The purpose of the Governing Board is to conduct the school with a view to promoting high standards of educational achievement. Its three core strategic functions are:

• Ensuring clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction.
• Holding the Head Teacher to account for the educational performance of the school and its pupils and the performance management of staff.
• Overseeing the financial performance of the school and making sure its money is well spent.

Julia Tones, Head Teacher- I have had the privilege of being Head Teacher at Fellgate Primary School since October 2018. I have had a number of positions in a variety of schools including Teacher, middle leader, Assistant Head Teacher, SEND Co and Deputy Head Teacher. I have taught in Nursery, Reception, Year 1, Year 2 and Year 6. I  firmly believe that by working together as a team we can all achieve our aims to create caring, confident and curious children who are successful learners, confident individuals and responsible citizens.

Julie Price, Chair of Governors, Co-opted Governor

Andrew Richardson, Vice Chair of Governors, Parent Governor-  Both my children attend Fellgate Primary, in years 2 & 4. Being a part of the governing body has enabled me to see the opportunities given to the children to help assist them to achieve their own personal potential. Part of my role as governor is to help support around the Pupil and Sports Premium and also supporting with all termly meetings throughout the academic year. I really enjoy being part of the school and helping the pupils at Fellgate Primary thrive and succeed.

Audrey Huntley, Co-opted Governor- My name is Audrey Huntley, I am delighted to be a governor at Fellgate school. I have lots of experience in SEND, Finance and school performance. I am a parent of a young person with additional needs and I bring a wealth of personal experience for  staff, children and families to benefit from. My passion is community involvement and I’m a trustee at Hedworthfield CA which is adjacent to Fellgate school. Through my role and life experiences I hope to support the school on its continuing improvement path, which is giving your children an amazing opportunity to thrive and fulfill their full potential.

Sarah Hayton, Co-opted Governor

Paula Holman, Co-opted Governor- My name is Paula Holman and I have been a Parent/Co-opted Governor since September 2012. Both my 2 sons & myself attended this school and we all have many happy memories of our primary school years. I bring a wealth of business-related knowledge to my role, my 25-year background includes working in a Financial environment, along with Customer Services and management roles. I am currently employed at Fellgate Primary School as a Teaching Assistant and feel passionate about our pupils enjoying school and creating happy memories that will stay with them forever. I aim to work tirelessly to assist staff, parents and governors in ensuring that all pupils of Fellgate Primary School receive a world class education and move on to secondary school as happy, confident, resilient people with a lifelong love of learning. I feel proud to be working with such a dedicated team of Governors, to ensure that our children receive their education in a loving and caring environment so that they can shine bright in the world. Together everyone achieves more.

Sean McDonagh, Co-opted Governor- ’I am an ex-civil servant.  After working in Newcastle, I decided to take my A Levels in Pure Math and Applied Math(Stats).  Following on with Maths, I attained my HE cert in Computing and Mathematics, through the Open University. I became a parent governor 25 years ago, and I am currently a Local Authority Governor at 2 schools in the Borough.  I want to help ensure that our children and grandchildren are given the education that they are entitled to both now and in the future years. This can be achieved by working together with the parents, head teacher, staff, governing boards and other agencies.’

Suzanne Spencer, Staff Governor- I have worked at Fellgate Primary School for just over one year as a class teacher and I am passionate about providing our children with the best possible education so that each individual reaches their true potential. I have worked in EYFS, Key Stage 1 and Key stage 2 during my career and I am currently teaching in Key Stage 2 where I am based  in Year 3. I am excited about my role as Staff Governor as I feel it will provide me with further opportunity to work alongside staff, families and our community to ensure our pupils receive an enriching, inspiring, broad and balanced curriculum.  

Louise Edwards, Parent Governor

Peter Gulbrandson, Co-opted Governor- I was asked to become a member of the governing board of Fellgate Primary by Mrs Tones. I would like to support the school in any way possible, so I saw this as an opportunity to help the school and to learn more about the school. Previously, I was a teacher governor at a primary school that I taught at and so have some experience of the role of governor. During that experience I was part of the governing body as we short listed, interviewed and appointed both a deputy head teacher and head teacher. This has given me some insight into the appointment process. As a teacher I have undertaken many responsibilities and I was part of the senior leadership team. This gave me experience and understanding of middle management and senior management roles and of whole school improvement. I spent almost all of my teaching years in SATs classes, mainly in Year 6 (nearly 10 years), but also as KS1 leader in Year 2 and in classes across KS2. During this time I have experienced a number of Ofsted visits and have worked with local authority partners to support school improvement. Most notably, as a subject leader I have been responsible for ICT provision and teaching, as well as other areas, but my biggest passion has been as extra curricular leader where I developed an excellent provision. I have a real interest in physical education and its impact on other learning. In my previous job as Sustainable Transport Officer in South Tyneside, I not only worked with Fellgate Primary to develop more sustainable travel opportunities, but I have also worked with many schools across the borough. This has given me insight and experience of working with a range of schools and with local authority officers. This role has also developed my project management skills. As a parent of an adopted child I have an insight into and experience of LAC children. Since adopting my son, I have undertaken a number of training courses to support my understanding and parenting skills needed to parent a LAC child. In addition, my son has a variety of additional needs so I have lots of experience of SEN and have undertaken a number of training opportunities to support my understanding. I have a real interest in how LAC and previously LAC children are supported.

Governing Board- information, attendance and register of interests- click here