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Community Council

Westwood Primary School Community Council 

 

Governance of our school 

 

The Elliot Foundation Academies Trust is the governance body responsible for the school as a whole with the Board of Trustees accountable for decisions made. For more information on the Trust and how our governance structure works, please visit www.elliot foundation.co.uk (Trust Governance and Community Council documents) noting in particular the Scheme of Delegation and Accountability and Representation documents. The Trust Legal and Governance Director can also be emailed on jem.shuttleworth@elliotfoundation.co.uk

 

Welcome and Introduction to our Community Council

 

The Trust governance model recognises that Community Councils are, whilst a full and formal part of the governance structure in line with the Trust’s Articles of Association, wholly advisory bodies who focus on;

○ The ethos and values of the school
○ The ambition, appropriateness and effectiveness of the school’s curriculum for its children
○ The wellbeing of pupils, families and staff

 

Community councillors are a much valued group of volunteers that play a crucial role in our school offering challenging but positive and proactive support to the Principal and Senior Leadership team on behalf of the children and community that the school serves. They know and celebrate the strengths of the community that the school serves alongside holding the highest aspirations and expectations for our pupils. 

 

Community councillors are appointed from current parents, staff and pupils alongside committed individuals from the wider community. Councillors have an interest in the education and wider opportunities offered by the school to all pupils and have some free time to give to supporting the school to be  a place where pupils, staff, parents and the community learn and grow together.

 

If you are interested in finding out more about our Community Council, please contact Madison Gough at  madison.gough@elliotfoundation.co.uk.

 

 

Message from the Community Council Chair 

 

My name is Murray Graham and I have been a member of the Governing body for almost five years. 

 

Here at Westwood Primary School we strive to give our children the best possible start to life by creating a safe environment which provides them with the best opportunity to achieve their full potential.

 

We have a dedicated, enthusiastic and caring staff who are led by an excellent and committed Head.

 

As a community council we are here to support the staff, but also provide the challenge needed to ensure strong progress and attainment. We do this by carrying out regular visits into the classes and with talking to key members of staff.

 

We look forward to working with parents, carers and the community for the benefit of your children. If you have any questions for me then I can be contacted on mgraham@westwood-cambs.org or via the office.

 

Mr Murray Graham

Community Council Chair 

 

 

 

Community Councillor Profiles

Mr Murray Graham

Chair 

Community Councillor

Having wanted to get more involved with school life at Westwood Primary School, I initially joined in April 2015 as a governor and became Chair of Governors in September 2019.


My career has always been in the private sector, working for a large manufacturing company in various production roles. In March 2017, I moved into a capability management role and my key responsibilities include the recruitment and development of talent throughout the organisation. My passions have always been in people development and I get a real sense of satisfaction seeing people across all ages reaching their potential. My skill set should support the school in the development of both pupils and teachers alike.


My son attended Westwood Primary from Reception through to Year 6 and left in July 2017. He had a wonderful educational experience here and as a parent, I could not have asked for a better school and I want to be able to support through future generations. The school leadership team will be able to count on the support and challenge of the community council.

 

Mrs Tina Bidwell

Community Councillor

My name is Tina Bidwell and I was initially part of Westwood Primary School's governing body joining in 2015.  I am Manager at Maple Grove Pre-School, the feeder pre-school for Westwood Primary and most of you will have met me there!

 

It is fantastic to have excellent working relationships between the two settings and something collectively we work hard to achieve.

 

I am a community councillor and like to support the school as a whole, feeling lucky that our children have such a good start to their education.  With such strong leadership, teachers and supporting staff I am confident the school will go from strength to strength and look forward to being part of it!

 

 

Miss Diane Crabb

Community Councillor

I initially joined the Governing Body at the former Westwood Junior School as a Parent Governor in 2004.  I subsequently became a Local Authority representative and am now a community councillor.

 

Many years ago I was a Westwood pupil myself so I have a long standing interest in the school.  As a parent I wanted to get actively involved in my daughter’s education.  Becoming a governor, and now a community councillor, has enabled me to do this in a broader, more effective way by contributing to the school’s aims and strategies for the education and development of all pupils.

 

My other interests include dancing, amateur dramatics and music.  I have recently started playing the clarinet again - after a 40 year gap!  I also play the recorder (which I originally learnt at Westwood) and now enjoy playing both instruments in the local community orchestra.  I attend St Peter’s Church, March on a regular basis where I assist with the Junior Church and play clarinet in the church orchestra.  I love football and am a season ticket holder at Peterborough United.

