Our School Governing Body
Governors are a voluntary body of people who guide and support the strategic direction of the school. They are members of the school team and their contribution to the running of the school is highly valued.
The role of the governing body is a strategic one; its key functions are to:
Our governing body consists of:
Nicky King
Interim Headteacher Spring Term 2021
Appointed as Headteacher 1st June 2021
Committees - Resouces, Standards, Foundation, Pay
Revd. Philippa Good
Ex-Officio
Committees - Foundation
Term of Office: ongoing
Date of appointment 11/10/2022
Claire Mathias
Staff
Committees - Resources
Date appointed: 31.11.2017
Term of Office: 04.01.2022 - 04.01.2026
Meetings attended in previous academic year 2022-23 (and percentage attendance rate): Full Governing Body 3 (60%), Resources 1 (the other 2 meetings clashed with parents' evenings 33%)
James Gayner
Foundation
Committees - Standards (Chair), Foundation
Date appointed: 02.11.2017
Term of Office: 02.11.2021 - 01.11.2025
Meetings attended in previous academic year 2022-2023 (and percentage attendance rate): Full Governing Body 3 (60%), Standards 2 (66%)
Alistair Duvoisin Vice Chair of Governors
Foundation
Committees - Resources, Foundation
Date appointed: 01.03.2017
Term of Office: 01.03.2021 - 28.02.2025
Meetings attended in previous academic year 2022-23 (and percentage attendance rate): Full Governing Body 3 (60%), Resources 3 (100%)
Mark Ursell Chair of Governors
Foundation
Committees - Resources, Pay (Chair)
Date appointed: 13.11.2018
Term of Office: 13.11.2022 - 12.11.2026
Meeting attended in previous academic year 2022-23 (and percentage attendance rate): Full Governing Body 5 (80%)
Resources 6 (100%)
Hilary Corroon
Foundation
Date appointed 19/11/2019
Term of Office 19/11/2019 - 18/11/2023
Meetings attended in previous academic year 2022-23 (and percentage attendance rate): Full Governing Body 5 (80%) Resources 3 (100%)
Lori Samoylk
Foundation Governor
Committees- Standards (Chair)
Date appointed as Foundation Governor 11th October 2022
Term of office 11.10.22 - 10.10.2026
Candi Soames
Parent
Committees - Standards
Date appointed 8th February 2021
Term of office 8/2/2021 - 7/2/2025
Meetings attended in previous academic year and percentage attendance rate 2022-23 FGB 5 (80%), Standards 1 (33%)
Sue Richardson
Foundation
Committee - Standards
Date appointed 11/11/2022
Term of office 11/11/2022 to 10/11/2026
Tom Scott
Parent
Committee - Standards
Date appointed 6/12/2022
Term of office 6/12/2022 to 5/12/2026
Previous Governors
Helen Bain (Term of office ended 15 July 2023)
Local Authority Governor
Committees- Standards
Date appointed as parent governor 30/09/2019
Term of Office as parent governor 30/09/2019 - 22/11/2022
Term of Office as Local Authority Governor 22/11/2022 to 21/11/2026
Meetings attended in previous academic year 2021-22 (and percentage attendance rate): Full Governing Body 5 (83.4%)
Standards 5 (83.4%)
Anna Dixon-Green (term of office ended 22/11/2022)
Foundation
Committees - Standards
Date appointed 3/11/1999
Term of Office - 30/10/2021 - 30/10/2025
Meetings attending in last academic year (and percentage attendance rate): Full governing body 5 (80%) Standards 6 (100%)
Bernadette Fleet (Term of office ended 31.12.20 on retirement)
Headteacher from January 2007 to December 2020
Committees - Standards, Resources, Foundation, Pay
Term of Office - ended 31st December
Meetings attended in previous academic year 2018-19 (and percentage attendance rate): Full Governing Body 3 (100%), Standards 3 (100%), Resources 3 (100%), Foundation 1 (100%), Pay 1 (100%)
Joanna Ferguson (Term of office ended 24.11.20)
Foundation
Committees - Standards, Foundation
Date appointed: 05.02.2010
Term of Office: 05.02.2018 - 24.11.2020
Meetings attended in previous academic year 2018-19 (and percentage attendance rate): Full Governing Body 1 (34%), Standards 1 (34%), Foundation 1 (100%)
Richard Balding (term of office ended 12.01.2018)
Foundation
Committees - Standards, Foundation, Pay
Date appointed: 03.03.2014
Term of Office: 03.03.2014 - 12.01.2018
Meetings attended in previous academic year 2018-19 (and percentage attendance rate) : Full Governing Body 1 (100%), Standards 1 (100%), Foundation 1 (100%), Pay 1 (100%)
Peter Harvey (term of office ended 31.07.2018)
Parent
Committees - Standards
Date appointed: 01.08.2014
Term of Office: 01.08.2014 - 31.07.2018
Meetings attended in previous academic year 2018-19 (and percentage attendance rate): Full Governing Body 2 (67%), Standards 3 (100%)
Angela Reckitt (term of office ended 20.11.2018)
