Being a Governor

All the Governors are committed to offering their time and support to the school. We do so by working together and with the Head Teacher to ensure the children get the very best from their time at Firfield.

In accordance with the Government’s requirement for all governing bodies, the three core strategic functions of Firfield Primary School Governing Board are:

• ensuring clarity of vision, ethos, and strategic direction;
• holding the Head Teacher to account for the educational performance of the school and its pupils; and
• overseeing the financial performance of the school and making sure its money is well spent.

As Governors, we are expected to attend Full Governing Body meetings and various sub-committee meetings.

These meetings happen during the school terms and are also attended by the Head Teacher and other nominated members of staff. The meetings are arranged around times (normally out of school hours) to suit Governors. The sub-committees consist of two groups, Resource Management (RMC) and Curriculum, Teaching & Learning (CTL).  Governors can decide which group(s) they wish to participate in.

Within these two committees, named governors are tasked with specific school and curriculum-associated responsibilities. In this way, information can be fed back for the benefit of the governing body as a whole, providing an invaluable insight into the working of the school.

Governors are provided with an agenda in advance of each meeting so that we are fully aware of the issues to be discussed. To prepare for a meeting, we are also required to read through any relevant supporting documents. During the meeting(s), Governors are encouraged to put forward their views on the issues under discussion. The topics can relate to any number of different areas, for example: school policies, Ofsted inspection, development and curriculum plans, staffing and financial matters, to name but a few. It all depends on the nature and content of the meeting.

Every April, the Governing Body is responsible for agreeing the school's annual budget.

The Governing Body are a friendly and structured group, passionate about the school and supporting all those connected with it. With over 400 pupils, Firfield is one of the largest Primary Schools in Derbyshire.

The current Governing Body, as of September 2025, is detailed below, along with the committees and roles they participate in:

Name	Type of Governor	Link	Committee	Start Date	End Date
Mr James Yellop Headteacher	Staff		Both	01 Jan 2019
Mr James Tolson	Staff		Curriculum	10 Feb 2023	10 Feb 2027
Miss Rachel Tittershill	Co-opted (Staff)		Resource Management	03 July 2019	02 July 2027
Mrs Victoria Beardmore Chair of Governors	Co-opted	Literacy	Both	18 Jan 2026	17 Jan 2030
Mr Haydn Wheeler	Co-opted	Curriculum PSHE/RSE Headteacher’s Performance Management	Curriculum	09 Dec 2025	08 Dec 2029
Mrs Rosie Pountney Vice-Chair of Governors	Co-opted	Safeguarding Wellbeing and mental health	Curriculum Chair of CTL	10 May 2024	09 May 2028
Mrs Fiona Kielthy	Parent	Finance Numeracy	Resource Management Chair of RMC	10 May 2024	09 May 2028
Mr Joe Fish	Co-opted	Pupil Premium & Sports Premium Looked-After Children EYFS	Resource Management	3 July 2024	3 July 2028
Mrs Sally Bradbery	Parent	Health and safety GDPR	Curriculum	15 Dec 2025	14 Dec 2029
Ms Bethan Osborn	Co-opted	SEND Anti-bullying Behaviour	Curriculum	25 March 2026	24 March 2030
VACANCY One Co-opted Governor Position	Co-opted
VACANCY Local Authority Governor Position
VACANCY One Parent Governor Position	Parent		Resource Management

 

The governing body’s Instrument of Government has been approved by the Local Authority. This is listed below: -

1. The name of the school is Firfield Primary School.

2. The school is a Local Authority Maintained school.

3. The name of the governing body is "The governing body of Firfield Primary School”.

4. The governing body shall consist of:

a. Three parent governors

b. One LA governor

c. One Staff governor

d. One Headteacher

e. Seven co-opted governors

5. Total number of governors is thirteen.

6. The term of office for each governor is four years.

7. This instrument of government comes into effect on 1 January 2024.

8. This instrument was made by order of Derbyshire County Council Local Authority on 14 December 2022.

9. A copy of the instrument must be supplied to every member of the governing body (and the Headteacher if not a governor), any trustees and to the

appropriate religious body.

 

Details of the Code of Practice and Performance Standards can be found in the 'Code of Practice & Standards' section.

 

Declarations of Interest for the year 2025-2026:

Victoria Beardmore      Head of Retail Procurement for N Brown Group

Joe Fish                               Nationwide Building Society

Fiona Kielthy                     Catalent and Philobit

Rosie Pountney               Supply teacher

Rachel Tittershill            Governor at Ladycross Nursery and Infant School, Brother - Artificial Grass Company

James Tolson                     Richard Tolson and Tina Tolson (Parents), Airwise Compressor Services, Married to Jess Tolson, Teacher at Firfield

Haydn Wheeler                 Co-opted Governor at Aston-on-Trent Primary School

Sally Bradbery

Bethan Osborn

 

Governors who have resigned or whose terms of office have finished during the last academic year:

Name	Type of Governor	Role	Start Date	End Date
Dee Hill	Co-opted	Sub Chair	03 March 2022	02 March 2026
Sam Johnson	Co-opted		3 July 2024	3 July 2028

 

Should you wish to become a governor or if you have any questions about the governing body, please address any correspondence to:- 

Clerk to Governors / Chair of Governors
Firfield Primary School
Firfield Avenue
Breaston
Derbyshire
DE72 3EG

Tel: 01332 872216
Email: enquiries@firfield.derbyshire.sch.uk