Welcome to our Governors’ section. 

Please find below details of how our Governing body is structured, including the names, categories, responsibilities and terms of appointment for each Governor.

The Governing Board plays a vital role in supporting and challenging the school. Governors are keen to work with parents and welcome the opportunity to discuss any element of school life. Governors play an important part in monitoring and evaluating the school's performance, which it does through a variety of committees. Governors can be contacted via the school office or our email: governor@haltoncc.school
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The Governing Board is responsible for the conduct of Halton Community Combined School. It is the school’s accountable body whose role is to promote high standards of educational achievement. It does this through three core strategic functions:

1. Ensuring clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction.
2. Holding the Headteacher to account for the educational performance of the school and its pupils.
3. Overseeing the financial performance of the school and making sure its money is well spent

Our Governors represent the many walks of life within the community and share the same goal; to act in the best interests of the children and to support them in their learning journey through the school.

The Governing Board currently consists of:

-          The Head Teacher
-          1 Local Authority Appointed Governor
-          1 Member of Staff
-          5 Parents
-          6 Co-opted Governors* (includes 1 staff member) *recruited to the Governing Board because of their specific skills set

We can often be found at the school gates keen to talk to you, in particular Colin Horsfield and Caroline Allen, (our Staff Governor), as well as various Parent Governors. 

​All who serve on the Governing Board do so voluntarily for a maximum period of four years at a time, so Governing Board vacancies do arise. If anyone is interested in learning more - or taking on this demanding, yet extremely rewarding role, please look out for notices and contact either the Head Teacher, Colin Horsfield, or Chair of Governors, Lindsay Ablitt, via the school office or our email: governor@haltoncc.school

Please click on the links here to see our latest communications, reports and committee structure. Minutes of meetings are available on request:

Our Governors

Details and photos of many of our Governors can be found below; a full list of all Halton’s Governors and a register of any interests they are involved with can be found in the 'Committee Grid 2023-24' file above. A register of attendance for both the full board meetings and individual committees, is also detailed in a separate file at the bottom of the

page.

Chair of Governors: Lindsay Ablitt became a member of the board in July 2020 as a Parent Governor and from January 2022 she now chairs the Full Board. She sits on the Finance and Teaching & Learning Committees and is the Subject Lead for Maths. 
 
Lindsay has over 10 years experience in PR within the motor industry and now enjoys time away from the corporate world to be with her young family. She likes exploring the Buckinghamshire countryside, and beyond, and also loves baking.

Vanessa Smith is a Parent Governor who joined the Governing Board in 2019. She is the Vice Chairs to the Governing Board and Chairs the Finance Committee. She also sits on the Teaching and Learning Committee and is subject governor for Humanities, primarily History and Geography.
 
Formerly working in London for many years as a HR, Pensions and Payroll Manager she was also a Pension Fund Trustee for 7 years. Vanessa now works in a local secondary school dealing with their examinations and data.

Janette Scott is Halton's LA Governor with specific responsibility for financial matters. She sits on the Finance, Personnel and Pay Review, and the Premises, Health and Safety Committees.

Janette joined the Governing Board in 2014 and brought with her a wealth of financial experience - in particular from within the education sector. She is AAT qualified and has been the Finance Manager at The Sir Henry Floyd Grammar School in Aylesbury for many years.

Rick Avory originally joined the Governing Board as a Parent Governor in 2014 and has since been co-opted. He brings his professional experience as a Health and Safety specialist to the school and chairs the Premises, Health and Safety Committee. Rick has since expanded his involvement with roles on the Teaching & Learning Committee. He is our appointed Governor for Equalities, Diversity and Inclusion and Safeguarding. He has served as a Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) ambassador for many years and is a keen musician.

Chani Dhaliwal is a parent governor who joined the Governing Board in 2022. He is the subject lead for Maths and sits on the Teaching and Learning Committee and the Finance Committee. 

Chani is a solicitor and Partner at a national law firm.  He leads a team that specialise in complex serious injury litigation representing clients with brain injury, spinal cord injury, amputation, and complex orthopaedic injuries.

Sue Harratt is a co-opted Governor who joined the board in September 2021 and is the chair of the Teaching and Learning Committee with subject responsibility for English. 

Sue is a retired headteacher with many years’ experience of leadership at several schools in the primary sector. Sue currently supports school improvement services in neighbouring counties, working as a consultant advisor. When not working, Sue enjoys gardening, walking and spending time with her young grandchildren.

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Richard Ablitt joined the board in October 2022 as an associate governor, specifically to have the role as Computing, Cyber Security and GDPR governor. As part of his role as subject lead for computing, he sits on the teaching and learning committee. Richard has over 15 years experience in the telecommunications industry and has worked for the country’s biggest brands in the sector. His career has included aspects of engineering, planning, security and product management.

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Mark Slater is a parent Governor who joined the Governing Board in 2022. Mark is the subject lead for PSHE and music and is a member of the Teaching and Learning Committee. Mark is a Branch Manager in the food retail industry. He has 20 years’ experience in leading teams in sales, cost control, organisational change, strategy and HR. In his spare time Mark loves the outdoors and cooking.  

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Tracy Whitehill joined our governing body in 2023 as a co-opted governor with the responsibility for Early Years. Tracy works in education and has over 20 years experience of working in schools, currently working in Buckinghamshire. Tracy has an Early Years specialism and has been able to attain the Herts Quality standards 'Gold' award in two Hertfordshire schools. Tracy has her own grown-up children and enjoys many sporting activities from mountain climbing, playing netball and running with her dog in the early hours before work.

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Governor attendance records for FGB and all committee meetings over the last academic year can be found in this file:

Governing board diversity:

Our school is committed to having a governing board that is diverse, inclusive and reflective of the community we serve.