Bridge Junior School Governing Body:

Lee Jowett  - LA Appointed/Chair of Governors

Claire Chauhan - Parent Governor/ Vice Chair

Jatinder Mahil - Headteacher 

Asifa Narma - Staff Governor

Yasmin Kazi- Parent Governor

Shamina Suleman - Parent Governor

Becky Mukiza- Co-opted Governor

Asma Takolia - Co-opted Governor

James Canham- Co-opted Governor

Natalie Tegala-Patel - Clerk to Governors (Leicester City Council)

All governors can be contacted through the school:

0116 2536092

office@bridge.leicester.sch.uk

CODE OF CONDUCT FOR THE GOVERNING BODY

This code sets out the expectations on and commitment required from governors in order for the governing body to properly carry out its work within the school and the community.

Introduction

The following is not a definitive statement of responsibilities but is concerned with the common understanding of broad principles by which the governing body and individual governors will operate.

The governing body as a corporate body

• No governor will act on her/his own without delegated authority from the full governing body.
• All governors have equal status.  Although governors are appointed and elected by different groups, the overriding concern of all governors is the welfare of the school as a whole.
• All governors carry equal responsibility for decisions made.

The role of the governor

• We have a duty to act fairly and without prejudice, and in so far as we have responsibility for staff, we will fulfil all reasonable expectations of a good employer.
• We will consider carefully how our decisions might affect other schools.
• We will encourage open government and will act appropriately.

Commitment

• We acknowledge that accepting the office as a governor involves the commitment of significant amounts of time and energy.
• We will each involve ourselves actively in the work of the governing body, attend regularly and accept our fair share of responsibilities, including service on committees or working groups.
• We will get to know the school well and respond to opportunities to involve ourselves in school activities.
• We will consider our individual and collective needs for training and development.

Relationships

• We will strive to work as a team.
• We will express views openly, courteously and respectfully in all our communications with other governors.
• We will seek to develop effective working relationships with our head teacher, staff, parents, the Local Authority, other relevant agencies and the community.

Confidentiality

• We will observe confidentiality regarding proceedings of the governing body in meetings and from our visits to school as governors.
• We will observe complete confidentiality when required or asked to do so by the governing body, especially regarding matters concerning individual staff or pupils/students.
• We will exercise the greatest prudence of a discussion of a potentially contentious issue affecting the school arises outside the governing body.
• We will not reveal the details of any governing body vote.

Conduct

• In discharging our duties we will always be mindful of our responsibility to maintain and develop the ethos and reputation of the school.
• We will follow the procedures established by the governing body when making or responding to criticism or complaints affecting the school.
• Our visits to school will be undertaken within the policy established by the governing body.

Suspension of a governor

• If the need arises to use the sanction of suspending a governor, we will do so by following the School Governance (Roles, Procedures and Allowances) Regulations 2013 to ensure a fair and objective process.

Breach of this Code of Conduct

• If we believe this code has been breached, we will raise the issue with the Chair of Governors and the Chair will investigate.
• Should it be the Chair who we believe has breached this code, the Vice-Chair will undertake the investigation. 
• We understand that any allegation of a material breach of this code of conduct will be raised at a meeting of the governing body. If, following an investigation, the governing body agree that the allegation is substantiated, this will be minuted and could lead to consideration of suspension or removal from the governing body. 

The governing body adopted this Code of Conduct on October 2022

Review date (annually):   October 2023

Roles and Responsibilities

Safeguarding & Health and Safety

SEND/PREVENT/Pupil Premium/LAC

Asma Takolia

Finance and Staffing 

James Canham (Chair)

Curriculum Committee

Becky Mukiza (Vice Chair)

Claire Chauhan

Asma Takolia 

Yasmin Kazi

Governor Profiles

Lee Jowett

Until very recently I worked at the local authority as sustainable schools manager, delivering climate education. I am now a climate and sustainability education research fellow at Sheffield Hallam University. Prior to this I was a secondary school science teacher for nearly ten years. Over the past four years I have been a Chair of Trustees at Attenborough Learning, which is a primary and infant MAT in the city and prior to that I was Chair of Governors at another primary school in the city (now part of the Trust). I am really pleased to have joined the governing body and also be elected as the Chair of Governors. Being the chair brings additional commitments, but also lots of opportunities to influence change and develop our great team of governors to ensure that our children get the very best opportunities and life chances, while spending their time here at Bridge Junior School. 

Jatinder Mahil

I have recently had the privilege of being appointed as the Headteacher at Bridge Junior School from January 2020.

Previous to this, I have worked as a head teacher in two other primary schools in very different catchment areas to Bridge.  

The experience I bring to our school which has spanned over the last 25 years, have included working as a class teacher in many schools around the country; an Assistant Head teacher, leading on Assessment and developing a creative connected curriculum; a deputy headteacher with a focus on coaching and mentoring staff on improving teaching and learning pedagogy; an Improving Schools Programme Consultant for Slough Borough Council which gave me the opportunity to work in a range of schools, supporting teachers and senior leaders. I have also been a registered Ofsted inspector before taking on my first headship in 2012.

