Meet the Governors
The Board of Governors meet every half term at our Full Governing Board meetings to discuss the school’s development plan, risk assessments, safeguarding, SEND, governance matters, policies and any other business and priorities relating to the term. Within individual Governor link roles, Governors carry out monitoring visits in their allocated school areas and provide reports at our Full Governing Board Meetings.
School Governors Biographies (in alphabetical order):
Sharon Corbin - Co-opted Governor
I have been a registered Social Worker (Children and Families Social Worker) since 1981. I have extensive experience of both practice and management roles and retired from my last substantive post which was with CAFCASS working in the London Courts in 2008 in Private Law. I moved to live on the IOW the same year.
Date of appointment: 15th May 2024
Term of office: 4 years
Appointed by: Governing Board
Business or financial interests: None
Governance roles in other schools: None
Material interests arising from relationships between governors or governors and staff: None
Meetings attended in 2023-24: 0/1
Jennie Healey - Parent Governor and Link Governor for Health and Safety
I work as a Project Manager for the National Trust, looking after project delivery as part of the London and South East Consultancy team, my background is in construction and industrial implementation. I was born on the island, left do to get a degree and start my career and I came back in 2010 to be around family and start my own, my eldest joined Gurnard Primary in 2019.
Date of appointment: 13th October 2023
Term of office: 4 years
Appointed by: Parental Election
Business or financial interests: None
Governance roles in other schools: None
Material interests arising from relationships between governors or governors and staff: None
Meetings attended in 2023-24: 4/5
Emma Meek - Local Authority Governor and Link Governor for Child Protection/Safeguarding; SEND; and OPAL.
I currently work for the Integrated Care Board (NHS) as the strategic lead for Children’s Continuing Care on the Isle of Wight. I am experienced in change management, operational and strategic planning, thinking, acting, and influencing.
I previously worked for Barnardo’s and various educational establishments and focused on improving children and young people’s outcomes. I am particularly passionate about children’s mental health and wellbeing and the impact this has on academic achievement and I advocate the unique support individual children should receive to thrive. I have been a a member of Gurnard Governing Board for 8 years, previously, as the Chair and now supporting the Board as the Local Authority Governor.
Date of appointment: Elected as Parent Governor on 11th December 2015 and as Local Authority Governor on 12th December 2019
Term of office: 4 years
Appointed by: The Local Authority
Business or financial interests: None
Governance roles in other schools: None
Material interests arising from relationships between governors or governors and staff: None
Meetings attended in 2023-24: 5/7 FGB meetings
Emily Ottley - Co-opted Governor
I am passionate about the futures of our Island children and aim to use this role as a platform to support their progress. Having attended Gurnard Primary School myself, many years ago, I have close personal links with the school. My professional background is in education and I have worked as a Secondary English teacher for several years, both on the mainland and on the Island.
Date of appointment: 15th May 2024
Term of office: 4 years
Appointed by: Governing Board
Business or financial interests: None
Governance roles in other schools: None
Material interests arising from relationships between governors or governors and staff: Yes, related to a member of school staff
Meetings attended in 2023-24: 1/1
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Clare Overy - Parent Governor
I have worked in Education for 18 years in various roles supporting Leadership teams in HR, Finance, Business Management and Strategic planning. My current role specialises in Financial Planning and Data Reporting for a multi-academy trust. I look forward to working with the school and Governing Body to achieve the best outcomes for our young people to ensure their successful futures.
Date of appointment: 19th January 2024
Term of office: 4 years
Appointed by: Parental Election
Business or financial interests: None
Governance roles in other schools: None
Material interests arising from relationships between governors or governors and staff: None
Meetings attended in 2023-24: 4/4
Roger Rickman – Co-opted Governor and Link Governor for Mathematics
I was elected to the Governing Board as a Co-opted Governor in March 2019. I bring extensive knowledge and experience in education and children’s services to the Board. After a period as a teacher, I trained as an educational psychologist and became the principal educational psychologist in a local education authority. I then went on to hold senior management positions with responsibly for a wide range of education services and social care services for children and young adults. I am now retired from my local authority director position and have since undertaken consultancy and government inspection work. I aim to contribute to all aspects of planning, decision-making and problem solving as a member of the Governing Board and will be taking a special interest in mathematics within the curriculum.
