Welcome to the Governing Body
Governors are committed to achieving our shared vision for the school. This means that they regularly visit the school to undertake a range of activities on top of attending a series of meetings throughout the year. Each governor is assigned an area of interest. All members are also encouraged to attend full governing body meetings. There are two sub-committees working under the Full Governing Board - Finance and Standards.
There are three core functions of the governing board:
- Ensuring clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction.
- Holding executive leaders to account for the educational performance of the organisation and its pupils, and the effective and efficient performance management of staff.
- Overseeing financial performance of the organisation and making sure its money is well spent.
Each member of the governing body is asked to declare any pecuniary interests and are asked to withdraw any section of a meeting where there may be a conflict of interests.
The Chair for the Full Governing Body is Mr B. Zielenski-Smith.
Our Safeguarding Governor is Mrs E. Senior.
Governing Board 2023-24
Name |
Category |
Appointed by |
Term |
Role |
Emily Chase | LA Governor | LA | 03/10/23 - 02/10/27 |
Finance Committee Early Years Link Music Link |
Ian Clifton | Parent | Parents | 21/10/22 - 20/10/26 |
Finance Committee Pupil Premium Link SEND Link Health & Safety Link Finance Link |
Pam Dossang | Co-Opted | Governors | 17/10/23 - 16/10/27 |
CHAIR OF GOVERNORS Finance & Standards Committee Assessment & Standards Governor Training Website Compliance PSHE Link |
Rev. Canon Mark Haworth | Foundation | Ex Officio | 01/09/23 (no term of office) |
Standards Committee
|
Sam Herselman | Staff | Staff | 05/04/23 - 04/04/27 | Standards Committee |
Saskia Higginson | Co-Opted | Governors | 18/04/24 - 17/04/28 |
Standards Committee
|
James Richardson | Parent | Parents | 20/10/21 - 19/10/25 |
Standards Committee PE Link Computing Link Humanities Link EDI Link RE & SIAMS Link |
Ellie Senior | Parent | Parents | 20/10/21 - 19/10/25 |
Standards Committee Safeguarding Link Online Safety Curriculum Link |
Georgina Turner | Headteacher | Ex Officio | 01/09/23 (no term of office) | HEADTEACHER |
Brian Zielinski-Smith | Parent | Parents | 21/10/22 - 20/10/26 |
VICE-CHAIR OF GOVERNORS Finance Committee Maths Link Art Link Science Link |
|
Governor Pecuniary Interest:
|
Register of Pecuniary Interests 2023-2024 |
Name of governor |
Type of governor |
Date appointed |
Relevant business interests |
Links to other educational establishments
|
Personal relationships with the school staff or other governors |
Date interest declared |
Chase, Emily |
LA Governor |
03/10/24 |
None |
None |
None |
29/04/24 |
Clifton, Ian |
Parent |
21/10/24 |
None |
None |
None |
16/10/23 |
Dossang, Pam |
Co-Opted |
17/10/23 |
None |
None |
None |
21/01/24 |
Rev. Canon Mark Haworth |
Foundation |
01/09/23 |
None |
None |
None |
|
Herselman, Sam |
Staff |
05/04/24 |
None |
None |
None |
23/01/24 |
Higginson, Saskia |
Co-Opted |
18/04/24 |
None |
None |
None |
30/04/24 |
Richardson, James |
Parent |
20/10/21 |
None |
None |
None |
16/10/23 |
Senior, Ellie |
Parent |
20/10/21 |
None |
None |
None |
17/01/24 |
Turner, Georgina |
Headteacher |
01/09/23 |
None |
None |
None |
22/01/24 |
Zielinksi-Smith, Brian |
Parent |
21/10/22 |
None |
None |
None |
11/01/24 |
VACANCY |
Parent |
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VACANCY |
Co-Opted |
|
|
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VACANCY |
Co-Opted |
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VACANCY |
Foundation |
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Former Governors (served in the past 12 months)
Name of governor |
Type of governor |
End of Tenure |
Relevant business interests |
Links to other educational establishments
|
Personal relationships with the school staff or other governors |
Date interest declared |
Karger, Simon |
Parent |
04/09/23 |
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|
Akinsola, Lawrence |
Parent |
16/01/24 |
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Governor Meeting Dates:
FGB meeting - 20th June 2024, 7pm (at school)
FGB meeting - 12th September 2024, 7pm (at school)
Dates for 2024-25 are to be agree at the FGB meeting on 20th June 2024
Financial Information
There are no employees at The Rackham C of E Primary School with a gross annual salary of £100,000 or more.
Please click this link to be directed to the school's financial benchmarking service. School’s Financial Benchmarking Service
Minutes of meetings
The following documents are available upon request:
- Approved and signed minutes
- Agendas
- Any papers considered at meetings
Please make written requests to clerk@rackham.cambs.sch.uk
Governor Meeting Attendance:
Governor biographies
Brian Zielinski-Smith
Chair of Governors
Brian has lived in Witchford for the last 7 years, with two children, one of whom is enjoying the education and life at the school, and the other will eventually join her in a few years. He is the Technical Services Director at a start-up in Norwich, developing rockets to provide space access to the global space sector, also volunteering as a STEM ambassador. With a background in engineering, commercial and strategic product development/management, underpinned by a degree in engineering and a passion for science, Brian is well placed to bring some excellent insights and ideas to the governing board, helping guide and develop the school to run as effectively as possible and, providing excellent education to children.
