Governance

What is a Local Governing Body?

Sulivan Primary School is part of United Learning Trust. Whilst the Trustees hold ultimate responsibility for the governance of the school, they delegate certain responsibilities to the Local Governing Body (LGB). The roles and responsibilities of our governance team can be viewed on our Scheme of Delegation which can be found here.

The Department for Education describes the six key features of effective governance as:

• Strategic leadership that sets and champions vision, ethos and strategy.
• Accountability that drives up educational standards and financial performance.
• People with the right skills, experience, qualities and capacity. 
• Structures that reinforce clearly defined roles and responsibilities. 
• Compliance with statutory and contractual requirements.
  Evaluation to monitor and improve the quality and impact of governance.

What do Governors do?

School governors are volunteers who want to make a positive contribution to children’s education. Governors provide strategic leadership and accountability in schools and strive to promote high standards of educational achievement. They hold the responsibility of ensuring that the school meets its statutory duties and work in partnership with the headteacher and staff.

When do Governors meet?

The Governing Body meets four times a year,  Governors have specific links within the school so that they are well informed and part of the school improvement cycle.

How is the LGB structured?

The structure of the governing body at Sulivan is as follows:  one Headteacher, one Local Authority governor, three co-opted governors, three parent governors and one staff governor.

Who are the school’s Governors?

Chair of Governors – Caroline Langton

I have been a school governor since 1996, and was Chair of Governors at St Peter’s CE Primary (1998-2004) and at Sulivan (2004-2008). I was also on the board at Lady Margaret School. In 2013 I came back to Sulivan as a co-opted governor to help fight the Save Our Sulivan campaign alongside the other governors, parents, staff and friends of the school. Sulivan is very special to me and I was extremely happy to come back as Chair of Governors again in 2015. All the governors are continually working with the Head and her staff to make the school an even better place for the children than it is now. I live in Chiswick with my husband and have three grown up children.

Wendy Coombes

After 15 years of successful headship I became an Advisory Headteacher for Hammersmith and Fulham. In 2003 I was the NQT (newly qualified teacher) Coordinator for the local authority. I led the Deputy Headteacher professional development programme and continued to support Headteachers in schools. In 2012 I left the LA and became a private education consultant continuing to support Deputy Headteachers and Headteachers in a range of schools.

Eliza Cockerell – Vice Chair

I am a Co-opted Governor at Sulivan and sit on the Finance Committee. I am a chartered accountant, and am currently self-employed, having lived and worked in London, Chicago and Amsterdam. I have always had roots in West London and live in Hammersmith and Fulham.

Shireen Jayyusi

I have lived in West London most of my life, and was driven to become a governor because I am passionate about education and its critical role in supporting the development of not only children’s intellectual capabilities but also their character and well-being.  I started off my career in investment banking, before moving into business and the start-up world including founding and running my own business.  I am currently working on a new start-up.  I offer significant experience across finance, strategy, marketing and communications, project management and general operations.

Governing Body

Name	Appointment	Link	Date of appointment	Finish	Declaration of interests
Ms Caroline Langton      Chair	Trust Appointed Governor	SEND	31/10/23	30/10/27	none
Ms Eliza Levien Vice Chair	Trust Appointed Governor	Finance Attendance	07/07/22	06/07/26	none
Ms Poppy Johnson	Trust Appointed Governor	Safeguarding eSafety	02/07/21	01/07/25	none
Ms Shireen Janyusi	Trust Appointed Governor	Curriculum	31/08/21	30/08/25	none
Ms Lucy Asare-Akoto	Parent	Curriculum	08/06/22	07/06/26	none
Mrs Wendy Coombes	Associate Member	Curriculum	06/07/21	05/07/25	none
Ms Michelle Campbell	Staff	Health and Safety	18/01/22	17/01/26	none
Ms Sarah Garnett	Assistant Headteacher	In attendance	01/09/21		none
Ms Wendy Aldridge	Headteacher	In attendance	01/09/09		none