 

Westwood Primary School is a thriving, happy school with a caring and hardworking team of staff and community council that I am proud to be a part of.

 

 

Mrs Katie Henson

Staff Councillor

I am a teacher at Westwood Primary School and a member of the middle leadership team. I joined Westwood as a newly qualified teacher in 2014 and since then I have worked across the school in both key stages. My current role involves leading the Year 4 team and supporting ECTs (Early Career teachers) which I am incredibly passionate about. 

 

I am excited to be part of the new Community Council as I want to further support the school's development of education offering to its pupils. 

 

Outside of school, I have two young sons - we enjoy going on woodland walks as a family. I also play competitive Netball for a local team. 

 

 

Mrs Sara Barker

Staff Councillor

I was previously a staff governor.  I am a teaching assistant at Westwood Primary School.  I was previously a governor at Maple Grove Infant School  and  hope to bring some experience of early years and key stage 1 to Westwood Primary School.  I feel very strongly that primary education is an extremely important part of a child’s education and its our duty to create a love of learning and to give every child a positive attitude to education.  My two daughters started their education here and they had a fantastic start and have continued to achieve their potential and I believe it all started here.

 

 

Kimberley Deller

Parent Councillor

My name is Kimberley Deller and I am a qualified social worker, working for Cambridgeshire County Council for 8 years. Initially I started as a Social Worker for children with disabilities and more recently moved into working with adults.

 

As a children’s Social Worker I have attended many Education Health Care Plan meetings working with a number of different schools, health professionals, families and young people to ensure their plan supports them to achieve their outcomes. 

 

I have a child who is currently in Year 1 and I have two more children who will attend Westwood when they reach school age. 

 

My child loves attending Westwood and is very happy here. 

 

I am looking forward to supporting the school as a parent councillor to ensure all children at Westwood can grow, develop, feel confident, happy and achieve their outcomes.

 

 

Aleesha Lombardo

Parent Councillor

My Name is Aleesha Lombardo and I have lived in March all my life. I was a pupil at Westwood school and now so are my children. 

 

I have been part of the council for 4 years and love having the opportunity to help develop and support an ever changing environment for our children to thrive and develop into strong independent  personalities.

 

I currently work as a team manager for the psychological well-being service for ages between 17-65, but  I am a social worker by background. My roles have included working in the children safeguarding teams for Cambridgeshire County Council and providing clinical mental health support  for children. I am passionate about mental health and my previous job in Primary Care Mental Health Service was diagnosing and treating all mental health conditions and formulating positive plans to help people in their recovery.  I am also the lead safeguarding officer for the Psychological Wellbeing Service for  children and adults. I am always keen to develop skills and hopefully these skills can provide  a service to the council, school, children and their families  that also want the best outcome for their children.

 

 I know the staff at the school strive to develop a nurturing safe environment for all their pupils and this is also something I am also very passionate about. 

 

I look forward to seeing and working with you all. 

 

Mark Nutton

Parent Councillor

As the father of two boys at Westwood Primary School I wanted to become more involved in supporting the school in its ambition to help ALL children achieve beyond even their own expectations.

 

I have lived in March since 2003 and became a “house husband” to help raise my two boys and support my wife in her career.  The lockdowns and social restrictions gave me the opportunity to be directly involved in the boys education which is something I could not have done without the school’s excellent online support!  This insight provided the impetus to take on this new challenge and use my former career skills of auditing in the public sector to contribute to the current performance and future direction of Westwood school.

 

 

Mrs Lyn Tansley

Clerk to the Community Council

You can contact the clerk to the community council, Mrs Tansley, through the school office or through email at

ltansley@westwood-cambs.org

 

 

 

Community Council Responsibilities

 

Chair

Mr Murray Graham

 

 

Register of Community Councillor Pecuniary Interests 2022/2023

 

  

NameList of interests
Richard AlbertNo Pecuniary interests
Sara BarkerDaughter is a teacher at Westwood Primary School
Tina BidwellNo Pecuniary interests
Diane CrabbNo Pecuniary interests
Kimberley DellerNo Pecuniary interests
Murray GrahamNo Pecuniary interests
Katie HensonNo Pecuniary interests
Aleesha LombardoNo Pecuniary interests
Mark NuttonNo Pecuniary interests
Lyn TansleyNo Pecuniary interests

 

Record of Community Council Membership and Attendance for academic year 2022/2023

Annual Summary Report

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