Introduction and Overview

What do governors do?

Governors are like a Board of Directors and make decisions about how the School is run. They meet at least once a term in School.

The Rampion Federation

Grovelands and Hellingly CP Schools have formed the Rampion Federation, which commenced in September 2021.  This means that while they remain separate schools, each with its own school development plan, budget and Ofsted inspection, they work closely together under a single Federation Leadership Team (FLT). 

There is an Executive Head Teacher (Mr Goulding), with overall strategic and leadership responsibility for both schools, and two Heads of School (Mrs McKay for Hellingly and Ms Swaine for Grovelands), who have operational leadership responsibility for their school as well as participating in the strategic leadership of the federation.

The Rampion Federation has a single Board of Governors and we are responsible for supporting and challenging the FLT in their leadership of the two schools.  In accordance with the Government’s requirement for all governing boards, the three core strategic functions of the Rampion Board are:

• Ensuring clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction of the two schools
• Holding the Executive Headteacher to account for the educational performance of the schools and their pupils
• Overseeing the financial performance of the schools and making sure their money is well spent

GOVERNANCE ARRANGEMENTS

The Governing Board meets formally every term but the Governors will visit the schools much more often. Our Governors are hard working and committed to making Grovelands and Hellingly the best schools for your children and the community. 

We also have two Committees, a Resources Committee and a Teaching & Learning Committee.  They meet at least three times a year and report to the full Board.

At our full Governing Board meetings, we receive and discuss reports from the Executive Headteacher, the Heads of School and other staff. We monitor the results of internal and external assessments of the children’s progress and measure the impact of policies which we have adopted to help the schools’ work.

Finance is discussed at each meeting and we also have a special meeting each year to agree the schools’ budgets.  We make sure that the schools’ provision complies with current equalities and safeguarding legislation and that the children and staff have a safe and healthy place to work in.

We work as strategic partners with the Grovelands and Hellingly staff to plan the schools’ development whilst maintaining their core vision and ethos, within the framework of the vision for the Rampion Federation.  Each Governor is linked to a key area of the schools’ development, working with key staff members and reporting to the Board.

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Who Are School Governors?

Governing Board Information – Meet The Governors

Paul Gietzen – Chair

Chair of Resources Committee

Contact by email: pgietzen@hellingly.e-sussex.sch.uk

I have lived in Sussex for most of my life having moved to the area in the 1950’s with my parents when my father, an astronomer, was transferred to Herstmonceux. My wife, Janet, and I have 3 sons and 6 grandchildren, and it was picking up 2 of my granddaughters from Hellingly that introduced me to this lovely school.

Having recently retired as Chairman of the company I founded in the late nineties I was delighted to be accepted as a co-opted governor of Hellingly School in 2019.

In my role as Vice Chair of Governors at Hellingly I worked closely with Grovelands during the transition period for the new Rampion Federation and got to know and admire the school very much. 

I strongly believe in giving back to the community and I am very conscious of the value of a strong governing body to a school.

I welcome the opportunity to work closely with the Heads, staff, fellow governors, parents and pupils of both Grovelands and Hellingly Primary Schools.

Michael Nix – Co Vice Chair of Governors

Contact by email: mnix@hellingly.e-sussex.sch.uk

I spent my career in education, first as a secondary school teacher and then in education administration. I worked for over 20 years for East Sussex County Council, then for the Learning and Skills Council Sussex, and finally for Brighton & Hove City Council. Key areas of responsibility during my career included planning and managing funding, places and capital investment for schools and colleges. I retired in September 2015.

My wife Carolyn and I have lived in Hailsham for over 35 years and our four children attended Grovelands and Hailsham Community College. I became a governor at Hellingly in 2016 and was Chair from 2019-2023. I strongly supported the partnership between Hellingly and Grovelands and the development of the Rampion Federation. I’m confident the federation strengthens both schools and I will continue to support Grovelands and Hellingly in giving all the children the best possible opportunities to shine in all they do.

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Jennie Cole – Co Vice Chair of Governors

Contact by email: jcole@hellingly.e-sussex.sch.uk

I moved to Hailsham 17 years ago with my husband. We have two daughters both who attended Hellingly School between 2007 – 2017. I was involved in the school PTA and always wanted to support such a wonderful primary school that had given my daughters a great start in their educational journey. I applied to be a Governor in 2017 as I had always hoped to be involved with the school beyond the years of my children attending.