Foundation
Committees - Standards, Foundation, Resources
Date appointed: 08.02.2016
Term of Office: 08.02.2016 - 20.11.2018
Meetings attended in previous academic year 2018-19 (and percentage attendance rate): Full Governing Body 2 (67%), Standards 3 (100%), Foundation 0 (0%)
Personal Profiles
Nicky King
I have been Headteacher at Amport school since January 2021. I have two children and a husband and I live in the New Forest. I love going for walks with my family, watching my children play sport a the weekends and running with my friends. In my previous role, I was a Head of School in an infant school in Totton which was part of a federation. I enjoy playing a part in a child's learning journey through their primary years and working with families to enable everyone to work together for the best outcomes.
Mark Ursell
I have been a resident in Amport since 2009 and have always been conscious of the high quality Church of England Primary School we have in the village. The school is a significant attraction for new generations coming to our village and plays a major role in producing children that play a positive role in the local community and wider society. I became a Foundation Governor so I could help contribute to the role the school plays in delivering a high class education, the spiritual wellbeing of pupils and the sense of the positive contribution all pupils can make to society.
I am a Chartered Member of the Market Research Society and have run my own agency for the past twenty years working across many industry sectors. In this time, I have seen how the advancement in technology has not only transformed the market research industry but wider society as a whole. I hope to bring this knowledge of market research, business and technology to the school in my role as a governor. I have two teenage children, coached at Andover Rugby Club for 5 years and enjoy playing golf and tennis regularly.
Lieutenant Colonel James Gayner MBE
It is a great privilege to be a Foundation Governor of our amazing school, a role I have held for some time now. I am currently chair of the Standards Committee. Married to Sarah (current co-chair of the PTA) and with three children currently at the school, I have lived in Amport for over ten years and have managed to be based locally for much of that time, despite serving as an infantry officer in the Army. As our school has a high proportion of children from service families, I feel strongly that it is important this cohort, with its sometimes unique pressures and nuances, is properly represented. I believe emphatically in the school’s core Christian values and Christian ethos, and am committed to their furtherance within our school.
In my spare time I enjoy sailing, skiing and field sports. Other interests include history and technology, which I am also able to use to for benefit of the school.
Alistair Duvoisin
I am one of the foundation governors, now into my fourth year in the role. I have lived in Monxton for over seven years now with my wife Anna (who has also spent time as Secretary and Deputy Chair of the PTA) and our three children, two of whom are at the school.
I am also on the Resources Committee, and feel privileged to be able to observe in detail the running of the school; I am always amazed and inspired by the quality of care and teaching that the children receive with the resources available to us. It has been a thoroughly rewarding experience so far and, if I can contribute in any small part to the ongoing success of the school, then that is hugely motivating.
My day job is much less interesting as a data consultant working in the advertising industry. I like to keep myself busy cycling, running, playing golf, and tending to my ever growing veggie patch.
Claire Mathias
I become a staff governor because I wanted to play an active role in the continued improvement of Amport in providing both an excellent education and a sense of social responsibility in all pupils.
I am the Deputy Head and teach years five and six. I graduated from Liverpool University where I studied history, and then I completed a PGCE at Leeds University. I have taught at four very different schools in three Local Authorities, and have been teaching at Amport since 2010. I believe I can utilise my extensive knowledge in my role of governor to the benefit of the school. I was born in Yorkshire but have lived in Hampshire for seventeen years with my husband and three children. In my spare time, I am a member of a choir and love travelling and going to the theatre.
