School Governors


The school has a governing body, which plays an important part in determining policies for organisation and conduct of the school. It is structured with volunteer Governors from a range of businesses and from within the community.  Learn more about the role of the governing body, the role of a governor and the governing body terms of reference (September 2018).  

 

The minutes of governing body meetings are public documents and copies are available, on request, from the school office.

  

For the appointment of parent governors, nominations are invited from parents and an election is held. All parents are entitled to vote in those elections. For our guidelines for the election of parent governors click here.

 

View our Constitution of the Governing Board (2025-2026) 

Letter from the Governing Body- Autumn 2025
Now that you have hopefully settled into the new year at Fairfields School, the Governing Board would like to extend a warm welcome to new parents and carers as well as those returning for another school year. I met some of you at the New Parents Evening at the end of June, but we thought we’d take this opportunity to try to bust the myth about our roles as Governors and tell you a little about the things we get up to.
We are a team of about ten; all normal people from different communities with different skills and interests. However, we all have something in common, which is the desire to continually improve the experience and outcomes for your children while they are here at Fairfields, which will then have knock-on effects in their future education and lives. We are volunteers, some of us with full or part-time jobs and others who have retired. Some of us are parents at the school too. We meet monthly in term time but also make other ad-hoc visits to the school during school hours to monitor and support school development priorities. We are, of course, DBS checked to do this. We all have slightly different individual roles but, as a team, we provide strategic leadership to Vicky Hopkins and Kelly Bogalski and their leadership team, focusing on the school's vision, financial performance, and educational outcomes, rather than the day-to-day management of the school which we leave in their capable hands. We help set the school's direction, hold the leadership team accountable for pupil achievement, and ensure the school's budget is well-managed. Our Health and Safety and Safeguarding audits feature prominently across the year too. Think of us as a ‘critical friend’ to Vicky and her team; we are keen to challenge the status quo, but offer our support in doing so. 
So, what else did we specifically get up to last year which you will have noticed? We actively took part in the recruitment process for both Vicky and Kelly in their new roles as Head Teacher and Deputy Head Teacher respectively. Both involved external and internal candidates and we worked closely with the local authority to make these appointments. We were instrumental in the decisions regarding the new catering suppliers this year and, having listened to feedback from parents, we were keen to maximise the effectiveness of a new provider for our Breakfast and After School Clubs.
I’m hoping this has gone a little way to shed some light on what we do, but if you’re keen to learn more, please take a look at our page on the school website or, alternatively, seek us out through Vicky or Kelly – we love to talk about what we do! 
Sue Myland
Leadership and Management Monitoring, Governor Recruitment and Induction.
CHAIR OF GOVERNORS: NICK GIBLIN-COOK
As chair of governors, Nick is responsible for helping set the strategic direction for the school. He has a background in organisational strategy.

As chair of governors, Nick is responsible for helping set the strategic direction for the school. He has a background in organisational strategy.

CLERK TO THE GOVERNING BODY: RADHIA TARAFDER
Radhia Tarafder, Governance Professional from Hampshire Governor Services. She has been with Fairfield's since January 2021 and provides advice and guidance to support the constitutional conscience of the GB as well as administrative and organisational support to ensure good governance.

Radhia Tarafder, Governance Professional from Hampshire Governor Services. She has been with Fairfield's since January 2021 and provides advice and guidance to support the constitutional conscience of the GB as well as administrative and organisational support to ensure good governance.

VICKY HOPKINS
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Vicky Hopkins is the Headteacher at Fairfields Primary School, and part of the Governing Body. She is held accountable by the governors and reports regularly to them on the progress and development of the school. 

GRAHAM BARKER
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Graham has been a governor since 2017 and is currently Vice-Chair. He has a background in finance and oversees finance and personnel.

NAGESH VALLAMDAS
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Nagesh is a parent governor, part of Development & Training and the Pay Committee, utilising his expertise to support the school’s development and better governance.
He is a software professional with over 18 years of experience working in the private sector. Nagesh previously served as a parent governor, part of the Pay Committee, Development & Training, Data and EAL at the school. He also served as a community governor at Costello School.
Nagesh loves martial arts and holds a black belt (Dan) in kickboxing. He also enjoys playing cricket and badminton.
JENNY BRADLEY
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Jenny is the staff governor. She has been a teacher at Fairfields since September 2019, working in Key Stage 1. Jenny leads P.E across the school and is passionate about children's health and wellbeing. 

FRAN CANNING
Fran is a specialist SEND governor supporting SEND provision. She also overseas safeguarding in the school and meets regularly with the Designated Safeguarding Leader. She works as a class teacher in a special school for children with SLD and PMLD

Fran is a specialist SEND governor supporting SEND provision. She also overseas safeguarding in the school and meets regularly with the Designated Safeguarding Leader. She works as a class teacher in a special school for children with SLD and PMLD

SUE MYLAND
Sue is a Co-opted governor, and is passionate about the development of skills in young people. She has spent her career helping young people to become the best people they can be.

Sue is a Co-opted governor, and is passionate about the development of skills in young people. She has spent her career helping young people to become the best people they can be.

PORTIA WILLIAMS

Portia is a parent governor. She currently works as a Programme Manager for a national children’s charity.

HELEN LEAFORD

Helen is a Co-opted Governor. Her primary connection to Fairfields is her daughter and son-in-law who do lunch time supervision and after school bootcamp. She spent her career as a Key Stage Two teacher and is now working along side staff to improve writing throughout the school.

Governor Meetings

Governor's Secure Area