Meridian Primary School Governing Body
The governing body has a statutory duty to support the Headteacher and the staff as they go about their work. We are all volunteers and have chosen to become governors because we believe the children at Meridian Primary School deserve the best possible education. Our main duty is to hold the Headteacher to account for the quality and standards of the job she does in all aspects of the running of the school. Our role is strategic.
The full governing body meets six times a year. Much of our discussion at those meetings is focused on the work of our two main committees. The Finance, Premises and Personnel Committee (FPP) and the Standards Committee (SC) each meet twice in every term. We also enjoy the support of several Associate Governors who are unelected and also volunteers.
We work as a team to understand and influence the way the school operates and the standards that children achieve in all aspects of their lives in the school. Governors often visit the school whilst it is at work. We scrutinise the standards data produced by the school, monitor the quality of teaching through advisors and inspectors and listen to and talk with children, staff and parents. We scrutinise the budget on behalf of Central Government to ensure our funds give the community we serve good value for money. We welcome scrutiny of our own work by staff, parents and agencies such as the South Cambridgeshire Local Authority.
From the start of the coronavirus pandemic we have continued with our work and will continue to do so until the challenge the virus presents is behind us. We focus on business critical tasks, supporting the Headteacher and collectively keeping the safety and welfare of all the children and staff at the forefront of our thinking. For obvious reasons we are rarely in school at present but we are in contact with the Headteacher as often as we always have been, we value the contributions made to our discussion by the staff governor and welcome constant feedback from governors who are parents at the school. We also keep ourselves fully informed as to both local and national expectations of schools and governors during the challenges of the pandemic.
We are led by a Chair and Vice Chair and supported by a Clerk. Parent governors are elected by all the parents and other governors by the governors themselves. We always appreciate offers of help and invite you to get in touch if you would like more information or would like to become a governor. Contact Peter Newton at: Chair@meridian.cambs.sch.uk
We are very proud of the staff and the pupils and delighted to show you our latest Ofsted report which you will find on our website under 'Ofsted'.
Constitution and Structure 2021-2022
We have a total of 13 Governors (one job share) on our Governing Body.
We have established the following Committees:
Please see below for a breakdown of the Governing body and committees:
Name | Type of Governor | Committee / Role |
Carole Etchie | Ex-officio | Headteacher |
Peter Newton | Local Authority | Chair of Governors |
Mel Collins | Co-opted | Vice Chair & SC |
William Cramer | Parent | FPP (joint FPP Chair) |
Catherine Swift | Co-opted | FPP (joint FPP Chair) |
| Caroline Mulderij | Co-opted | SC (Chair) |
Matt Bigam | Co-opted | FPP |
Jasmina Choukair | Parent | TBC |
Emma Cox | Parent | TBC |
Miranda Horvath | Co-opted (job share with Jo Lewis) | SC |
Debbie Jack | Co-opted | SC |
| Andrew McKenna | Staff | TBC |
Jo Lewis | Co-opted (job share with Miranda Horvath) | FPP |
Kathryn Talbot | Parent | SC |
Lottie Phillips | Clerk |
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The Term of office for all Governors (other than the Headteacher) is four years.
Co-opted governors are elected by the Governing Body. Parent Governors are elected by the parents of the Meridian School. Staff governors are elected by the staff.
Associates
We have no Associate Governors at present.
Past Governors
The following have now stepped down as governors or reached the end of their term:
Name | Type of Governor | Appointed | Resigned |
Yogendra Parmar | Co-opted | December 2020 | February 2022 |
Anna Edwards | Parent | February 2017 | December 2021 |
Rebecca Sands | Staff | November 2018 | July 2021 |
Jude Brown | Parent | February 2017 | February 2021 |
Rachel Mikelson | Co-opted | March 2016 | March 2020 |
None of these governors had any relevant business or pecuniary interests or other potential conflicts of interest.
Governor Biographies
Carole Etchie (Headteacher)
Peter Newton (Chair of Governors)
Peter is the Local Authority governor. He was elected in the Spring of 2016. Peter has been Chair of Governors since September 2016. He is retired. He was an advisor overseas for The British Council after a spell in Whitehall and many years as Her Majesty’s Inspector of Schools (HMI). He was Headteacher of two secondary schools in Essex. Two of his six grandchildren attend Meridian Primary School.
Mel Collins (Vice-Chair)
William Cramer (FPP joint Chair)
William is a parent governor, elected in December 2019, who sits on the Finance, Premises and Personnel committee and is the link governor to the PTA. He runs the engineering and production departments of a medium sized technology business in Melbourn. William has lived with his family in Comberton for 10 years and has a daughter in Year 3 at the school.
Catherine Swift (FPP joint Chair)
Cathy is a co-opted governor who was elected in March 2020 and sits on the FPP committee. She previously worked at a large Primary Federation in Cambridge, where she took on the role of a Key Stage 2 teacher. She later became a non-teaching Deputy Headteacher and managed the curriculum and assessment. Cathy lives in Comberton with her family.
Caroline Mulderij (Standards Chair)
Caroline is a co-opted governor who was elected in November 2019 and sits on the Standards committee. She moved to Comberton with her family in 2015. She is a teacher of French at a school in Cambridge and was previously Head of Department and Head of Year at a secondary school in London.
Matt Bigam
Matt is a co-opted governor elected in November 2018 and sits on the Premises and Personnel Committee and has child attending Meridian Primary School. He has lived in Comberton for 7 years and Cambridgeshire and has a degree in Building & Property Management, MBA in Business Management and over 20 years property industry experience.
Jasmina Choukair
Emma Cox
Miranda Horvath (shared role with Jo Lewis)
Miranda is a co-opted governor who is also a parent at the school who was elected in July 2019 and sits on the standards committee. Miranda is a Reader/Associate Professor in Forensic Psychology at Middlesex University and the founder of the Violence Against Women and Girls Research Network. Miranda moved to Comberton with her family in 2018.
Debbie Jack
Debbie is a co-opted governor who was elected in February 2018 and Chairs the Standards Committee and is Vice Chair of Governors. She has lived in Haslingfield for over 30 years and has three grandchildren at Meridian. Debbie was previously a primary teacher in Bar Hill and since then has been at Middlesex University where she is now Head of Education.
Jo Lewis (shared role with Miranda Horvath)
Jo is a co-opted governor who is also a parent at the school. Jo was elected in July 2019 and sits on the finance committee. Jo is a Research Associate in Neuroendocrinology at the Institute of Metabolic Science, University of Cambridge, and moved to the area with his family in 2018.
Andrew McKenna
Kathryn Talbot
Kathy is a parent Governor who was elected in September 2018 and sits on the Standards Committee. She has been a Peripatetic Music Teacher at the school since 2013. Kathy has seen her 3 children through the school and prior to that was Head of Key Stage 2 at a Cambridgeshire Primary School.
Lottie Phillips (Clerk)
Lottie Phillips has been the Clerk to the governors and PA to the Headteacher since February 2020.