“Governors are well informed about the work of the school. They offer expert and insightful challenge to you and your senior team. The Chair of the Governing Body is rightly very proud of the school and he ensures that the governing body now offers very good strategic support for its development”. – Ofsted, 2016
School Governors are there to ensure that schools are well run. They are volunteers who help to decide on the direction, focus and ethos of schools. Each school has between 9 and 20 Governors who together form ‘The Governing Body’, our school has 16 Governor positions. Governors represent people from many walks of life: school staff, parents, the local community and even organisations connected to the school. This means that decisions are made by people with a wide range of views and experience.
Our Chair of Governors is Mr Ben Chubb and can be contacted via our Clerk, Jane Scott at jscott@oriel.w-sussex.sch.uk.
What do the School Governors do?
They are there to give a long-term strategic direction to how the School is run; to be critical friends to the school and to ensure the school is accountable for its actions.
Governors discuss and have input on:
- school policies, such as behaviour, teaching & learning and uniform.
- long-term plans and the future of the School
- how the school budget will be spent
- Our Governing Body also has sub-committees of Governors to look at specific areas such as Buildings & Finance; Teaching & Learning and Personnel.
How much time do Governors give?
Normally governors serve for four years, but as volunteers they can leave at any time. Previous Governors can normally apply to be re-appointed or re-elected if they wish to return. A Governor’s main task is to attend meetings of the full governing body (normally 2.5 hours once a term). In addition, a Governor will be appointed to a sub-committee whose meetings take place once a term and last approximately 2 hours. Governors are also committed to carrying out a school visit to their linked department to observe a lesson and familiarise themselves with this department and how it works.
Meet the Governors
Ben Chubb
Ben joined the governing body in 2018, having previously served between 2011 and 2014 on the governing body of a local infant school. Ben is now Oriel’s Chair of Governors and is also the Vice Chair of the Building & Finance Committee. His current role, working for a global bank in Fintech Payments and Finance Innovation, has evolved from previous roles in which he had a national role in the bank promoting education and entrepreneurial mindset/activity in schools, colleges and universities, which is where his passion still lies.
Lee Waters
Lee is our Vice Chair of Governors, taking on the role in May 2022. He also sits on the Buildings & Finance Committee.
Chris Davies
Chris is the SEND Link Governor. He joined the school Governor team in 2018 and sits on the Personnel Committee. Chris is a Police Officer and an experienced senior manager. He has a good knowledge of HR procedures, Health and Safety management, delivering change and partnership working across the public sector.
Lorraine Grigg
Lorraine is the Child Protection and Safeguarding Link Governor. She joined the governing body in 2018 and is the chair of the Teaching & Learning Committee. Lorraine is a former Police Officer leaving in 2021 after full service following on from nursing training where she qualified as a registered general nurse. Lorraine brings a vast experience in safeguarding children which was her previous role for many years in the Police. She now works for a busy Investigation company and does exam invigilating.
Josef Kane
Josef joined the governing body in June 2015 and sits on the Personnel and Pay Committees. He is a paramedic and has had substantial experience in the health and care industry. Josef holds qualifications in both employment law and health and safety and has played a leading role nationally as a union negotiator and representative in the public sector. He is currently a Lead Inspector in the Care Quality Commission.
Vanessa Singhateh
Vanessa joined the governing body in January 2022 and sits on the Teaching & Learning Committee. Vanessa currently works for the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA), Department for Education. She has been a Civil Servant for over 23 years, having worked for the Department for Business, overseas for UK Trade and Investment and most recently, for ESFA.
Joanne Chapman-Cohen
Jo works as a Finance Manager for a multi academy trust and joined Oriel’s governing body in September 2023. Having previously worked as School Business Manager Jo has a broad understanding within the school environment and sits on the Buildings and Finance Committee. She also is a qualified mental health first aider for both adults and young people.
