Our Governing Body

Name:

Caroline Smith

Governor Role:

Chair of Governors (Safeguarding, EYFS, Greater Depth, Finance and English Lead)

Type of Office:

Parent Governor

Term of Office:

25/10/21 – 24/10/25

Job Title:

Solicitor Partner

Pecuniary Interest:

Sister of CEO.

Professional attributes, experiences, areas of expertise and what you bring to the role:

I am a Partner at a national law Firm, Knights, and in that role I manage a team of other solicitors and work collaboratively with over 600 other partners across the business.  I have worked in this field for over 20 years and the skills of negotiation, people management, financial analysis and management, data analysis and project management assist and support me in my role as Chair of Governors.

I currently have three children at the school.  As a child I attended the school and, being local to the area all my life, am passionate about the success of the school and contribution it makes to the local community.  I volunteer on my day off to read with Year 1 children.  I believe it’s important that the governing body are visible to the staff, parents and children and it is only by going into the school that we truly get a feel for what is happening.  Every child is entitled to a quality education and I’m passionate that we deliver this at Glen Hills School.

Name:

Rebecca Wesley

Governor Role:

Headteacher 

Type of Office:

Headteacher

Term of Office:

N/A

Job Title:

Headteacher

Pecuniary Interest:

None

Professional attributes, experiences, areas of expertise and what you bring to the role:

I am the Headteacher at Glen Hills Primary School and have worked at the school for about 9 years.  I was appointed to the school as an Assistant Head teacher, Phase two leader, ICT leader and Class teacher.  I was then promoted to the position of Deputy Head teacher, phase one leader and Literacy leader, where I continued to teach and in January 2015 I became the Head of School.

I have previous experience in two schools where I worked my way up to becoming an Assistant Head teacher, having coordinated Maths and key stage 2. I was also a community Governor at my local school. Prior to teaching I trained as a solicitor, so as a Governor I have legal, educational and management experience to add to the Governing body.

Name:

Amy Smith

Governor Role:

Staff Governor 

Type of Office:

Local Governing Body

Term of Office:

28/09/20 – 28/09/24

Job Title:

Deputy Head

Pecuniary Interest:

Sister – Alison Smith-Stewart – Headteacher at Old Mill Primary School

Partner – Kevin Bolton – Site Manager at Old Mill Primary School

Professional attributes, experiences, areas of expertise and what you bring to the role:

I have taught in years 5 and 3 (KS2 focus mainly) during my time at Glen Hills Primary School, where I started as an NQT in 2008. I was Assistant Head teacher prior to becoming Deputy Head in 2019.  I lead Science across the school, coordinate Phase 2 and also lead mentoring (including mentoring ECTs), performance management (including of support staff), staff induction, safer recruitment checks, school trips/residentials, staff training (e.g. safeguarding training) and am a Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead for Glen Hills.

I have a strong knowledge of the curriculum, how it is taught and assessed and bring links with parents, carers and children to the role.

Name:

Ben Storey

Governor Role:

Staff Governor 

Type of Office:

Staff Governor

Term of Office:

28/09/22 – 28/09/26

Job Title:

Deputy Head

Pecuniary Interest:

None

Professional attributes, experiences, areas of expertise and what you bring to the role:

Subject areas of expertise: teaching, PE subject, Literacy, leadership and management.

I have an in depth understanding of the National Curriculum 2014, as well as the evolution of the Symphony Assessment System.

Having taught in both Key Stage 1 and 2, I started working at Glen Hills Primary School 10 years ago as an NQT.  I have led PE prior to leading Literacy and Key Stage 1, becoming Assistant Headteacher in 2019 and Deputy Headteacher in 2022.

Name:

John Small

Governor Role:

Co-opted (Health and Safety Lead)

Type of Office:

Co-opted Governor

Term of Office:

06/04/22 – 06/04/26

Job Title:

Director and Buyer

Pecuniary Interest:

None

Professional attributes, experiences, areas of expertise and what you bring to the role:

I currently work as a buyer for a lift company. Alongside this, I am also a Director for the company Quizhold Ltd. Within this position, I look after many businesses elements as well as the general running and up keep of the local Sports and Social Club in Glen Parva.

Previously, for the last 17 years, I have also been a Governor at South Wigston High School. Within this period, I have taken the role as Vice Chair of Governors until stepping down in 2017. Throughout my time as a Governor at South Wigston High School, I also chaired the premises and finance committee.

I have close links with Glen Hills Primary School and I am incredibly passionate about this wonderful school. I have seasonally volunteered at Glen Hills for the past 20+ years.

The skills I can offer as a governor are: a knowledge of health and safety, building and planning expertise, as well as the importance of safeguarding. I believe that the students learning is fundamental and the ethos of the school reflects this. I look forward to being part of the governing body at Glen Hills.

