More about the Governing Body

 

 

Caroline Pickard

My name is Caroline Pickard. I have lived in the local area since 2010 and continue to do so now; with one of my children currently attending the School too. My employment is within children’s services and so, I am familiar with safeguarding work and roles within my day to day work. I am the Chair of Governors, the history link and the safeguarding link – which means I am probably a familiar face to you and am regularly in School, working with the staff around their roles and the work of the School.

I wanted to become a governor to understand more about the School; it’s work, how we can make things better for the children who attend there and to support the practice of the School in every way so that we can make it the best it can be! 

 

Zoe Thompson

My name is Zoe Thompson and I have been a Co-opted Governor with HOSM Primary since November 2019.

I have lived in HOSM since 2010; my husband was born here and attended this school.  We live on our family farm and both our children attend HOSM school and have done so since nursery.  As a parent, I naturally want the best education for our children. This also extends to all the children in our community, many of whom are children of friends and relatives.

My priorities have changed since becoming a parent. I continue to work in Executive Recruitment but now work for myself; life is still busy and exciting but with more flexibility how I spend my time.  I have led the recruitment of numerous senior appointments for organisations with social purpose including work in Education and the Children’s Services sector.    I was previously a Trustee for a children’s charity and enjoyed this governance role. I knew that when the time was right, I would like to undertake another governance role and contributing to our local school in this capacity has felt like a great fit.

During my time as a HOSM Governor, I have contributed to the school in several ways including having Governor responsibility for Staff appointments. I have Chaired various Committees and for three years was the Lead Governor for Safeguarding and Child Protection. I am currently the Vice Chair of Governors.

My memories of school are incredibly positive and happy.  I loved my school years and enjoyed learning in the broadest sense of the word; I was supported by some very committed and inspiring teachers.  I hope to be playing a small part in supporting the teachers and staff of our village school, helping all the children of HOSM Primary enjoy their time at school and fulfil their potential.

 

Kirsty Pennock

My name is Kirsty. I have lived in HOSM since 2011, I live with my husband Sam, my daughter Elizabeth who attends HOSM nursery and our dog Pluto. I work as a Senior Serious Injury Solicitor based in Wakefield, I act for clients who have suffered life changing injuries to secure rehabilitation and compensation.

I have volunteered for the past 2 years to provide weekly reading sessions with young children to improve their reading levels before starting junior school. I found this incredibly rewarding and enjoyable to help encourage young children and build their reading confidence. 

I am hopeful that I will be able to offer a variety of skills as a governor to help HOSM Primary School continue to maintain a high standard of achievement. 

 

Rebecca Simpson

I’ve been a governor at the school for nearly 5 years and although I no longer have children attending the school, the school and the success for its pupils remain important to me. As a governor, I feel I can use my experience to support the school, staff and pupils to promote the schools aims for excellence by striving to provide high quality education and facilities for each young person in a caring, safe and pleasant environment.

I currently sit on the Curriculum and Pupil Progress Committee, which reviews what/how the children are being taught and how their learning is progressing when compared to their learning objectives, and national measures.

I work within the financial services sector, where data comparison and monitoring is key to spotting weaknesses and finding solutions to improve the outcomes. 

I am married with three girls, aged 15, 12 and 5. I love to go running, when I get some free time!!!

I no longer live within the village, but still enjoy visiting the school and keep myself up to date via the website. I am looking forward to continuing to work with the school the coming year.

 

Jo Henderson

Hello, I’m Jo Henderson and I’m a co-opted Governor. I have been a Governor since 2018. I live in Holme on Spalding Moor with my husband, Neil and son, James who has attended the school from nursery.

I have worked in the Civil Service throughout my career, working for both the Department for Education and Department for Work and Pensions. During this time, I have held various roles, but always with a focus on improving learning and skills for young people and adults, which is something I am passionate about.

I am Chair of the Curriculum and Pupil Progress Committee and take a lead on the school website. My subject links are Modern Foreign Languages and Art and Design.