Oli Green
Oli joined the governing body in October 2023 and sits on the Personnel Committee. He has many years’ experience in recruitment. Oli brings a strong knowledge of recruitment and retention, having worked closely with school leaders across Sussex since 2012.
Philip Stack
Philip Stack is the Headteacher Governor at Oriel and also is a governor at Gresham Primary School, Croydon. Philip sits on the Buildings & Finance, Teaching & Learning and Personnel Committees.
Ben Cleaveley
Ben is Oriel’s Staff Governor and sits on both the Teaching & Learning and Buildings & Finance Committees. Ben has been a governor since 2012. Ben is an IT teacher and a senior pastoral team member at the school. He has also had substantial private sector experience in the publishing industry.
Tyler Johnson
Tyler joined the governing body in March 2024 and is an Oriel High School alumnus, graduating from the school in 2014. Tyler is currently a Trainee Solicitor at an international law firm with experience working in corporate tax, energy, and arbitration. Tyler has volunteered at several schools across London providing careers advice to students and is currently a GROW mentor for aspiring lawyers. He is also the Careers Link Governor.
Debbie Green
Debbie Green is the Founder and Wellness Coach at Wishfish Coaching & Development Ltd, as well as the Co-Host of the Secrets From A Coach Podcast. An ICF-accredited coach with over three decades of experience in learning and development, Debbie specializes in assisting both individuals and teams to realize and maximize their potential. With a deep commitment to wellness, she excels at aiding others in navigating life’s challenges and achieving their best selves. Passionate about fostering purposeful living, Debbie supports transformative, life-affirming experiences for her clients. She is dedicated to creating supportive environments that encourage open dialogue and thoughtful reflection, enabling people to thrive and live well. Being part of the OHS Governing Body is an opportunity to work with others to continue to shape the future world of work by supporting the school in providing the best opportunities for students.
Lauren Crawley
Lauren is the Parent Governor at Oriel. She joined Oriel as a Governor in June 2024. She is Mum of an Oriel student, a Maidenbower local and professionally has over 20 years HR experience (working in the further education sector for over 15 years and prior to that in financial services and hospitality). She is currently Director of People on the Senior Leadership Team at East Sussex College, is a qualified coach, mediator and mental health first aider. Lauren brings her education sector knowledge, strategic focus and employment law experience to the Governing body.
Sharon Sorrell
Sharon joined Oriel as a Co-opted Governor in June 2024 and previously served on the governing body of a local primary school. She has worked in Talent, Learning, and Development roles at various multinational organizations over the last 30 years and currently holds a global role in an engineering and manufacturing company. Sharon is passionate about access to learning and education for all, and she brings expertise in inclusion and diversity, leadership and team development, coaching, and performance processes.
Victoria Mills
Vicki is a parent governor who joined the governing body in July 2024. As well as a being a mum to Oriel student she currently works as a Business Development Partner for Ambitious About Autism who run schools and colleges for young people with autism. Prior to this role Vicki gained 15 years social care experience working locally for a national organisation that supported adults with learning disabilities and autism.
Geraldine Lombard
Geraldine joined as a co-opted governor in June 2024. She is a trained nurse and holds qualifications in Occupational Health and Management .She has provided an occupational Health and Well-being service for a variety of businesses including schools.
One of the main aspects of her role involves assisting HR and managers to support employees to return to work following sickness absence for a range of physical and psychological conditions.
She has a son at Oriel and has a keen interest in getting the best education for pupils at the school.
Samantha Andrews-Fisher
Sam has worked in policing for over 25 years, and currently holds a senior leadership position within Corporate Change (previous roles include training new Police Officers). Before joining Oriel High School, she was a Governor at a local Primary School for 11 years. Sam has a Master’s Degree in Education, and has a special interest in Emotional Intelligence; she also holds qualifications in Adult Education and has taught Contemporary Dance. A co-opted Governor Sam joined Oriel High School’s Board of Governors in November 2024.