Meet the Governors
Local Governing Body Vacancies
At Hill View Primary, we are spreading the word about the benefits of volunteering as a school governor so we can recruit external governors from the local community.
Governors make a valuable contribution to school leadership. It is a rewarding role, working towards a shared goal of providing a high-quality education for children and young people in our community. It also provides an opportunity for personal development, building skills and experience in areas such as project management and working as part of a senior team.
The Governing Board meets each half-term to look at the big picture and the school’s long-term goals.
They are responsible for:
- Undertaking induction training and ongoing development
- Developing a vision and strategy for the school
- Overseeing the financial performance of the school and making sure its money is well spent
- Holding the school leader to account to ensure that every pupil has the best possible education, looking at information and evidence on the school’s progress and discussing with school leaders
- Engaging with pupils, staff, parents and the school community to understand their views
- Visiting the school to see plans working in practice, and listening to the views of staff, pupils and parents
- Making decisions about issues such as pupil exclusions and staff disciplinary matters
To find out more, please visit the National Governance Association website and if you are interested in joining the governing body, please email the Chair of Governors to arrange a meeting and tour of the school:
School Governors
A Message From The Chair of Governors
On behalf of the Governors of Hill View School, I would like to welcome you to the school’s website. We hope that you find the information provided here interesting and informative, and that the pictures and information give you a small snapshot of the busy life within our school and the learning activities our pupils’ experience.
While naturally in the school we are very much focused on all pupils’ academic achievement, it is of paramount importance that children are happy, supported and nurtured in a safe and secure school environment. Central to the ethos of the school is its ASCENT values which are embedded throughout the curriculum to encourage all pupils to ‘Reach for the Stars’: ASPIRING, being SUCCESSFUL, building a strong COMMUNITY, striving for EXCELLENCE, NURTURING each other and building TRUST.
At Hill View School we are fortunate to have a very experienced, talented and dedicated team of leaders, teachers and support staff who work hard to make this possible and the Governors take great pride in being part of this team.
Hannah Hancock
Chair of Governors
The Governors
The board of governors comprises of eleven individuals who are either elected by their peers to serve (in the case of parent and staff governors) or selected by the board of governors due to the skills and experience that they have which will be of value to the governing body (co-opted governor). The current composition of the board of governors is as follows:
- Hill View Park Primary Academy Local Governance Member Committee Records Sept 2026 –
July 2027 – updated October 2026 - Governor Records Sept 2025-July 2026
Governor Records Sept 2024-July 2025 - Governor Records Sept 2023-July 2024
- Governor Records Sept 2022-July 2023
- Governor Records Sept 2021-July 2022
- Governor Records Sept 2020-July 2021
Victoria Buckland: Head Teacher
Term of Office: Start Date 01/01/2019
Hannah Hancock: Trust Appointed Governor – Chair
Term of Office: 10/07/24 – 09/07/28
Link Roles: MAT link; Admission & Exclusions & SLT recruitment
Year Link: Year 6
Curriculum Link: SEND
Fiona Dearman – Co-opted Governor
Term of office: 27/09/2023–26/09/2027
Link Roles: Support Staff
Year Link: Year 1
Curriculum Link: Humanities and Art; Geography & History
Rob Barwell – Trust Appointed Governor
Term of Office: 12/03.25-11/03/29
Link Roles: Estates and Health & Safety
Year Link: Year 5
Curriculum Link: Pupil Premium
Tanya Godwin – Co-opted
Term of Office: 14/11/25 – 13/11/29
Link Roles:
Year Link: Year R
Curriculum Link: Safeguarding
Term of Office: 11/05/2021 – 10/05/2025
Link Roles: Teaching staff link
Year Link:
Curriculum Link: Equality
Deborah Clark - Parent Governor
Term of Office: 23/03/2026 - 22/03/2030
Link Roles:
Year Link:
Link Roles: Health and Safety
Curriculum Link:
Jo Porter - Staff Governor
Term of Office: 22/06/26 – 21/06/30
Link Roles:
Year Link:
Link Roles:
Curriculum Link:
Governors' Responsibilities and Actions
The governors have a legal responsibility for the overall leadership of the school; however their involvement in the school extends well beyond these legal duties. The full governing body meet at least twice a term and work together to:
- Ensure clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction;
- Review and approve the schools budget;
- Oversee the school premises;
- Discuss staffing plans;
- Review and agree school policies and procedures;
- Challenge and support the school leaders to drive pupil achievement
To find out more about Reach South Academy Trust governance, click on the following link:
Governors' Action Plan
REACH SOUTH ACADEMY TRUST LGC Constitution
Each LGC comprises a maximum of twelve members (which we refer to as Local Governors), including:
- the Headteacher of the Academy;
- at least two elected parents or guardians of a pupil at the Academy (Parent Local Governors);
- up to two employees of the Academy, usually comprising one teacher and one non-teaching staff member, elected by employees of the Academy (Staff Local Governors);
- at least two members co-opted by the Local Governors; and
- up to four members appointed by the Trust Board.
Summary of Hill View Governing Practice
The Local Governing Committee meets twice per term. Each meeting is preceded by a focused learning walk where governors visit their link years and curriculum teams to discuss elements of the school strategic plan with teachers. This often involves looking for evidence in pupil books and learning walls. Year Leaders and Subject Leaders routinely present reports to the LGB for governor challenge and support.
