Who are we?

Karen Forrester – Chair of Governors

Having been born in Essex, I moved to Hertfordshire in 1992 when I got married and now live in Elstree. My background is in Accountancy, Risk, Compliance with over 30 years experience accumulated whilst working for one of the UK’s largest property owners. I have been a Governor at the school for 10 years.

I am currently Vice Chair of Governors and Chair of the Finance Committee. I also have responsibility for monitoring Health and Safety at school, on behalf of the Governors and am a member of the Pay and Education Committees.

Being a Governor at Parkside not only means using my skill set but is also an opportunity to give something back to my community. I am always welcomed by staff and pupils and feel very much a part of the Parkside ‘family’.

Laura Trigwell – Vice Chair of Governors

I am one of the newer co-opted governors having joined in September 2020 but am thoroughly enjoying being part of such a vibrant school community. Given my experience working in a bank, I am responsible for GDPR and sit on the finance committee. I grew up locally in Stanmore and now live in Radlett. Whilst I work part time in the City, my full-time job is being mum to two boys and a mad dog!

Geoff Strack 

Our children and grandchildren have been fortunate in being able to go to Hertfordshire Schools. My own career has been in education, in Primary, Secondary, University and with Ofsted. I worked as a local authority adviser and was involved in the early introduction of ICT in schools at a national and International level. This included work in the USA, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Germany and Vietnam. My interests are team building, well-being for children and staff, improving my own knowledge of early years and the format of governing body meetings. In 2018 I was presented with the Herts, Outstanding Governor of the Year Award. As well as being a governor at Parkside, as required, I help out with other Herts Primary Schools.

Simon Salem

I have lived locally for most of the last 30 years, and I now live in St Albans. I have been a governor at Parkside since 2016 and I have been the Governor with responsibility for Child Protection and Safeguarding since 2017. I am retired now, but until recently I worked in marketing, communications and fundraising. I am a listening volunteer for Samaritans in the Watford Branch as well as a trustee of the charity. Being a school governor has really brought home to me how important it is to give our children the best education we can; especially when they are very young. I love to see it when children get enthusiastic about learning!

Leonard Vitarana

Leonard’s career began in the finance function at the Carphone Warehouse Plc, after completing a masters in management studies at Brunel University. He is currently a management consultant with over 15 years of experience, delivering business change within various well known organisations across the utilities, media and telecoms sectors. With two children currently in EYFS education, Leonard is passionate about ensuring that all children have the best possible foundation to flourish educationally and socially.

Andrew Hatton

I joined as a parent governor at Parkside in March 2020 and sit on the Finance Committee. I have lived in Borehamwood for about 40 years. I work full time for my company selling, installing and support Electronic Point of Sales systems. I have three children and the two oldest attended Parkside and have now moved on to Hertswood. My youngest still attends Parkside. I have been enjoying attending the governor meetings and seeing all the hard work being put in behind the scenes to best support the children, no matter what challenges have been presented

Adam Knowles

I have been a parent governor at Parkside since 2012. I am part of the Finance Committee. I have three children all of whom went to Parkside. I was born in Northwest London and moved to Borehamwood in 2009. I work in Broadcast Television mainly in and around London. I enjoy riding bikes and getting out and exploring. I like Parkside because of its welcoming atmosphere and high standards.

Emma Graham

I joined Parkside as a governor very recently (March 2021), sitting on the Education Committee and have responsibility for English. I believe schools have a critically important role to play in inspiring and encouraging our children and I am very much looking forward to getting to know the Parkside community. I have a legal background as a solicitor before moving into legal training. More recently, I worked as a teaching assistant at Fair Field Junior School in Radlett and am now developing my proof-reading and editing skills as well as working at a local school helping with exam invigilation. I live in Radlett and have two teenagers and two house rabbits, all of whom keep me very busy!

Zoe Moon

Hello, I have lived in Borehamwood for the majority of my life, I am a mum to four children, three girls one boy, all attended Parkside Community primary school as did my brother and sister, so have been a part of the Parkside community for many happy years. I joined Parkside staff as a teaching assistant over 12 years ago and am currently the year 3 Birch teaching assistant. It is a very rewarding job to be a part of supporting and nurturing children’s education. Every day brings new challenges new surprises and always new rewards and a feeling of gratitude. I joined the school governor body 5 years ago as a staff governor and have enjoyed being a part of how our school continues to develop with each passing term having already seen so many changes to the school and the wider community over the years.

Linda Taylor – Deputy Headteacher

Charles Soyka – Headteacher

I have been headteacher at Parkside for 3 years and the school has gone from strength to strength in that time. It is a privelege to lead such a wonderful school and a team who embody the school’s vision statement : NURTURING AND INSPIRING YOUNG MINDS TOWARDS A BRIGHT FUTURE. This is my second headship having previously worked in a different area of the county for a number of years.  I have worked in and around inner London for a long time before I made the leap to work in the home counties nearly 8 years ago.

What do Governors do ?

Governors are involved in every aspect of school life and usually take on specific roles according to their experience and interests. We play a strategic role, concentrating on the underlying principles of how the school is run. Day-to-day management issues remain the responsibility of the head teacher and her staff.

Overall, governors have 3 key roles:

1. We take general responsibility for the school. We appoint the head teacher and together set the strategic direction of the school. We uphold and promote the vision and the values that underpin all we do. We ensure that every child is safe at Parkside.

2. We agree the school development plan and monitor progress against the targets set, holding the head teacher and senior leaders to account and acting as a ‘critical friend.’

3. We set the school budget each year, approve spending and monitor progress against the budget.

How do Governors work ?

We meet as a full governing body 5 times a year. We have two committees – education, and finance and operations – which also meet 3 times times a year to deal with matters of specific interest. Those committees report back to the full governing body. We also have a pay committee that meets when necessary. Anyone can attend the non-confidential part of a governors’ meeting.

In between the meetings governors undertake work according to their responsibilities and any other work they have agreed to do. They visit school regularly to meet with key staff and see how the children are doing. They also attend regular training on a wide range of subjects, from safeguarding to data analysis to help them carry out their roles to the highest standards.

How are Governors appointed ?

We are required to have a designated number of governors from a number of categories. We can also adopt additional governors, known as associate governors, who can advise but not vote. These governors usually have a particular area of expertise.

Our current body consists of :

• 1 parent governor
• 1 Local Authority governor
• 1 staff governor
• 2 partnership governors
• 4 co-opted governors
• The head teacher

The standard term of office for a governor is four years. The Chair and Vice Chair are elected annually at the first meeting of the academic year. The Chair of Governors is Miranda Barnett who can be contacted via the school office.

If you feel you have skills and commitment to become a governor at Parkside, or are interested in finding out more, please contact the Chair.

621 Parkside Community Primary instrument of government

The Governing Body 2020 – 2021 Attendance Register at Meetings