I remain as passionate today about the giving all our children the best possible education and life chances as I did when I first started qualified in 1993. This is something I intend on doing with the support of the fantastic pupils, parents, staff and governors at Bridge.

Yasmin Kazi

I work in the Further Education sector and have been a Parent Governor at Bridge since 2020. Being a local community member and having five children who either are at Bridge or soon to be going there, I have a passion for education and an interest in ensuring Bridge Junior School is amongst the striving, outstanding, and impressive schools in the region. Having had the opportunity to become a Parent Governor, it is clear that Bridge has a very strong team of committed and hardworking individuals behind the progression of the school and it is a pleasure to be able to be a part of that. 

Claire Chauhan

I am currently a Parent Governor for Bridge Junior and Staff Governor for Green Lane Infants. Myself and my partner both attended these schools as children and our children are also are going through the schools at present. My background is Domiciliary Care for people with learning difficulties, where I was a Registered Manager for 15 years before I had my children. My career change was based on having quality family time which I enjoy thoroughly. Being a governor in the School gives me a good sense of involvement.

Asma Takolia

I am currently a Teaching Assistant at another city school, having previously worked at Bridge Junior as a volunteer class assistant during my study years. I am a mother of four children and have lived in Leicester for the last 17 years, originally from London. By the next academic year, all my children will have either passed through Bridge or be in attendance, which indicates a long-lasting association with the school. As a Parent Governor, my aim is to help the school make the progress we need, whilst retaining things that make our school special.

Becky Mukiza

I am currently working as a senior teacher and School Leader in Education (SLE) for Maths in another Leicester City school and my knowledge of Bridge Primary School is, like all schools, it is constantly developing. I understand that the community it serves and the delights and challenges that it faces. My own children are dual heritage and I pride myself on awareness of cultural similarities and differences between families from all over the world. I am aware that the community is changing, as there are now multigenerational families whom live within the catchment area. I know that the pupils of Bridge make good progress from KS1 – KS2 and that this is due to the supportive parents and delightful children that attend the school. I am aware that the school would like to further develop their teaching pedagogy to ensure that their pupils are fully equipped for life after primary school and I would love to support the school in that journey.

James Canham

I have worked in education for nineteen years as a class teacher and for the past ten years as a senior leader in a number of primary schools in Leicester. I completed my teacher training in the U.S.A (Master of Science in Teaching / Fordham University) and worked in a school in The Bronx, NYC, for nine years before returning to the U.K. During my time abroad, I was a class teacher in KS2, E.A.L. Co-ordinator and Science Lead. I worked closely with the Parent Support Officer for five years delivering parent workshops to improve skills in English and Math, helping them to complete forms and apply for grants and supporting them to improve their quality of life as many of them lived in high areas of deprivation and poverty.

I bring to the role of Co-Opted Governor a detailed understanding of teaching and learning across the primary range, broad experience of being a senior leader with responsibility for managing budgets (including Pupil Premium and subject-specific budgets), teams of staff and extensive experience of working closely with parents, Governors (including three years as a Co-Opted Governor 2012-2015) and the wider community to support and improve pupil outcomes.

As a parent myself I understand the importance and significance that an outstanding education offers. I am passionate about providing children with the best possible opportunities and supporting schools to deliver and sustain those. It would be a privilege to support Bridge Junior School on the Governing Body as it works toward achieving its strategic aims and objectives both this year and in the future.

Shamina Suleman

I am currently a parent governor for Bridge Junior school as well as a lunch supervisor at Green Lane infant School. I have worked in a school environment for 20 odd years. Through this I have gained experience in working in a school setting. I have a child who currently attends Bridge Junior and my elder children have previously attended as well. As a parent governor I wish to help the school make positive changes to create a healthy environment for the children.

Asifa Narma

I was elected as staff governor in September, 2023 and I am fully dedicated to undertake the role to the best of my ability. I have a long-standing commitment to our school and its community and this is reflected in the sixteen years that I have worked here. Throughout the years, I have developed a strong bond with our children and their families. I started my role as a level 2 teaching assistant and then progressed to a HLTA and in 2019, with the support of dedicated colleagues and mentors, I qualified as a teacher, currently teaching in Year 5. Having worked in different roles has given me an insight into what each role requires but more importantly, it has helped me to understand how crucial every member of staff is, where the education of our children is concerned. This is why I feel that I can present a good voice for our staff, on our governing body.

Throughout my Bridge life, myself and two other colleagues led successful School Councils and various other wider-community activities and in 2018, I received the Leicester City Council’s Community and Parental Engagement Champion award. My understanding of the needs of the school, our children, our families and our community will hopefully enable me to support our governing body in making the right decisions to enhance the education of our pupils so that they develop into young, knowledgeable and conscientious citizens.

Our Governing Body

Governor Vacancies

Do you think that you have the skills to support our school? Call us on 0116 253 6092. We need YOU to help strengthen our school so together WE can give OUR children the best.