Welcome to the governor section of Breadsall Hill Top Primary. We hope that you enjoy browsing through our governor section and learning more about our role as Governors.

We believe strongly in 'achieving together’ and ‘together we will govern’.

We are very passionate and ambitious for our children, our staff and our wider community. We joined Transform Trust in the summer of 2017 and together we are on a journey of improvement to make our school the best it can be.

We are striving for quality first teaching to ensure that our children have access to learning that is stimulating, engaging, exciting and fun. We want our children to believe in themselves and achieve their dreams. We want staff to feel invested in and supported and we will challenge them to ensure that our children are successful. Finally, we want our parents/carers to be confident and secure that their child is getting the best possible education and learning experience.

Local Governance Team

School Governance – our role

“The purpose of governance is to provide confident, strategic leadership and to create robust accountability, oversight and assurance for educational and financial performance”.

“Boards must be ambitious for all children and infused with a passion for education and a commitment to continuous school improvement that enables the best possible outcomes. Governance must be grounded in reality as defined by both high-quality objective data and a full understanding of the views and needs of pupils/students, staff, parents, carers and local communities. It should be driven by inquisitive, independent minds and through conversations focussed on the key strategic issues which are conducted with humility, good judgement, resilience and determination”, DfE Governance Handbook, January 2017

Governance Structure

Full Governing Board – where we ensure that we are fulfilling our statutory duties, monitoring progress against the school priorities, financial governance, safeguarding, health & safety, risks and reviewing how effective we are as a governing body. 

When do we meet?

The Full Governing Board normally meets twice a term. 

What do we actually do?

We will support the school with developing its vision, setting the purpose and aims of the school and agreeing school priorities within an agreed policy framework.

We also, along with the Trust, appoint and conduct the performance management of the Headteacher. We also serve on a range of different panels that may be needed for appeals such as school admissions, pay and disciplinary matters for both children and staff.

We monitor the school and evaluate the work by undertaking school visits to see evidence in practice and we then review these at our meetings, feeding back to the Headteacher on our findings.

Minutes are available upon request from the Clerk, Sarah Sayer  - sarah.sayer@transformtrust.co.uk 

Speak to the Governors:

If you have any questions you would like to speak to the governors about - please email to governors@bhtp.derby.sch.uk and one of the governors will contact you directly.

The Government has clearly outlined the core functions for school governors:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/governance-handbook

It also launched in January 2017: ‘A Competency Framework for Governance’. This document outlines the knowledge, skills and behaviours needed for effective governance, but in brief can be shown as:

Transform Trust Governance documents including the scheme of delegation Trust Governance Documents - Transform Trust

Transform Trust Governance Structure: Governance - Transform Trust

Governors email address: governors@bhtp.derby.sch.uk

Meet our Governors

Lindsay Clark - Chair of Governors

I am currently the Interim Headteacher at Ashbrook Junior School as part of my role of Headteacher Designate for Transform Trust.  Additionally, I lead on Enrichment across Transform Trust. 

I have been in teaching for 32 years in a variety of school settings: secondary Maths and PE teacher, special school teacher, Headteacher of a Pupil Referral Unity and Headteacher of a junior school. I am passionate that education has the power to change the lives of children and families, and can be instrumental in breaking the cycle of poverty.  I believe that all children should have rich experiences inside and outside the classroom that develop them academically, socially and emotionally.  I aim to empower our children as leaders, developing their resilience, empathy and teamwork.

In my personal life I have been a successful sportsperson, representing Scotland in football and hockey. I continue to be an avid gym goer and remain competitive in my self-believe of everyday being an opportunity to be a better person than I was yesterday.  I love to read and listen to podcasts about education and leadership. I spend much of my personal life dog walking in Derbyshire or on one of the many beautiful beaches in the UK.

Dr Peter Miller - Vice Chair - Safeguarding

I joined the governing body in April 2021.  My background is as a doctor, and a consultant chid and adolescent psychiatrist in the NHS for 20 years. I subsequently went onto a managerial role, becoming chief executive of a NHS Trust in Leicestershire.

I have specialist skills in safeguarding, child development, leadership development, governance and risk management, along with previously been a parent governor and chair of governors at a primary school in Nottingham.

Personally I am married with 4 children, aged between 28 and 13.  I enjoy keeping fit, having done a few triathlons.

I hope I will be able to bring all my experience to support the school and it's leadership team on its journey to become a great place for children to learn and develop.

Mrs Jacqui Trowsdale - Community and Curriculum Governor

I am a new governor but not new to being passionate about schools and about the children of Derby.  I have been a teacher for over 15 years, leading on areas such as Maths, Assessment and Pupil Premium.  I am excited to be a governor for Breadsall Hill Top Primary School, as it is a school which I already have links with through Transform Trust.  I have seen the school go through many changes and look forward to supporting and challenging the school through its future developments to ensure the best outcomes for all children.   

In any spare time I have, you will find me reading, visiting the cinema and going to the theatre – I have a particular love of anything horror based as well as musicals (it’s not often that the two get combined!). 

Miss Ruth Palmer - Trust Governor

I have been the vice-chair at an infant school in Nottinghamshire since 2018 and when I started working for Transform Trust in July 2022, I took the opportunity to join the governing body at Breadsall Hill Top Primary School as a Trust Governor.  Before joining Transform I worked both as a Clerk for the Local Authority for 4 years and as a manager within a procurement team for 16 years. I hope to use my experience of governance to support the staff, pupils and community at BHTP.

Outside of work I enjoy playing ice hockey, walking the dog and learning new languages, particularly French and Norwegian.

Mrs Naomi Walton - Parent Governor

I have been a governor for BHTP since September 2023, and my son is currently in the reception class. I have always been passionate about education and am proud to be a part of the governing body for the school, it is a privilege to be a part of the school's development. I feel that the collaboration of the school, parents and wider community is key to providing the best possible for our children. I have previously been in management roles within the NHS and veterinary care, and now am studying Diagnostic Radiography at the University of Derby. In my downtime I enjoy walking, reading and am currently trying to refresh my German with Duolingo! 

Mr Matt Lawrence - Head Teacher and Governor Breadsall Hill Top Primary School

I joined BHTP on 1 September 2019 after having spent many years teaching and leading within schools in Nottingham and Sheffield.  My last substantive headship was at Arnold Mill Primary School which was judged outstanding by Ofsted across all aspects of its work in 2014, I then worked for another multi-academy Trust in a variety of leadership positions.  I decided to return to headship and BHTP was my school of choice! All of my previous experience will support what we aim to achieve here.  My key strengths are leading school improvement, leading teams and implementing a strategic vision.  I believe passionately that all children are entitled to an outstanding education and that the BHTP community deserves an outstanding school to be proud of.  Through the dedication,  commitment and hard work of the whole staff team, I am confident in ensuring that BHTP will rapidly improve and achieve its ambitious vision.

Miss Rowan Whitelock - Teacher and Staff Governor

I am currently a Year 1 class teacher at Breadsall Hill Top Primary School and also lead Design and Technology at the school having recently taken on the role of leading Enrichment as Breadsall. I have been a teacher at the school since 2017 and I joined the Governing Body in 2022. I joined the Governing Body to take more of an active role in the running of the school, including presenting information from the staff to play a part in it's development. I love teaching and becoming part of the Breadsall family has truly been a highlight of my career so far; it is a privilege to be a part of our community. I have a passion for creating memorable learning experiences for children and strive to ignite a passion for life long learning in the children I teach. Outside of teaching I love to spend time with my family, including my pets, going for walks in the countryside and reading.

Mrs Kapka Vassileva - Higher Level Teaching Assistant and Staff Governor