Chair of Governors)

Co-opted Governor - Elected by parents 14.12.23-14.12.27

My name is Jo Pires and I am a Parent Governor and Chair of Governors here at Heygarth Primary School.  I have three children - Carys in Year 10 at Wirral Grammar, Megan in Year 9 at Wirral Grammar, and Cameron in Year 8 at Wirral Grammar.

My current roles on the Governing Body are:

- Chair of Governors

- Member of the Finance Committee

- Chair of Leadership and Management Committee

- Chair of the Pay Committee

- Chair of the Headteacher Performance Management Committee

I thoroughly enjoy being a Governor at Heygarth and am very passionate about the role which includes working with the Headteacher, Senior Leadership Team and staff members to help shape the strategic vision of the school. 

My employment background is in management.  Prior to leaving work to care for my young family and settling on the Wirral, I held the role of Regional Retail Manager for a well known cinema chain.  I was responsible for the retail performance, financial performance and training and development of staff in 40 cinemas across London and the South West of England.

Vice Chair

Co-opted Governor -Appointed by GB/board 14.12.23-14.12.27

I have been a Governor at Heygarth for over 15 years. I am currently Vice Chair of Governors, a position I have held for 8 years, and a Co-opted Governor.

I undertake various roles within the Governing Body, including Mathematics Governor, Chair of Finance Committee, a member of the Pay Committee and Headteacher Performance Management.

I am passionate about all elements of governance, from safeguarding to mental health and wellbeing as well as the ‘day to day’ subjects. I enjoy coming into school and seeing the children in the classroom setting and listening to them talk proudly of their learning. 

Headteacher

Ex-officio by virtue of office as headteacher/principal

As the Headteacher of Heygarth Primary School, I am also a Governor. I am now entering my tenth year as Headteacher of the school and prior to that I had been the Deputy Headteacher here since January 2009.

Outside of school, I enjoy walking, the theatre and dancing. Having been involved in several amateur dramatics groups and many performances in the past, and I now very much enjoy visiting the theatre.

I have two children, who are now 18 and 12, who both previously attended Heygarth.

Parent Governor

Elected by Parents 24.1.24-24.1.28

I am parent governor here at Heygarth Primary School.

I have two daughters, one in Year 4, and one who has just completed her journey at Heygarth and has now moved on to high school.

I am currently work as a LIAISE Officer for England Illegal Money Lending Team (Stop Loan Sharks) and cover the North West Region.

Prior to becoming a LIAISE Officer I worked for Merseyside Police delivering numerous different prevention projects across Merseyside working with young people to prevent them from getting involved in crime.

Luckily through these projects I have had the pleasure of working in Heygarth Primary School several times prior to becoming a parent governor seeing first had the hard work, dedication and passion all the teachers and staff show on a daily basis.

I am an advocate for giving young people a voice and I am passionate about helping young people achieve their goals life.

Staff Governor

Elected by school staff 10.2.25-9.2.29

I am a Staff Governor here at Heygarth Primary School. I was employed as a teacher following my qualification in 2018. Prior to this I worked for 8 years as a TA/HLTA at another Wirral primary school. I am currently a Year 6 teacher, personal development and mental health lead and am part of the senior leadership team.  I have launched a multi-agency cluster group to develop the work of senior mental health leads in Wirral primary schools. 

I enjoy travel, running and working on my allotment where I am part of the organising committee.  

LA Governor

Nominated by LA and appointed by GB 14.12.23-14.12.27

I am retired from work and being a local Cllr for some years, I worked in engineering as a fabricator welder. At the moment I have one Granddaughter at the school. My hobbies are fishing and woodcarving. I also like to watch rugby and football. I am the representative of the LA as a governor.

Co-opted Governor

Appointed by GB/board 12.12.24-12.12.28

As an experienced leader in education, with a SEND and safeguarding specialism, I am delighted to be a co-opted governor at Heygarth Primary School.

I am the SEND and Safeguarding governor responsible for specific oversight of the school’s arrangements and provision for meeting special educational needs and safeguarding. Promoting and implementing SEND and safeguarding systems and processes is part of my every day job as I lead an alternative education provision aimed at supporting students with SEND or behavioural difficulties with the main aim of re-engaging and re-integrating them back into education. 

In my spare time, I enjoy going to the gym and attending live music events.

Parent Governor

Elected by Parents 12.12.24-12.12.28

I am a parent governor at Heygarth. My son is in Y5. Before moving to Eastham, l worked for a crime prevention charity, running sport and health development projects in inner city areas. I wrote development plans and set targets that used sport to reduce anti social behaviour and remove barriers to participation. I worked in partnership with communities and schools, following local authority policy and procedures and I obtained funding that allowed me to increase participation, provide links to community provision and develop young people through training. For the last 6 years I've been employed as an officer in the National Crime Agency. I enjoy watching rugby and football, having played sport at University, I love music, reading and family trips to the beach.

x 1 - Co-opted Governor

Get in touch with the school office if you feel you can help.

Chair of Committee - Ms Jo Pires

Committee Members: Mrs Sue Jacobs, Mrs Hazel Beamish, Mr Peter Shone, Mrs Katy Valentine, Mr Dave Mitchell, Mrs H Cottrell & Mrs R Lucas.

In attendance: Mr G Lewis, Deputy Headteacher

Chair of Committee - Mrs Sue Jacobs

Committee Members: Ms J Pires, Mrs Hazel Beamish, Mrs Katy Valentine, Mr Peter Shone & Mrs H Cottrell.

In attendance: Mr D Stenhouse, School Business Manager

Chair of Committee - Ms Jo Pires

Committee Members: Mrs Sue Jacobs & Mr Dave Mitchell.

who also meet on a termly basis, as well as Link Governors who meet at least termly with particular members of staff.

The Governing Body also has many discretionary committees that can be convened for specialist reasons, such a disciplinary and complaints.