Welcome to our Governors' section

Hello and a warm welcome to the Governors page on Merdon Junior School's website.  We hope you find the information you are looking for as well as profiles about each member of the governing body who play a key role in the school and the community. The governing body forms part of the leadership team and holds the Headteacher and wider school leadership team to account for the educational performance of the school, its pupils and the performance management of staff. 

We are fortunate to have a really strong mix of Governors at Merdon, with a Governing body made up of different types of Governors (Local Authority Nominated Governors, Parent, Staff and Co-opted Governors).  Our Governing body acts collectively for decision making, taking responsibility at a strategic level and acting as a critical friend to the Headteacher and staff.

Please help us by using our open door policy to discuss any issues. Governors can be contacted through the Clerk, Jane Bliss, by telephoning the school for contact details.

To find out more about becoming a governor in a Hampshire School follow the link below:

https://www.hants.gov.uk/educationandlearning/governors/volunteer 

Merdon Junior School Full Governing Body

Mark Read-Jones

Chair of Governors, Co-Opted Governor

Chair of Finance & Pay Committees

 I have lived in Chandler’s Ford since 2007 and am married with three girls (one at Thornden, two currently at Merdon).   I joined as a co-opted governor in 2015 as I wanted to give something back to the community.  During my time as a governor for the school, I have held roles in Health & Safety, Safeguarding and SEND as well as being vice-chair of Governors from 2019 to 2021.   I became Chair of Governors in 2021.   I am currently working on the School Financial Values Statement (SFVS) that monitors the budget and effective use within Merdon. 

As the chair, I play a leading and crucial role in setting the culture of the governing body and work in partnership with the Headteacher at Merdon Junior School to promote and maintain high standards of educational achievement.  Some of my key responsibilities include ensuring the clarity, vision and strategic direction of the school, holding senior leaders to account, and ensuring that the school achieves the aims and ambitions it has for all of its pupils.

The chair is first among equals, but has no individual power. The governing body is a corporate entity and its power and authority rest with the governing body as a whole. On occasions, the chair may need to take chair’s action in an emergency, but any such action must be reported to the whole governing body as soon as possible.

Outside of school voluntary governor work, I am the Managing Consultant for a Digital Advisory & Innovation Practice for NTT Data Inc, a Japanese global system integrator.

Vicky Robinson

Vice Chair of Governors, Parent Governor

Safeguarding and staff and pupil wellbeing

Hi, I’m Vicky (Mum to my son who attends Merdon) and I became a parent governor in the summer of 2021.

I have 20 years’ experience working in Human Resources and Learning & Development, which includes coaching Managers and Directors to get the best out of their teams. I also work for the NHS and NCT as a breastfeeding counsellor/antenatal teacher supporting new parents in hospital and within the community. 

I am co-Vice chair of the board of governors and along with Alex Guthrie, our other Vice Chair, and we support Mark Read-Jones as the Chair of Governors. I also oversee safeguarding for the school. This involves regular visits to Merdon, going through cases (anonymously) with the leadership team to make sure we are doing absolutely everything we can to keep our children safe.  I regularly meet with groups of children to hear what they think about safety in school, review ongoing staff training of safeguarding and check all the documentation is up to date. 

Being a governor is incredibly rewarding. It allows us to be part of helping to shape the strategic direction of the school and ensure that Merdon continues to be a warm, welcoming community for all children to thrive and achieve their best. 

Alex Guthrie

Co-opted Parent Governor

Vice Chair of Governors, Pay Committee, Finance

Hi, I'm Alex, I joined as a Co-opted Governor at Merdon in November 2021. I live in Eastleigh, have 3 children and work in Financial Services.

As co-Vice chair of the Governing Board, along with Vicky Mariner, I support Mark Read-Jones as the Chair of Governors. I currently offer support on the Headteacher Performance Management Review Committee, Finance Committee and the Pay Committee. As part of my role on the finance committee, I work alongside Mark to complete the annual School Financial Values Statement (SFVS) that monitors the budget and effective use within the school.

I really enjoy my role as Governor which enables me to use my skills and experience to give something back to the community. Steering the strategic direction of Merdon and doing everything we can as Governors to achieve best for all is something I am proud of.

Clerk: Jane Bliss

Headteacher: Claire Martin

Governors:

Peter Martin

Co-opted Governor

Health and Safety, Pay Committee, Safeguarding

Hello, my name is Peter and I started being a parent governor in 2008 when my son started attending Merdon. It was so rewarding that after my son left I decided to continue as a co-opted Governor.

As a governor I am able to use my previous experience and knowledge to fulfil my strategic role in Health & Safety and Safeguarding. I have enjoyed contributing to the effective governance and success of the school over the years and I will continue to do this to the best of my ability.

Most of my career has been in retail and I have plenty of experience as a department manager and trainer in one of the UK’s top supermarkets. After nearly 4 decades, I made a very ‘scary’ decision; I decided to go self employed as a driving instructor and have never looked back!

John Reynolds

Co-opted Governor

Health and Safety, Pay Committee, Policies

I have lived in Chandlers Ford since 1976 and my eldest daughter attended to Scantabout Primary School; my younger daughter went to Merdon. Throughout my career, I was Chartered Civil Engineer and Environmental Manager. This included being appointed as Principal Engineer with Southern Water and then Principal Lecturer at University of Portsmouth in construction management. I was a member of Hampshire County Council Youth Offending Team where I supported young people.

I am now retired and have been a governor at Merdon since 2015. My governor responsibilities include monitoring Health & Safety and being on the Pay Committee, together with advising on updated policy documents.

Natalie Ley

Parent Governor

SEND

I have two daughters currently at Merdon and a son who is now at Thornden.

I work as a Finance Officer at Peter Symonds College in Winchester and I am also the Governance Lead for a secondary school in Southampton. I have an English degree from Southampton University and am currently studying to be a Chartered Accountant. In my life before having children, I worked as an operations manager at Tesco. Post children I had a career change to the Education sector, working for Hampshire County Council's Childrens' Services in the SEN and Governance departments, and now in school finance.

Currently I oversee and monitor SEND at Merdon. I am passionate about children's education and hope to help make Merdon the best school it can be. 

Sarah Cunningham

Staff Governor

I joined Merdon Junior School in September 2020 as Deputy Headteacher and have been on the governing body as the staff governor since then. I am passionate about ensuring positive educational experiences whereby all children have opportunities to think critically and creatively. I have high expectations for pupil achievement and believe this can be accomplished through a rich, diverse curriculum that promotes enquiry and is set within a safe and stimulating school environment.

At present, I am Acting Headteacher for the school and therefore I am currently fulfilling the role of the Headteacher on the governing body.

Prior to joining Merdon, I was a class teacher, Year 6 Team Leader and Curriculum Leader at my previous school.

Attendance at Full Governing Body Meetings (2021-2022)