A true passion of mine is to raise aspirations in young people and support their development towards successful future careers. I am a Registered Career Development Professional and work at Hailsham Community College as the Careers Leader. Prior to this I worked as a Volunteer Coordinator and my first career before children was a science teacher in a secondary school. This helps me to have knowledge of the education system which I feel helps me to support Hellingly School in my role as Governor.

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Darren Brand – Foundation Governor

I have two children who currently attend Grovelands, who have thrived in the supportive and positive environment provided.

Professionally, I am a registered nurse, currently employed as a Principal Lecturer by the University of Brighton as one of the co-leads for Nursing Sciences. This primarily involves supporting nursing and other healthcare students are they seek to gain registration as registered practitioners. Since qualifying 20 years ago, I have held clinical and managerial roles within the NHS locally.

I have a long-standing interest in education, which has led me to both my current work role and my involvement in school governance. I have supported local primary schools over the past eleven years in various roles, including as vice-chair of governors and committee chair. I joined the Grovelands Board as an associate governor in 2018 and look forward to working with the federation board to support both Grovelands and Hellingly moving forward.

Heidi Greenwood – Staff Governor

Michelle Brown – Parent Governor

Tania Snashall – Co-opted Governor

Sinead Buick – Co-opted Governor

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NAME	Governor Category	Appointed By	Term of Office	Date stepped down	Link Governor Responsibilities	Relevant Business Interests	Other Governing Positions Held	Relevant Relationships within the school
Michael Nix	LA Governor	LA	01/09/2021 – 31/08/2025				Co-Vice Chair of Governors
Sally Barnard	Co-opted Governor	FGB	08/10/2021 – 07/10/2025	21/07/2023	Equality and Diversity	Employed at Polegate Primary		Child/ren attend Grovelands School Sister employed as a Teaching Assistant at Grovelands
Jennie Cole	Co-opted Governor	FGB	01/09/2021 – 31/08/2025		Safeguarding; Mental Health and Wellbeing		Co-Vice Chair of Governors
Michelle Brown	Parent Governor	FGB	20/02/2023 – 19/02/2027		Member of the Resources Committee			Child/ren attend Grovelands School
James Gietzen	Co-opted Governor	FGB	01/09/2021 – 31/08/2025	31/12/22	Member of the Teaching and Learning Committee	Employed at Hailsham Community College		Child/ren attend Hellingly School Son of Paul Gietzen, who is Chair of Governors
Tania Snashall	Co-opted Governor	FGB	15/12/22 – 14/12/26		Curriculum Member of the Teaching and Learning Committee
Sinead Buick	Co-opted Governor	FGB	17/03/23 – 16/03/27		Maths Member of the Teaching and Learning Committee	Employed at Hailsham Community College		Child/ren attend Grovelands School
Paul Gietzen	Foundation Governor	FGB	01/09/2021 – 31/08/2025		Member of the Resources Committee		Chair of Governors	Grandchild at Hellingly School Father of James Gietzen
Darren Brand	Foundation Governor	FGB	01/09/2021 – 31/08/2025		SEND Chair of the Teaching and Learning Committee	Principal Lecturer at the University of Brighton Former governor at Stone Cross School		Child/ren attend Grovelands School
Sarah Chaffer	Parent Governor	Parents	14/09/2021 – 13/09/2025	27/10/23	English Member of the Resources Committee and Teaching and Learning Committee
Sarah Nightingale	Parent Governor	Parents	01/09/2021 – 31/08/2025	06/12/22	Member of the Teaching and Learning Committee	Client Services Manager for Academic Choice who provide supply teachers and temporary teaching assistants to schools, including Hellingly Primary School. In direct contact and responsible for supplying temporary staff to Hellingly
Jon Goulding	Staff – (Executive) Headteacher Governor	FGB	Ex-Officio
Heidi Greenwood	Staff Governor	Staff	13/01/2022 – 12/01/2026
Zoe Weaver	Clerk	FGB	Ex-Officio					Child/ren attend Hellingly School

Governor Attendance Record –
September 2022 to August 2023