Governors

The main aim of the governing body of Thornton Heath Nursery School is to maintain and improve the standards of education.

Our work is divided into four key areas:

  • Setting the school’s vision and strategic aims, agreeing plans and policies, and making creative use of resources;
  • Monitoring and evaluating performance, acting as a critical friend to the Head of Nursery and the senior staff to support and challenge them in managing the school;
  • Ensuring that the school is accountable to the children and parents it serves, to its local community, to those who fund and maintain it, as well as to the staff it employs;
  • Overseeing the financial performance of the school and making sure that its money is well spent. Currently the school is supported through a Service Level Agreement (SLA) between Croydon local authority and the Pegasus Academy Trust (PAT). This is because there is no permanent school leadership, and while there are on-going discussions nationally and locally about the financial stability and sustainability of nursery schools, a decision about long-term leadership capacity subject to ongoing discussion with the Education Department of Croydon Council. The SLA provides for PAT to appoint our Head of Nursery, and the work of the school is overseen by the Executive Headteachers of the Trust, with whom the governing body works in close partnership. Governors are generally appointed to serve for a four year term of office. The number of governors in the governing body is set out in the school’s ‘Instrument of Government’. Our governing body can consist of a maximum of 15 governors, who represent parents, staff, the local authority and the community: this is made up of 2 parent governors, 1 staff governor, 1 local authority governor, 10 co-opted governors and the Head of Nursery.

Staff Governors can include both teaching and non-teaching staff. Staff governors are elected by the staff and should communicate with those who elect them. Co-opted governors are appointed by the governing body. Co-opted governors are people who, in the opinion of the governing body, have skills required to contribute to the effective governance and success of the school. Local Authority Governors are nominated by the local authority but appointed by the governing body. The local authority can nominate any eligible person as a local authority governor, but it is for the governing body to decide whether the person meets their eligibility criteria. Parent Governors are elected to be representative of the parent body. If there are not enough nominations, the governing body can appoint parent governors. Parent governors may complete their term of office when their child leaves the school.

Members of the governing body of Thornton Heath Nursery School (as of November 2018) are:

  • Scott Lynch (Chair of Governors, Finance) – Co-opted governor
  • Jenette Indarsingh  (Head of Nursery)
  • Cheridah Caesar-Mejias (Safeguarding, Child Protection & Looked After Children) – Co-opted governor
  • Caroline Diop (Office Manager) – Staff governor
  • Lynne Sampson (Pegasus Academy Trust) – Co-opted governor
  • Ailsa Chapman – Community governor
  • Father Joshua Pollard – Community governor
  • Darius Lambert  –  Parent governor

All governors can be contacted c/o the school, either in writing or by email to admin@thns.org

  • Lynne Sampson

    Co-opted governor
  • Cheridah Mejias

    Co-opted governor
  • Jenette Indarsingh

    Head of Nursery, Designated Safeguarding Lead, SENDCO
  • Darius Lambert

    Vice chair of governors, Parent governor
  • Scott Lynch

    Chair of Governors
  • Caroline Diop

    Office Manager, DSL, Staff governor
  • Ailsa Chapman

    Community governor
  • Father Joshua Pollard

    Community governor

Lynne Sampson

Responsibilities:

Co-opted governor

I have been working in education since 1986 starting my career in the London Borough of Bexley. After teaching at two schools in three key stages I moved to Whitehorse Manor Infants becoming the deputy in 1992 and the head in 1997.

In 2007 the school was judged to be outstanding and following that I was asked by the DfE to become a Local Leader in Education and support schools in difficulty.

In 2010, along with Jolyon Roberts who was then the head at Whitehorse Manor Juniors, I asked to become an academy sponsor and together we set up The Pegasus Academy Trust. To date we have been successful in “turning round” Ecclesbourne Primary School, Beulah Infant and Nursery School and Thornton Heath Nursery which are now judged to be good schools with outstanding features. We have been working with Cypress Primary which has now been judged as a good school.

Cheridah Mejias

Responsibilities:

Co-opted governor

I am a registered Manager of The Little Flower Respite home and I have over 25 years experience of working with children within the care sector. In 2006 I completed my NVQ Level 3 in Health and Social Care and my NVQ Level 5 in care management in 2011. Doing both the NVQ Level 3 and Level 5 gave me an insight as to what is required to run a home. Over the last 25 years I have amassed valuable knowledge in relation in working with children. In February 2009 I started a contract with the London Borough of Croydon to provide respite care for high dependency physically disabled children and because of the positive experience of working with disabled children and their families, I decided to open up a small home in order to provide respite care to high dependency physically disabled children. I am looking forward to sharing my knowledge as part of the Governing Body of THNS in order to support the children and families in our local area.

Jenette Indarsingh

Responsibilities:

Head of Nursery, Designated Safeguarding Lead, SENDCO

I have been working in education since 1995, always working in Thornton Heath. After teaching at Beulah Infant School for a year, I became the maths leader for the school, working alongside the local education authority to promote outstanding practice in the teaching of maths across the borough. I then became the assessment leader at Beulah as well as a KS1 moderator for Croydon. In 2010 I became the Deputy Head at Beulah. I was instrumental in securing the best possible outcome for Beulah as they joined Pegasus Academy Trust in 2014 and in 2017 my leadership skills were judged to be outstanding by Ofsted. In May 2018 I gained my National Professional Qualification for Headship.

As the Head of Nursery, I am wholly committed to leading an outstanding provision for our local children and their families. I believe that THNS is a unique setting where we have high standards for our staff and children. We support every child at THNS to reach their full potential within a nurturing environment.

Darius Lambert

Responsibilities:

Vice chair of governors, Parent governor

Scott Lynch

Responsibilities:

Chair of Governors

Caroline Diop

Responsibilities:

Office Manager, DSL, Staff governor

Ailsa Chapman

Responsibilities:

Community governor

Father Joshua Pollard

Responsibilities:

Community governor

Last modified on 9th October, 2023

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