Name:

Rebecca Dempsey

Governor Role:

Co-opted Governor (Well Being lead)

Type of Office:

Co-opted Governor

Term of Office:

28/09/22 – 27/09/26

Job Title:

Head of Programme Development

Pecuniary Interest:

None

Professional attributes, experiences, areas of expertise and what you bring to the role:

My career to date has focused on Event and Project management, starting with gaining a Master’s degree in Event Management, working and developing in theatre and the arts, through to being a senior member of an event agency planning and running large scale events across Europe.

My role now is Head of Programme Development for a training consultancy working with brands such as Apple, The FA, Starbucks and BNP Paribas, to ensure that high standards are delivered on time and in budget, with a focus on continual improvement of every project, something that I can bring to the role of governor.  

I am also very lucky that I also get to work with a range of fantastic charities in my role including Place2Be, Working Families, StreetGames and Great Ormond Street Hospital.  Working with the CEO’s and senior leadership teams of these charities has given me an insight into working with tight budgets, limited resources, the need to innovate and grow and the importance of clear leadership and messaging.

My daughter started at Glen Hills in September 2021 and I have seen first hand how she has been supported and enabled to grow, and I look forward to the opportunity to support and challenge the leadership of the school to ensure this continues for every child that attends.

Name:

Diana Tse

Governor Role:

Co-opted (Pupil Premium Lead)

Type of Office:

Co-opted Governor

Term of Office:

28/09/2022 – 27/09/2026

Job Title:

Security Risk Analyst

Pecuniary Interest:

Co-Chair of Glen Hills Parent, Staff Association (PSA)

Professional attributes, experiences, areas of expertise and what you bring to the role:

I have 25 years of experience working for the UK’s largest communications company.  For the past 8 years I have worked within Security in the Strategic Compliance Security Risk team as a Security Risk Analyst.  

As part of my role, I work with major customer facing units to assure compliance with customer contractual security obligations, across the entire lifecycle of contracts.  I also implement governance and compliance to standards through several security assurance activities.  

The skills I have from a professional capacity will help me in my role as a governor as I have extensive experience of implementing process and procedure, how to apply risk analysis methodology and drive risk mitigation improvement plans.  I also work to industry standards and understand how incentives and consequences management can drive behaviours.

From a more personal perspective being a parent of two children who love Glen Hills provides me with links to other parents and enables me to look at things from a "parents" view. I also feel I can draw upon my involvement as Co-chair of the Parent Staff association (PSA) and experiences of coming from a less well-off and ethnic minority background. 

Overall, my main objectives will be to help to support the high standard of education and wellbeing of the children and staff at Glen Hills.

Name:

Rory James

Governor Role:

Parent Governor (PE Lead)

Type of Office:

Parent Governor

Term of Office:

19/01/22 – 19/01/26

Job Title:

Design Engineer

Pecuniary Interest:

Wife – Jenni James – Member of Glen Hills Parent Staff Association (PSA)

Professional attributes, experiences, areas of expertise and what you bring to the role:

I have lived in the area close to the school for 12 years and find it a wonderful place to live with its nature reserve, water ways and thriving community especially around the memorial hall and Library which make it an idyllic environment for bringing up children.  I have 3 daughters at the school and currently (yr22/23) they are in years 1, 4 & 6 and they all enjoy it very much.

My day job is a professional design engineer which often involves identifying and tackling the root cause of problems not sticking on a plaster. Subsequently this approach may mean helping people understand an uncomfortable truth or make an unpopular decision (a bit like the planet has to with global warming). I feel I have the strength of conviction, the clarity of understanding and also the diplomatic skills to help the school when sometimes difficult decisions are necessary. 

As a child I was allowed a lot of freedom to explore and learn from experience. I do not believe children should be wrapped in cotton wool and totally isolated from risk. My two older girls attend the local scout group and as a family we go cycling, camping and walking (admittedly it’s usually to Jenno’s).  

While child safeguarding is of paramount importance it cannot go so far as to inhibit a child’s physical and mental development and in risk assessments, I sometimes feel I can be a moderating voice in a world which can often be overly risk averse. 

I think we have a fantastic school and am determined to help keep it that way. I am not afraid to ask difficult questions where necessary but mostly be supportive, inclusive and hard working. 

Name:

Jonathan Sutcliffe

Governor Role:

Co-opted Governor (SEND, Looked After Pupils and Mathematics Lead)

Type of Office:

Co-opted Governor

Term of Office:

19/01/22 – 19/01/26

Job Title:

Retired Headteacher and Ofsted Inspector

Pecuniary Interest:

My daughter, Caroline Smith, is Chair of Governors and my son, Tim Sutcliffe, is CEO of the Symphony Learning Trust.

Professional attributes, experiences, areas of expertise and what you bring to the role:

I have primary school head teacher experience in two Leicestershire schools over twenty years and have taught in the primary sector for over forty years.  I have been an accredited Ofsted inspector for schools from 1996 to 2015 and have substantial experience of inspection in many primary schools.  I have also worked as an advisor for Leicestershire, Gloucestershire and Coventry.

My particular areas of expertise include all aspects of leadership and management, curriculum development, teaching and learning and monitoring and evaluation.  I also have supported schools to prepare for forthcoming inspections and have worked with head teachers and governors on performance management.