Chalgrove Primary School

Chalgrove Primary School
If you believe you can achieve

Meet the Governors

At Chalgrove we’re very lucky to have governors from many different backgrounds and disciplines that all contribute greatly to our school with their advice and knowledge. Our policy is to recruit our governors from parents, teachers, local authority and the wider local community. Here is a list of the current governors.
Governors and their term.

Local Authority Governors

  • Ms Fiona Bulmer
    (Chair) - (Finance and Curriculum)

    Ms Fiona Bulmer

    Fiona has been involved in school governance for many years and has chaired the Chalgrove governing body since 2007. She is also a governor of Barnet and Southgate College and a former Barnet councillor. In her professional life, she works as a freelance writer, providing speeches and reports for major companies.

Community Governors

  • Dawn Atkinson
    (Finance)

    Dawn Atkinson

    Dawn Atkinson joined our Board of Governors in 2021. She began her NHS career as a nurse and has since held a range of senior roles in NHS management, nursing, and national leadership. Her background includes extensive experience in healthcare governance, regulation, quality, and standards. Dawn is currently a senior manager at a local NHS Trust and also serves as a specialist adviser on clinical governance inspections for the Care Quality Commission, the regulator for health and social care. She is married with one daughter and lives locally. In her spare time, she enjoys walking, reading, cooking, and designing crafts.

  • Pranav Sharma
    (Finance)

    Pranav Sharma

    I have  a strong passion in education, both inside and outside of the classroom. In addition to being a governor at the school,  I have worked on various projects in online education and served as Company Secretary for Barnet Junior Chess. In  my professional life,  I am a qualified CIMA accountant and work in the Banking and Financial Services industry. I enjoy reading, watching films and playing sports.

  • Laurel Freedman
    (Safeguarding)

    Laurel Freedman

    "I trained as a primary school teacher over 50 years ago, and since then, I've had a variety of roles in education. In 1996, I qualified as an Educational Psychologist, and I worked for the London Borough of Enfield for seven years. After that, I moved to the voluntary sector and joined Norwood's multi-disciplinary Educational Service, where I managed a small team of EPs. During that time, I also had the privilege of being seconded to the Tavistock Centre for five years, where I worked as a part-time course tutor on the Doctorate for Child, Community, and Educational Psychology. Since leaving Norwood in 2013, I've been working as an independent EP and am now semi-retired. Over the years, I've also served as a governor at two schools, and I've developed a particular interest in Safeguarding and Child Protection."

Staff Governors

Parent Governors

  • Mrs Therese Laverton
    Curriculum)

    Mrs Therese Laverton

    I have lived in Finchley more or less my whole life. I have two boys who attend Chalgrove (years 1&3) and I also attended the school myself for my last two years of primary school, so it holds a special place in my heart. Â

    In my early career I worked in theatre and as a professional singer but I also had many years experience working as a nanny, transferring those skills into the work I do now supporting vulnerable people living with eating disorders. Â

    I continue to be creative - performance based when possible and I also design and sell multiracial and diverse greeting cards as a small passion project as I believe  promoting diversity and inclusion is incredibly important.

    I have recently been appointed the head of the PTA as well as Parent Governor. My aim as the head of the PTA is to build on our school community and create more fundraising opportunities to help benefit  the school and our children.

    As a Governor, I hope to be a part of helping uphold the OUTSTANDING standard that Chalgrove has achieved.

  • Walid Rahmathullah,
    , (Curriculum)

    Walid Rahmathullah,

    I have two children currently attending the school, and I am a hands-on dad. Professionally, I am a qualified Maths Teacher and work as a Private Tutor. I have been involved in the education sector for over a decade. In my spare time, I enjoy going to the gym, occasionally reading a book, and sea-swimming when the opportunity arises.

    ,

  • Mrs Jelena Gacesa
    (Curriculum)

    Mrs Jelena Gacesa

    My children have attended Chalgrove since 2016 and I have a son in Year 3. I have good knowledge of Chalgrove, having volunteered and supported the school for many years.

    In my job at the Institution of Mechanical Engineers I am directly responsible for Education. I work with 115,000 engineers and manage a volunteer community of 10k engineers across our Education Programme. As a result of my job, Chalgrove have had access to trips, workshops and opportunities that they would not have had otherwise.

    I previously worked in a school and with school governors and know firsthand some of the challenges that schools encounter on. I have direct experience of the UK education system and bring relevant skills and experience to the governor role. I am keen to support our school and its pupils in the role of governor to help drive progress and excellence for our children!

Register of Interest

Meeting Minutes

Governors Attendance