Hilary Corroon
I was delighted to join Amport school in November 2019 as a Foundation governor and I serve on the Resources Committee. I have lived in Monxton for nine years with my husband and two children and, during that time, have been impressed by the reputation of the school as a nurturing and happy place for children to learn and grow and by its academic excellence in particular. Through my work in the commercial world, I have served as a non-executive director on commercial boards. I have spent the last 16 years working as a strategy consultant with a range of UK education charities. I believe strongly in the transformative power of education and am looking forward to supporting the school and its leadership team in any way I can.
Philippa Good
I am Philippa Good and I am a Foundation Governor as part of my role as Priest-in-Charge of the Portway and Danebury Benefice of which Amport is a parish. I also am on the Standards Committee here. My Benefice consists of six churches in this beautiful part of Hampshire. Amport, Monxton, Grateley, Quarley, Nether and Over Wallop. We are in the Andover Deanery part of Winchester Diocese.
I am married and have four children, two of which have 'grown and flown'. We also have one cat and three dogs! I thoroughly enjoy getting out and about to the schools within my area and it is a special joy to become part of Amports Governors as well as to take Collective Acts of Worship and services in church for the children. I look forward to getting to know the children and parents as we meet together over the many, many years we hope to be here.
Amport Church of England Primary School was founded in 1815 by Sophia Sheppard and it is the responsibility of all Governors to ensure there is secure compliance with the Trust Deed. We believe the school should serve the whole community as it attempts to provide excellent education for all within a happy and safe environment.
Our Governing Body today is made up of a cross section of people each of whom bring with them a unique set of skills. We are responsible for the strategic management of the school and our role is to support and challenge the Headteacher and staff to ensure the children receive an excellent education. We all undertake regular training.
There are four sub-committees and governors sit on one of either the Resources Committee or the Standards Committee. In addition, some governors sit on the Pay Committee and all Foundation Governors sit on the Foundation Committee.
Foundation Governors are unique to Church schools and are appointed by the Church at Parish or Diocesan level. We are practising Christians and regular, supportive members of our local churches.
We have the responsibility to see that the school’s Church of England foundation has a relevant and meaningful role in the daily running of the school so that the school's vision is distinctively Christian and is rooted in our core Christian values of Truth, Trust, Forgiveness and Love. This means that the Christian faith is visible throughout the life of the school where the impact of the vision is seen as the heartbeat of the school.
School places are offered to local families, both within catchment and out of catchment, including Christians but also those of different faiths, or of none. Relationships are held to be important for all members of the school community and are developed and nurtured so that reconciliation and forgiveness may be seen as well as respect and care.
We need to ensure that the school’s procedures, customs and practice are founded in Christian values and that there is provision of good quality Collective Worship and Religious Education. The daily act of worship holds special significance and provides an opportunity for the school community to come together to celebrate their Christian foundations. Awe, wonder and mystery are discovered as relevant to all. Christian teaching is open and developmental so that each child can develop their own sense of spirituality. Christian values, including our core Christian values of Truth, Trust, Forgiveness and Love, are taught and lived and we provide the opportunity for all children to experience the presence of God and prayer in their lives, every day.
As Foundation Governors, we monitor Collective Worship and ensure it is taking place according to Anglican tradition, attend occasionally and discuss with staff and children to gauge the impact of the worship. We have a responsibility to monitor the teaching of Religious Education and ensure there are adequate resources and that these areas are included in the School Improvement Plan. We need to constantly ask ourselves if visitors see our school as a Church of England school. Foundation Governors are present on all sub-committees and are always represented in the recruitment of staff.
In creating the special Christian community, we are supported by close links with the churches in Amport, Monxton and Quarley. The parishes are part of The Portway and Danebury Team Ministry, a group of seven churches, and one of the clergy of the team is on our Governing Body and regularly leads Collective Worship at the school. Amport church is used throughout the year for special services. The school is part of the community and we ensure it reaches out to the community. The community is valued in school and encouraged to contribute to all aspects of school life.
On our Governing Body we have seven Foundation Governors. There are also 2 Parent Governors elected by the parents of the school, 1 Local Authority Governor, 1 Staff Governor, and an Ex-Officio Governor (the Headteacher). The Clerk is also the Admin Officer of the school.