The school’s strategic plan informs all governor practice; identifying the foci for our learning walks with staff, guiding agenda items and driving governor questioning. One meeting of each school term includes data scrutiny with the English, Maths and SEND leads, and a pupil group (e.g. Ambassadors, Councillors or Sport Leaders) regularly presents updates to the LGB. At every meeting, the Head Teacher Report explicitly reflects upon the school’s progress toward the agreed strategic priorities.
The governors annually seek the views of parents and staff as well as reviewing responses to the standard OFSTED survey questions. The results from these surveys feed into a Governor and SLT review in the final half term of each year. Parent surveys have, for example, highlighted communication to be a school challenge. This led to the introduction of a weekly newsletter with regular input from governors, redesign/relaunch of the school’s website, introduction of Year Leaders and improvements in the use of home-school link books. This review is also used to analyse a range of school data and develop the school’s strategic priorities for the following year.
Register
- Hill View Primary Academy Governing Body Meeting Attendance Record 2025 – 2026
- HVP Governing Body Attendance Record 2024-2025
HV meeting attendance 2023-2024 - Website Register 2022-2023
- Website Register 2020-2021
- Website Register 2019-2020
- Website-Register 2018-2019
- Website Register 2017-2018
- Website Register 2016 -2017
Meeting Dates and Minutes
Please find here a list of our meeting dates. Minutes from LGC meetings can be requested via the Clerk. If you have any queries around our Governance practice please do not hesitate to contact us via the Clerk or through the school office. A governor update is also provided on the weekly Hill View Newsletter by one of our governors following each LGB meeting.
Meeting Dates 2026-27
- Autumn Term: 7.10.26
- Spring Term: 10.2.27
- Summer Term: 7.7.27
Minutes
Please contact the Clerk to the Governors to request any minutes.
E-mail: governance@reachsouth.org
Committee Membership
Admissions:
Pay: Fiona Dearman
Panel Hearings / Appeals (three selected by the clerk)
Three selected by the clerk
Headteachers Performance Review Panel:
Contact Details
If you would like to contact the Clerk, you can email her directly at governance@reachsouth.org
Meet the Governors
Hannah Hancock
I joined the governing body in 2019 as a parent governor and my son completed his journey at Hill View in Summer 2024.
I have worked in Further Education as a teacher since 2001, specialising in Mathematics and ICT from Key Stage two up to GCSE level, and working in senior leadership roles as a Director of Foundation Learning and SEND. I currently work as a consultant in FE, supporting schools, colleges, training providers and local authorities with curriculum quality, operational management and strategic direction.
I feel privileged to be involved with the Hill View Primary community and continuing to support the school in developing its values to give pupils the best experience, and in raising academic performance.
Fiona Dearman
I recently moved to Bournemouth from the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames to be nearer to our family.
I am a retired Headteacher and my speciality is the Early Years. I have a MA in Early Years Education.
My passion is to ensure that every child reaches their full potential and thrives in an environment that is suited their needs.
I am a volunteer at Hill View in YrR and Yr1.
Rob Barwell
I am a father of twin boys who are now in year 2. Ever since my wife & I visited Hill View Primary for the first time, we have been very impressed with the professionalism of staff, cleanliness of the school and the behaviour of the children which led us to our decision. Since the twins started in Reception, we have been further impressed by the dedication of the teaching staff and their creativity with teaching styles and resources to develop them. This has ultimately inspired me to explore opportunities to be involved with the school to help, develop and improve our children’s future education.
I am a Registered General Nurse with 17 years' experience. My current role is Charge Nurse & Clinical Lead for Radiology at Bournemouth & Poole Hospitals. I have an enthusiastic, motivated and dedicated character who always strives for the best for colleagues, patients, friends & family alike. I am a clinical nurse and frontline manager who can work independently but flourish when working as part of a team. I have experience in developing and leading training programmes; creating visions, strategies and objectives; being part of finance efficiency programmes; supporting colleagues through challenges as well as being involved in difficult conversations and decisions.
I joined the PTFA in 2024 as a general committee member and continue to thoroughly enjoy being part of a proactive fundraising team. I believe my character, experience and beliefs are in line with and demonstrate the schools' ASCENT values.
Tanya Godwin
I am a clinical psychologist with 16 years experience working in mental health across a variety of different settings including NHS, voluntary and private sectors. My early work was primarily with working-age adults, but more recently I have specialised in working with children, teenagers, young adults and their families. I also have an interest and significant clinical experience in working with autistic young people. I have two young daughters, one of whom is currently in year one at Hill View.
My primary interest in becoming a governor is to ensure that the mental health and wellbeing of children remains paramount whilst they are at school. I know, from my work experience with children and young people, how much of a difference school can make to children’s mental health, and how much of a difference children’s mental health can make to their school experience and attainment. I therefore believe that children’s mental health and wellbeing should be prioritised by schools and I hope to use my skills and knowledge to support the SLT at Hill View in this important area.
Deborah Clark
My name is Deborah Clark and my son is currently in Year 3 at Hill View Primary Academy. I am really honoured to have been elected as Parent Governor and am looking forward to getting more involved with the school and using my own 20 years of experience as a secondary English teacher in schools across Dorset and Hampshire to provide a strategic and pragmatic approaches to pupil progress whilst ensuring that the students wellbeing and learning journeys remain central to our conversations ensuring that every child matters.