Georgina Turner
Ex Officio Governor Headteacher
Georgina started her teaching career in Peterborough before moving to teach in Essex, East London and the Medway towns in North Kent, where she was Deputy Head. Georgina returned to Cambridgeshire and started working at The Rackham initially teaching in Year 5/6. Georgina then taught in Year 3/4 followed by Key Stage One before progressing to Deputy Headteacher and a member of SLT. Georgina is the current Headteacher at The Rackham. Georgina has taken two career breaks from teaching to work in business. Georgina found this experience invaluable as it gave context to the culture schools are preparing children to work in as adults. The demands of work outside of education highlighted the vital importance of excellent teaching and learning to ensure all children have the best opportunities in their lives once their school career comes to an end.
Ian Clifton
Ian has lived in Witchford for over 10 years. Ian’s career background is Facility Management since University, he currently works in Retail Management having done so for over 10 years at multiple Retail Centres. Ian manages the day-to-day site operations, specifically the on-site Contracts including Hard and Soft Services, Fabric Maintenance and H&S of the site, its retailers, and all contractors. Ian has a child in Reception and KS2 at The Rackham with a third who has moved onto secondary education. He has been on the Governing Board since 2018.
Pam Dossang
Associate Member
Originally from Belfast, Northern Ireland, Pam moved to England in 1998 after reading Applied Biochemistry. Her career has been extensively scientifically focused having spent over 20 years in Drug Discovery across pharmaceutical, biotechnology and commercial sectors. Currently leading a multidisciplinary research group, she is responsible for strategy, finance, resourcing and contract design whilst project managing for global clients. Pam’s main extra-curricular passion is Psychology which she studied at degree level. She has two children in KS2 at the school and also sits on the Friends of Witchford Rackham Committee.
Samantha Herselman
Teacher Governor
Samantha started her teaching career twelve years ago, following on from being a Teaching Assistant. During her career she has taught children across all of the primary age ranges both at The Rackham and other Cambridgeshire schools. Samantha has two primary aged children herself and understands the importance of providing a wide range of opportunities to the young people in our community. Since January 2023, Samantha has been the Acting Deputy Head and SENDCo at The Rackham, both roles were made permanent in April of the same year. Samantha holds the nationally recognised SEND Coordination qualification and has a passion for supporting children with Special Educational Needs. She has recently become a member of the Governing Body in order to continue to have a positive impact on the children who attend The Rackham.
Ellie Senior
Safeguarding Governor
Ellie joined the Governing Body at The Rackham as a Parent Governor in October 2021. She has two children currently enjoying education at the school. She lives in Coveney where she is involved in many aspects of the community including as Trustee of the village hall and foodbank volunteer. In a previous career Ellie was a Primary School Teacher and Deputy Head, starting her career in Derbyshire, then Norfolk and Cambridgeshire. During that period she served as Teacher Governor for a number of years across two schools. Now, Ellie is a Freelance Copywriter, providing a wide range of writing services to help businesses and organisations communicate effectively digitally and in print. Ellie says, “I admire the work of The Rackham team in creating a strong community that families and staff feel proud to be part of and that inspires aspiration in our young people. I have seen Rackham meet challenges with a proactive and sensitive approach that keeps children at the heart of decision-making. I want to be part of supporting our school to meet the challenges and triumphs to come.”
Emily Chase
LA Governor
Emily moved to Witchford in 2019 and has two children, one that is currently at Rackham Primary. She has worked in the arts and cultural education sector for over 17 years. After beginning her career at Babylon Arts in Ely, Emily has worked as a Learning Officer for internationally renowned galleries and museums at UEA and Cambridge University, supporting schools’ engagement programmes, Teachers INSETs, and cultural events such as international conferences, seminars, and artist development programmes. Her previous roles as Artsmark and Arts Award Programme Manager for the east region, saw her work with Senior Education Leaders and Head Teachers to develop strategic programmes for school arts and cultural engagement. In her current role as Relationship Manager; Children, Young People and Learning, for Arts Council England, she is responsible for the investment and development of arts and cultural activity within the Southeast of England, and particularly focuses on activity that supports children and young people to fulfil their creative potential, access the highest quality cultural experiences where they live, where they go to school and were they spend their free time. She believes passionately in how arts and culture can enrich and bring joy to children’s lives, and she hopes that her experience and skills will bring wider opportunities for the school and help nurture its vision of ’working together to be the best we can possibly be’.
Saskia Higginson
Saskia grew up in Witchford, living here for 18 years, and attended The Rackham Primary School when she was younger. She recently graduated from the University of Manchester with a degree in English Literature, Saskia’s degree in English has helped to instil a deep love for the subject which she is keen to bring to the governing board and school. She is currently completing a two-year graduate scheme at Cambridgeshire County Council, working in many different placements throughout her time at the authority. Her current placement is within policy and insight, specifically helping to work on the business plan for the year and helping to facilitate budget setting workshops.