Date of appointment: 26th March 2019
Term of office: 4 years
Appointed by: The Governing Board
Business or financial interests: None
Governance roles in other schools: None
Material interests arising from relationships between governors or governors and staff: None
Meetings attended in 2023-24: 6/7 FGB meetings
Sarah Squibb – Staff Governor
My professional background began in law and I worked as a qualified solicitor for six years before deciding to retrain as a teacher. I have been a qualified teacher for over 11 years and have been lucky enough to spend 10 of those years at Gurnard Primary! I am passionate about the school and am excited to be acting as the staff representative on the Governing Board, working alongside the other governors to assist them in understanding the workings of the school.
Date of appointment: 20th September 2024
Term of office: 4 years
Appointed by: The Governing Board
Business or financial interests: None
Governance roles in other schools: None
Material interests arising from relationships between governors or governors and staff: None
Meetings attended in 2023-24: N/A
Stuart Thomas – Chair of Governors, Parent Governor and Link Governor for English, PEACH and Compliance
My background is in operations management and strategic planning and over the past 15 years I have worked in campaigning non-government organisations (NGOs) and charities across a number of areas, including board governance, HR, financial reporting & budget setting, health and safety risk assessment and project management.
Date of appointment: 13th July 2020
Term of office: 4 years
Appointed by: Parental election
Business or financial interests: None
Governance roles in other schools: None
Material interests arising from relationships between governors or governors and staff: None
Meetings attended in 2023-24: 7/7 FGB meetings
Doug Vincett – Vice-Chair of Governors, Parent Governor and Link Governor for Science and Computing
I have a wide and varied background from working on large yachts to holding a long-term position in the sales and marketing department of a successful Island marine manufacturer. As a Governor I bring my valuable communication skills, logistics and strategic planning experience as well as a keen drive to learn.
Date of appointment: 18th November 2020
Term of office: 4 years
Appointed by: Parental election
Business or financial interests: None
Governance roles in other schools: None
Material interests arising from relationships between governors or governors and staff: None
Meetings attended in 2023-24: 5/7 FGB meetings
Nerys Welfoot - Co-opted Governor
I worked for 23 years at the House of Commons as a Clerk, helping Members of Parliament examine and scrutinise Government policy, expenditure and legislation. After moving back to the Island permanently, I taught both Geography and Government and Politics at Ryde Academy and am delighted to put this educational experience to good use by serving as a Governor for Gurnard Primary School. I now work in the Philanthropy Team of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation in Cowes. I look forward to contributing to the Governing body and supporting this wonderful school.
Date of appointment: 31st January 2024
Term of office: 4 years
Appointed by: Co-opted by the Governing Board
Business or financial interests: None
Governance roles in other schools: None
Material interests arising from relationships between governors or governors and staff: None
Meetings attended in 2023-24: 3/3
Victoria Wells - Parent Governor and Link Governor for EYFS
I am Vice Principal at a local secondary school. I moved to the island six years ago having worked previously in education in London. I have held various roles within secondary education leadership and I trained as a History teacher. As a governor I bring my experience in helping teachers to develop and using data to inform school development plans. I am keen to support the school as it moves into an exciting next stage of development.
Date of appointment: 13th October 2023
Term of office: 4 years
Appointed by: Parental election
Business or financial interests: None
Governance roles in other schools: None
Material interests arising from relationships between governors or governors and staff: None
Meetings attended in 2023-24: 4/5
Clemma Yardley – Headteacher
This role involves working closely with the Governing Board and meeting regularly with the Chair of Governors. The Headteacher attends all meetings of the Full Governing Board to report to them on progress towards key objectives; provide guidance and information on initiatives and regulations; draft policies and development plans; and produce various reports to help inform their decision making. This support helps to maximise the time efficiency of the Governing Board and assist effective governance. The Headteacher is accountable to the Governing Board and a key part of the role is to bring a whole-school perspective and day-to-day context to their meetings and discussions.
Date of appointment: 1st September 2022
Term of office: Whilst in post
Appointed by: The Headteacher is automatically a member of the Governing Board
Business or financial interests: None
Governance roles in other schools: None
Material interests arising from relationships between governors or governors and staff: None
Meetings attended in 2023-24: 6/7 FGB meetings
Click here to see details of Governing Board members that have served during
the last 12 months but are no longer Governing Board members