Governors
Governors
The 14 members of the Governing Body are listed below. Also shown are:
- The category of governor to which they belong
- When their current term of office ends (in brackets)
- Any position of responsibility they hold.
Details of governors’ skills, experience and their connections with Homerton are available here.
Professor Ken Ong – Co-opted governor (until 22 November 2027), Chair of the Governing Body and Lead Governor for Safeguarding and Child Protection
Mrs Alex Pearson – Head (ongoing)
Mrs Suzy Hughes – Elected staff governor (until 26 April 2026)
Mrs Tandy Harrison – Local authority governor (until 31 August 2026), Vice-Chair of the Governing Body, Chair of Curriculum Committee and Lead Governor for SEND and Pupil Premium
Ms Bernie Cafferkey – Co-opted governor (until 20 September 2028)
Mr Sameer Garyali – Co-opted governor (until 25 March 2027), Deputy Lead Governor for Health and Safety
Mrs Elizabeth Head – Co-opted governor (until 6th February 2026)
Mr Mick Patel – Co-opted governor (until 31 August 2027), Lead Governor for Health and Safety
Mrs Mitali Peckham – Co-opted governor representing staff (until 20 September 2028)
Mrs Isabel Garcia Crestani – Co-opted governor (until 5 December 2027), Lead Governor for Equal Opportunities
Mrs Stefania Deidda – Parent governor (until 7 December 2025)
Dr Eirini Gkouskou – Parent governor (until 16 November 2027)
Dr Christine O’Farrelly – Parent governor (until 16 November 2027), Lead Governor for the Nest and Owlets
Dr Rob Payne – Parent governor (until 8 May 2026), Deputy Lead Governor for SEND and Pupil Premium
The Governing Body has one associate member, Dr Surahbi Singh (until 5 December 2024)
The Clerk to the Governors is Mrs Gwyneth Barton, who can be contacted at gwyneth@robbarton.com.
The following people have served as governors in the last 12 months:
Mr Roger Lilley – Co-opted governor (until 20 September 2024)
Dr Surabhi Singh – Co-opted governor (until 4 December 2023)
Governor Documents
Minutes of Governing Body meetings are available here.
Records of Governors’ attendance at Governing Body and Committee meetings for 2023/24 and 2024/25 are available here and here.
Governors’ Committee memberships and lead Governor appointments are set out here.
Governors are required by law to declare any business or pecuniary interests relevant to their appointment. The register of interests for 2024/25 is available here.
The Governing Body
The Governing Body is responsible for:
- Homerton’s vision, ethos and strategic direction
- Holding the Head teacher to account on educational performance and the performance management of staff
- Overseeing financial performance and making sure that money is well spent.
The Governing Body works in partnership with the Head teacher and staff to help provide the best possible learning experiences for all children at the Centre.
Governors fulfil their responsibilities by:
- Developing and reviewing written policies and procedures to address both statutory requirements and local priorities
- Delegating responsibility to Committees and/or individual governors
- Providing input into and review the School Improvement Plan and using this document as a key resource for setting priorities and monitoring impact
- Using a combination of reports, visits, performance data, other activities and information to monitor the progress of the Centre.
The Governing Body comprises fourteen governors, including the Head teacher, elected parent governors, an elected staff governor, co-opted governors and a governor nominated by the local authority. The Governing Body meets six times a year in the evening and in addition governors usually serve on either the Resources or the Curriculum Committee, which also meet six times a year. All governors are appointed for a four-year term.
Governors’ Reference Documents (password protected).