richard was a civil engineer and director for W S Atkins, managing projects and business activities in the UK and overseas. Since retirement, for the past 5 years, he has had a voluntary role with CAFOD (The Catholic Agency for Overseas Development) and co-ordinates the Schools Programme for the Archdiocese of Southwark. He is a Director of the Ide Hill Community Shop CIC and was the project manager for the building of the new shop in the village. He now acts as the financial director, company secretary and co-ordinates the volunteering.
Mrs Jenny Smith
Parent Governor
Jenny brings to the role of parent governor a passion for supporting our local village school and ensuring every child receives the best possible educational experience. Jenny has been a parent over the last seven years, with two children currently attending the school. Jenny has nearly 20 years of experience in primary education, working as both a class teacher and senior leader (including the role of deputy headteacher). This background has given Jenny a deep understanding of the challenges and opportunities within schools, including curriculum development, staff support, safeguarding, and raising standards for all learners which will support the school in maintaining high expectations and helping the school to continually improve.
Miss Hayley Andrews
Parent Governor
Much of Hayley's working life has been dedicated to enabling children to reach their potential. Her career as a teacher began in a small village Church of England school, much like Ide Hill. Several years on Hayley became a senior leader in a large primary school, qualifying as a Special Educational needs Coordinator (SENCo), leading on Inclusion as Assistant Headteacher, also being the Designated Safeguarding lead (DSL). For four years, Hayley held the voluntary position of Vice-Chair, on a Board of Trustees for a charity promoting the voice of parents who have children with SEND. Hayley currently holds a specialist advisory role, to reduce challenging behaviour across primary schools in a London Borough.
Mrs Barbara Couch
Foundation Governor appointed by the PCC
Barbara has been a resident in Ide Hill since October 2017. One of Barbara's sons lives in the village and the other is nearby in Chipstead. Barbara's working background was in education. Barbara trained as a teacher at Stockwell College of Education in Bromley and was appointed to Holy Cross RC Primary School in Catford where she worked until retirement in 2009.
Mrs Jane Cook
Associate Governor
Jane ran Ide Hill Pre-School in the in the late 1980s-1993 and was a nursery teacher at Granville School in Sevenoaks for over 15 years. She has lived in the local area for 45 years. Her three children and three stepchildren attended the school and during that time she was an active member of the PTA. Jane now has granddaughters at the school and is an active volunteer in our Year 2 class.
Mrs Taricia Melbourne
Associate Governor
With 12 years experience in the education sector, Taricia currently serves as the fundraising manager for a residential special school, successfully raising funds for various projects, from iPads to multi-million-pound capital developments. Previously, as General Manager of a large secondary school, Taricia managed all soft facilities services and has experience in procedure development, policy writing, GDPR compliance, financial management and strategic planning.
Mr Paul Sharp
Local Authority Governor
Paul qualified as a Chartered Accountant and worked at BP for more than 32 years in various senior financial roles. These included CFO of BP Greece, BP Europe Financial Controller and BP Group Finance Tax CFO. Since 2015 Paul has been largely retired and has enjoyed voluntary roles including at Caterham School in his role as Treasurer of the Old Caterhamian’s Association as well as a Member of the Caterham School Foundation. Paul is also Treasurer of the Friends of Limpsfield Common and volunteers half a day a week as a member of the Limpsfield Common Task force. Paul joins the Finance Committee at Ide Hill Primary School where he will use his skills and experience to oversee effective use of the schools resources.
Mrs Josie Farrar
Mrs. Farrar has been a teacher for 25 years and joined Ide Hill Primary school in 2013 as a Class Teacher. During that time Mrs. Farrar has taught in Years 6, 4, 3, 2 and 1. Mrs Farrar has been subject lead for a variety of subjects at Ide Hill including Art/DT, PHSE, writing and science. Mrs Farrar has two children and in her spare time enjoys spending time with her family, cooking and walking her dog. As staff governor Mrs. Farrar brings the staff's perspective to the governing body, acting as a link between staff and leadership, while participating in strategic decisions like vision, finance, and accountability, always serving the whole school's best interests.
Rachel joined Ide Hill Primary School as Bursar in 2012 and has clerked various committees throughout that time. Rachel become the Clerk to the Governing Body, including the Full Governing Body in January 2017. As Clerk, she is responsible for ensuring that all matters discussed within the governing body are documented and that it proceeds in an orderly and productive manner. She coordinates and prepares Governors’ meetings, as well as ensuring that policy documents are circulated and formally agreed.