 

Janice Hiley

I am one of the newly appointed Governors at HOSM Primary - and am delighted to be so. I have lived in the village for two and a half years, moving back to my northern roots after 18 years in Buckinghamshire. My background is in education - I am a retired teacher of almost 40 years extensive and varied experience. I am keen to maintain a link with education and be involved in the life of the village, as a Governor it will give me an opportunity to do this whilst hopefully contributing usefully to the children and staff at the school. I have taught all ages from 4 - 19, worked in special and mainstream schools as well as in the independent sector and held a number of roles from class teacher to headteacher. I have served on SLT whilst in several of my posts and on a Governing body as Headteacher.

I have been hugely involved in organising and monitoring school visits and residential trips in all of the schools that I’ve worked in, both in the UK and abroad, attending many of them either with my own year group or as a supervising adult. I have always been involved in extra-curricular activities and clubs. Throughout my time in schools, I have held posts on the committees of all of the PTA groups. I am particularly keen on reading and needlework of all kinds and am passionate about developing a love of reading in children. I am looking forward to a long and fruitful friendship with HOSM Primary School.

 

Kris Thellmann

I believe that I have skills and experience that could be beneficial to the running of the school, alongside the desire to see the school be the best that it can be. 

I am a civil engineer with almost two decades of experience working for one of the world’s largest multi-disciplinary design and engineering consultancies.  This role has afforded me the opportunity not only to work on varied projects, from local municipal schemes to projects of global significance, liaising with colleagues from all over the world, but also to develop my management, operational, and governance skills. 

I lead a team of engineers from diverse cultural and educational backgrounds, based across the north of England.  My role has a particular focus on delivering complex projects, whilst also managing individual staff with a view of their mentoring and development on both an individual development, and strategic business capability basis. 

The skills and experiences that I have acquired through my career to date mean that I am well versed in being accountable for my decisions and actions, whilst also holding others accountable against the standards that we have agreed to uphold.  I have an in-depth understanding of measuring progress, working with varied datasets, and presenting information to groups of people from all walks of life

Ultimately, I wish to help the school to continually improve for the benefit of all current and future children who attend it.

 

Belinda Healey

My name is Belinda Healey, I’m a co-opted Governor and the SEND & Pupil Voice link Governor. I am also on the Curriculum & Pupil Progress Committee. I volunteer in school once a week, supporting Class 3 with their reading, which I thoroughly enjoy! I love spending time with the children and I help out and attend events as often as possible eg school trips, leavers assembly, Christmas plays etc.

My husband and I moved to the village in 2020 from Leeds and we were welcomed into the community and I have lots of hobbies and pastimes. I enjoy walking, swimming, exercise classes, cross stitching, knitting, jigsaws, crossword puzzles and anything else to keep me busy. I love spending time with my Grandson who is almost three years old.

I love my role as a Governor/volunteer and my whole purpose is to make a difference for each child in our school.

 

Stephen Cope

Many of you will know me as the local vicar, but I have had plenty of experience over the years as a school governor. I have three daughters and four grandchildren, and it was when my eldest daughter started at primary school that I decided to get involved with her school as a governor.

Since then (in 1992!) I have been a governor at five different schools before moving here, and chair of governors at three of them, overseeing the slightly-awkward amalgamation of Withernsea Infants and Junior Schools into the largest primary school in the East Riding. Only two of the schools were church schools, so I know my role within the state sector. I have also served on the Schools Budget Forum and the Admissions Forum of the East Riding L(E)A over the years. I am now the Local Authority governor at the school.

My particular interests have been in the curriculum and performance side of things. I’m not much use with buildings and suchlike, but our governors here have always had an excellent mix of skills. With the team from the local churches I help deliver assemblies, so I am well known to many of the children in school

 

Gareth Troake

Gareth has worked in primary education for over fifteen years after completing his degree in Sport and Exercise Science. He began his teaching career in Special Education before moving into main stream primary schools and has worked across all Key Stages.

Gareth is currently the Assistant Headteacher at Spring Cottage Primary School (Kingston Upon Hull), a role which he has held for six years. As a designated Senior Leader of Education (SLE) in both mathematics and assessment, Gareth has supported numerous schools across Hull and East Yorkshire and was recently seconded to an East Riding school as a Deputy Headteacher.