Governors
The National Governors’ Association has for a number of years recommended that governing bodies adopt a code of practice which sets out the purpose of the governing body and describes the appropriate relationship between individual governors, the whole governing body and the leadership team of the school.
General Information
Minutes will be made available, after they have been ratified, on the school website. All policy documents are available to staff, parents and interested parties on request at the main school office.
Any complaints or feedback in the first instance should be made to the Executive Headteacher (Miss Lynette Clapham)
Feedback to the Governing body can be made to governors@chps.paymat.org or via the main school office.
Every Governor is required to fill in a Declaration of Pecuniary Interest Form every academic year. You can find a sample of the form here.
| Governor | Area of Responsibility |
Committee Membership |
Pecuniary Interest |
Ofsted Training |
Prevent Training |
Modern Governor |
Raise Online |
Date of Appointment |
End Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Deirdre Bailey | Safeguarding | F&GP | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | 01.09.1996 | 31.09.2019 |
| Qia Mahfooz | Pupil Premium | SIC | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | 01.09.2002 | 31.08.2019 |
| Maria Grynchuk | Numeracy | SIC | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | 19.10.2015 | 18.10.2019 |
| Naiza Mehrban | Early Years | SIC | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | 19.10.2015 | 18.10.2019 |
| Julie McGovern | Literacy | F&GP | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | 03.03.2014 | 02.03.2018 |
| Michael Thorp | Head Teacher | F&GP | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | 01.01.2008 | Headteacher |
Julie McGovern
Chair of Governors
My name is Julie McGovern, I am the Chair of Governors for Crossley Hall Primary.
I have served on the Governing Body for 4 years, initially as Local Authority Governor. Over this time, I have become incredibly familiar with the school seeing it move through its journey from Requires Improvement to Good as well as the expansion of the school lead specialist provision.
Having worked in a law firm for over 26 years, I bring with me a wealth of knowledge and professional experience. Currently, I specialise in the area of Public Law Children's’ Act work so am regularly involved in dealing with legal issues concerning children, especially children’s safety and wellbeing. This is particularly useful in my role as Safeguarding Governor. I am particularly keen to ensure the voice of pupils is heard in our school through the work of our Junior Leadership Team.
I am a regular visitor to school, either in person or virtually. I meet termly with the Designated Safeguarding Lead and meet the Executive Head and Head of School more regularly. Covid-19 has brought with it incredible challenges but the committee, school leaders and the wider school community are determined to continue to drive the school forward.
I am very proud of the environment that has been created within school, and I am looking forward to seeing a high standard of achievement throughout the school.
Lynette Clapham
Headteacher Governor
I am Interim Executive Headteacher of Crossley Hall and Grove House Primary. I am responsible for the strategic development of both organisations as well as the efficiency and capacity of the leadership and management teams.
After working in household insurance for four years, I attended Leeds Trinity University where I completed a BA (Hons) with QTS in Primary Education and History. As a teacher, I have experience of teaching in all year groups during my career but feel I really learnt my craft in upper key stage 2. I am a Specialist Leader in Education for Assessment and the Coaching of Teaching and Learning. Until recently, I was the lead Key Stage One Moderator for the Local Authority.
I originally joined Crossley Hall as Deputy Head in 2014 where I worked in partnership with the previous Head Teacher to take the school to ‘Good.’ After leaving to take up my post as Head Teacher at Grove House Primary School just 3 miles away, I was delighted to be asked to return in September 2020 as Interim Executive Head Teacher.
Committed to continuing her professional development, I completed my National Professional Qualification in Headship in 2014 and am currently working towards my National Professional Qualification in Executive Leadership.
I am committed to the development of others and to growing Crossley Hall into a beacon of strength to serve the children and families of Bradford.
Maria Grynuchuk
Parent Governor
I have been a Governor at Crossley Hall Primary School for 5 years now and more recently have taken on responsibility for improving pupil outcomes in maths.
My daughter is in Year 6 and I have witnessed her come on in leaps and bounds since when she joined the school in Reception as a shy little girl. Looking back at all that the school offered and invested in my child, I believe that it provides an outstanding environment for the children to strive in and develop positive and meaningful relationships and good moral principles.
Outside of my place on the Governing Body, I am also a Mathematics teacher in the local secondary school and regularly see how well the school supports a local community and prepares children on the way to a successful time in secondary school and future career paths. As well as my own teaching skills, I am multilingual and use my language skills to help improve the communication between the school and the parents which in return benefits the local community immensely.
I have enjoyed seeing the change in the curriculum and how the children enjoy a more creative and well-rounded approach to their learning. I am passionate about developing lifelong opportunities for the children and fostering the environment where each child is valued, develops self-esteem and is given an opportunity to excel academically and creatively. I am passionate about my contribution to the maintaining of the schools’ high standards and would offer my commitment, enthusiasm and determination to make a difference and create a nurturing and supportive environment that the children would strive in.
My priorities lie in ensuring that the school continues to run smoothly, goes from strength to strength and achieves recognition as an excellent school.
Rachel Porter
Staff Governor
I am a teacher governor at Crossley Hall and currently work as the Specialist Teacher for children with Autism and lead our School Lead Resource Provision.
After graduating with a degree in English from Manchester Metropolitan University, I Obtained a TEFL qualification and worked in Greece for a year as an English Language Teaching Assistant. On my return to the UK, I completed a PCGE in Primary Education at Bradford University. I have more than 27 years teaching experience with 15 of those in special schools where my passion developed for teaching children with autism and became a member of the Autism Outreach Team for North Manchester. I am also trained with Bernardos to deliver their Cygnet parenting course.
In January 2019 I made the move back to mainstream teaching to take up the position of Lead Practitioner in the Resourced Provision at Crossley Hall Primary School. I feel passionate about inclusive education, a key strand of the ethos at Crossley Hall. No matter which year group, class or area of school a child is learning in, the inclusive approach of Crossley Hall is something I am very proud of.
Neelam Malik
Parent Governor
I am a Parent Governor at Crossley Hall and have two daughters who attend the school. Currently, I am a housewife as well as full time carer to my daughter who has autism.
As a local resident and parent, I am very proud of our school and the excellent support systems especially for our children whom are unique in their own ways. My youngest daughter accesses her education through the Resource Provision which caters for children with Autism. Throughout school, I continue to be impressed with skills of the highly trained staff in school; they are so passionate about children with additional needs. Their level of support has given me a great deal of reassurances around the needs of my own children.
As a parent, I understand how important it is to get the best education and to build a strong relationship with the school and I am delighted to be able to contribute to the development of the school through my role as a governor. As the named governor for SEND, I fully support the school's ethos and principles. I believe it is vital to have a have a strong relationship between school and parents. Receiving a diagnosis about your child’s learning needs can be incredibly stressful. Having this experience first-hand, makes me ideally placed to support the school in understanding a parent’s perspective.
As well as being a busy mum, I enjoy spending time with my family, enjoying days out. I am a keen cook and regularly enjoy meals with my family. I enjoy being able to share my skills in the kitchen with my girls. I am incredibly social and can often be found chatting to parents in the playground. As an Urdu speak, I am able to use my language skills to support communication at school.
I am greatly honoured and proud to be part of the governing body and look forward to support it through the next stage of its journey.