Welcome to our Governors’ section. 

Please find below details of how our Governing body is structured, including the names, categories, responsibilities and terms of appointment for each Governor.

Welcome from the Governors

We warmly welcome you to St. Giles’ School. As governors we care passionately about the wellbeing of the pupils and the success of our school. First and foremost for us is that the children are safe, happy and ready to learn, supported by high quality teaching and facilities and a wide range of opportunities inside the classroom and in our extensive outdoor learning areas. We have enjoyed seeing the school make progress over recent years and we make our contribution to that through our commitment to the Full Governing Body, Teaching & Learning, and Resources committees, as well as making regular visits to the school and taking part in school life whether the summer or winter fayres, the speaking competition or the visits and trips on offer. We feel that this is a really special place and we are sure you’ll agree if you or your child spends time here.

You might wonder what the governing body does for the school. Perhaps the most important thing we do is to provide support and constructive challenge to the Head and his team about the work they are doing and how that fits with the School Development Plan. There are a lot of other areas of activity though. One recent focus for us in the Teaching & Learning Committee, for example, has been taking time to understand the new Ofsted inspection approach, with its attention to the intent, implementation and impact of everything the school does to enable the children to learn. We have also, in our Resources Committee, been overseeing plans for new building work following a generous donation from a member of our local community. Of course it isn’t all glamour (!), we have a lot of school policies and guidance that regularly need reviewing to check that they are up to date and fit for purpose.

As a governing body we welcome your views and feedback. If you have anything you would like to tell us about your experience of the school, successes or things you think we could be doing better, just ask to speak to the Chair, a parent governor or any other governor by contacting the school office.

The Governors are representative of the Church and various local groups and they influence the character, policies and general administration of the school. They are elected for a period of four years or for their term of office (ex-officio) and meet regularly to debate all aspects of school life.

There are two committees;

• Teaching and Learning which deals with the Curriculum
• Resources which deals with Finance, Premises, Pay and Personnel

Current Governors

• Teacher governors are appointed from staff at the school
• Parent governors are elected by and from parents and carers of pupils at the school
• LA governors are appointed from a list maintained by the local education authority
• Community governors are co-opted by the governing body

Governor Biographies

Mrs Sarah Jones

Mrs Natalie Dowdall

Having been a teacher for many years in a range of schools in London, including three-form entry schools, an all-through academy and a Hindu faith school, I am delighted to be Deputy Head of St. Giles.  I have a range of experience supporting staff through roles such as NQT mentor, subject leader and Key Stage leader, which has given me invaluable knowledge to develop schools.  I am driven by a desire to ensure all children enjoy school as much as they can, through quality teaching and a wealth of opportunities and experience.  Being on the Governing Body allows me to help to develop our school in another way, which I really look forward to.

Mrs Sarah Boulter

Mother of two children, my daughter left St Giles’ in 2019 to continue her education in secondary school, and my son started in reception at the same time to begin his.
Since 2015 I have been working within the Early Years sector as an Early Years Practitioner. I am Ofsted registered, hold a NCFE CACHE Level 3 Award in early years qualification, and am currently undertaking SEN teaching diplomas level 3, 4 & 5 alongside child psychology studies. I am also a qualified paediatric & mental health first aider.
As a Governor, I look to add value by supporting in the areas where my experience and qualifications in Early Years can, and to help raise the profile of the school and support the amazing work the teachers and staff do for our children.

Mrs Anna Garcia

I have worked in Education for 25 years. In the past I have been Head of Department at a Further Education College, I have experience of teaching and supporting students, managing teaching and support staff and liaising with parents.  I understand the constant pressures that come with the job of being in charge of a department and working towards educational targets, preparing for Ofsted and operating within a budget.  In my current role I work with Pre-School Children who have a Special Education Need. My role includes delivering teaching sessions in the home, supporting parents and giving them strategies to help their child. If the child attends an Early Years Setting, I will advise the setting and supporting them with SEN and inclusion strategies. We moved to South Mimms 5 years ago and my son was lucky enough to be given a place at St Giles’. He has now moved on to secondary school. During his time at St Giles’, I was extremely happy with the holistic approach the school had with being focused not only with academic achievement but also fostering the child’s spiritual, moral and physical development. It also gave him a sense of community and belonging, which is one of the special things about the school, making the children feel like they belong and are welcomed. I am very pleased to have this opportunity to be a School Governor and would like to support the school in ensuring that all the children who attend the school go on to reach their full potential.

Rev Philip Green

I’ve been at St Peter’s Church in London Colney since being ordained in June 2014. I serve as a Self-Supporting Minister, which means that I combine my work as a parish priest alongside my employment at Aldenham School near Elstree. Much of my time there is spent in my role of heading up the Safeguarding team, but I also act as Assistant Chaplain and teach Economics and Politics in the Sixth Form. I feel passionate about the fact that we are all “called to make a difference” in the words of the Bishop of Hertford in a recent talk he gave. I believe we all have a part to play in building the Kingdom of God, whatever role God has called us to take in the great journey of faith we are on together. I feel very fortunate in that have the opportunity to fulfil my calling by (hopefully!) making a difference both at work and in the parish. When not at St Peter’s or Aldenham, I may well be found following the progress (or lack thereof) of my beloved Stoke City, completing a parkrun or trying to keep up with the lives of my wife and daughters!

Mrs Henrietta Hodgkiss

What do governors do?

Governors have three main roles:

1. Strategic role:  Governors are involved in the school development and improvement planning process, allocating resources and in considering the direction, aims and values of the school governors. The governing body’s focus is on raising the achievement of all pupils. Governors help to set and regularly review all school policies (e.g. homework, special educational needs) and seek to ensure that the school meets its targets.
2. Critical friend:  Governors monitor and evaluate progress in the school.
3. Accountability:  The governing body must account to the whole school community for the performance of the school, the educational standards it achieves and the quality of education it provides.

The governing body meets at least once a term. Minutes of these meetings are available from the school office.

To contact our governors by email, please us this address – governors@stgiles.herts.sch.uk.