Our Governing Board

The Governing Body at our school is made up of volunteers who collectively act as a "Critical Friend" to the Head Teacher and the school's teaching staff. 

The Governors are representative of the parents and local school community. 

They influence the character, policies and general administration of the school. 

There are two committees within the Governing Body, namely :

1. Teaching & Learning Committee (T & L) - deals with the curriculum, teaching and learning.
2.  Resources Committee - deals with finance, premises, pay and personnel issues.

The full Governing Body meets twice a term to deliberate over all aspects of school life. 

In addition, each individual committee meets at least once a term to execute the responsibilities of the Governing Body.

Key Information 

The Governing Body are keen to understand parental views of the school from the quality of teaching, to dealing with bullying and poor behaviour.  Please feel free to share your opinion by completing the OFSTED Parent View questionnaire here.

This survey can be completed anytime during the year and is completely anonymous. By sharing your views, you’ll be helping the school to improve. 

To view the school's Ofsted Report for 2019 please click here. 

The following link provides visitors to our website with key financial information about the school.

https://schools-financial-benchmarking.service.gov.uk/

No employees at Margaret Wix have a gross annual salary of £100,000 or more.

Chair of Governors - Val Male - since 16/03/2016

Val joined the Margaret Wix governing body in April 2016 and has been Chair of Governors since September 2020. She is the link governor for SEN, music and PSCHCE.

In her professional life Val has worked for Hertfordshire County Council for 18 years in transport policy and planning, leading on school travel planning and more recently working with the rail industry. Prior to joining the county council Val worked as an education officer for a national charity and as a peripatetic music teacher.

Val continues to enjoy music and is a member of St Albans Chamber Choir. She has lived in Wheathampstead for over 25 years and enjoys walking her dog in the countryside as well as gardening in her spare time.

Vice Chair of Governors - Anand Shah - since 28/11/2016

Anand Shah is a Co-Opted Governor as well as a parent of two boys at Margaret Wix. He is the PE Link Governor and is the Chair of the Resources Committee.

Emily Watson - since 02/02/2016

Emily has 20 years’ experience as a family law solicitor and is a partner at Rayden Solicitors. As part of her management role, she is involved in strategic decision-making, financial planning and monitoring, and staff management. Her legal cases also often involve issues of child welfare and safeguarding. This is all experience which she can draw on to assist with her role as a governor.

Emily has been a governor since February 2016 and has previously been both vice chair and chair for a number of years. Emily is currently a co-opted governor, although she has had children at Margaret Wix since 2011. Emily loved the feel of the school from her first visit to it and, although she and her family moved out of St Albans to Harpenden in 2018, they chose to keep the children at Margaret Wix, reflecting their highly positive experience at the school. 

Emily now sits on the resources committee and is also the Link Governor for Computing and Languages.

Mr Podichetty - since 01/11/2021

Mr Podichetty is a Parent Governor and the Link Governor for Humanities and RE. He is part of the Teaching and Learning Committee. He has been in education for nearly 15 years, over 4 of those years have been in Special Needs Education specifically in Autism. He is a science teacher and currently teaches in an Autism accredited school.

Stephen Cunningham - since 01/02/2021

Stephen became a parent governor in February 2021, inspired by the school’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic. He has specific responsibilities for safeguarding, wellbeing and English, and chairs the Teaching and Learning Committee.

He works as a freelance proofreader and editor, specialising in educational materials such as primary and secondary assessments, GCSE and A-level textbooks and vocational qualification specifications. Before becoming a freelancer, he worked as a Qualifications Development Manager for a leading awarding organisation, writing market-leading childcare and health and social care qualifications.

Stephen is also an experienced actor, theatre director and playwright.

Sarah Gillin - since 01/06/2021

Sarah Gillin is a Parent Governor with one son at Margaret Wix and sits on the Resources Committee. She is also the Maths Link Governor. 

Sarah's son is currently in Reception. "From the first moment we walked in to look round, both staff and children made clear that Margaret Wix is a special place that believes children of all abilities should be the best they can be. The school is such a welcoming place. I became a governor to offer my time and skills to repay that. Whilst I clearly have a parent's perspective, as an accountant I bring financial management skills and knowledge of SEN to the Governing Body - helping them both support and challenge Mrs Gibbs and her team to achieve this aim."

Karen Atkinson - since 01/04/2021

Karen Atkinson is a Community Governor who sits on the Resources Committee. She is the Art and DT Link Governor.

Karen currently works and is a co-founder at Dataholix.com which is a marketing outsourcing company. 

She has been a Governor since 2021 and has been bought on to help with the marketing of Margaret Wix, ensuring St Albans understands what an excellent, creative and inclusive school it has.

Karen has been in Hertfordshire for over 15 years and has 3 children.  Any spare time is spent cycling, running or just getting outside.

Vacancy

Co-opted Governor

Laura Campbell-Pugh - since 01/09/2021

Laura Campbell-Pugh is the Staff Governor (Assistant Head and SENCO) and sits on the Teaching and Learning Committee.

Laura joined Margaret Wix Primary School in April 2018 as the Inclusion Leader and joined the Governing Body in September 2021 when she became Assistant Head. Laura has been teaching since 2008.

Laura is also subject lead for Art and DT, Mental Health Lead, ASD Lead, Deputy Safeguarding Lead and Designated Teacher for Looked After Children. She was also an extra in the Harry Potter films and has a huge passion for the genre.

Claire Gibbs - since 01/04/2021

Claire Gibbs is the Headteacher at Margaret Wix and sits on both the Teaching and Learning Committee and Resources Committee.

Claire joined Margaret Wix in January 2019 and became Headteacher in April 2021.

Claire has been teaching for over 20 years following a career in customer services at Harrods. Claire brings her dog Sweep to school most days which the children enjoy as a therapy dog.

The School Development Plan (SDP) is a strategic plan for improvement. It should bring together, in a clear and simple way, the school priorities, the main measures it will take to raise standards, the resources dedicated to these, and the key outcomes and targets it intends to achieve.

At Margaret Wix Primary School, we work collaboratively with Senior Leaders, Governors, teachers and pupils to determine what our key priorities are for the coming academic year.  We follow a clear process to determine what areas of the school need to be further developed as well as identifying areas of strength within the school.  By consulting all the key stakeholders within the school, the document is one that we all identify with and acts as a common goal that we are all striving to achieve.

The School Development Plan is not a fixed document rather it is one that is flexible and adapts based on the needs of the school.  The SDP is reviewed by senior leaders on a regular basis and updates are provide to staff to ensure that we are all aware of any outstanding actions.