Governors

Lawn Manor Academy’s vision is “Inspiring and Creating Futures for All”. As Governors of the School, it is our responsibility to make sure this vision comes true. We make sure everything done in the school is designed to help it happen.

We:

Ensure the vision, ethos and strategic direction of the school is clear and is being achieved
Work with the headteacher to continually improve the performance of the School, its staff and its pupils
Oversee the financial management of the school to make sure money is spent in the best way

There are a wide range of activities we take part in to help us with these responsibilities. In addition to participating in regular committee meetings, we visit classrooms, liaise with different faculties and meet with staff, pupils and parents/carers. We are also often present when the school is holding events for pupils or parents/carers.

Lawn Manor is part of the Ascend Learning Trust. This means that our Local Governing Body feeds into the Trust Board, via meetings and updates. It is the Trustees on the Trust Board who have ultimate accountability for the governance of all of the schools within the Trust.

We strongly believe that creating a diverse team of people from a wide variety of backgrounds will help us achieve our goals better. Whether governors are parents, from local community groups, from business, or even from other educational bodies, we want as wide a range of different skills and experience on our Local Governing Body as we can find.

Governors work on a voluntary basis. There are six formal meetings of the Local Governing Body at Lawn Manor each year. These are one per school term, held in the evenings. Typically, we commit to giving 20 hours a year (there are always opportunities to give more time) to the role and to being able to attend meetings in the evening.

We would love to hear from you if you think you might be interested in finding out more about the role of a governor. For more information about the role of a school governor at Lawn Manor Academy, please contact the Clerk on clerk@lma.ascendlearningtrust.org.uk

Jane Hext

Chair of the Local Governing Body

Meet Our Governors

Jane Hext

Chair of Governors

Jane Hext Chair of Governors Lawn Manor Academy.

I have always had a deep interest in education. I am delighted that my position as Chair of Lawn Manor LGB provides me with an opportunity to support this school. I am dedicated to playing my part to enable pupils to achieve their full potential. I am passionate about ensuring that we help to create an environment in which pupils are inspired to be the best that they can be. We are creating a culture of mutual respect, trust and excellent teamwork.

I have over 30 years’ experience working in senior roles including Chief Executive and Managing Director. I have also had responsibility for Customer Services and for Marketing. I have worked in the mobile telecoms industry, in retail and in risk management. This experience has given me a broad and deep background on which to draw, supporting the school leadership team and helping Lawn Manor be successful.

Nazma Ramruttun

Governor

Nazma Ramruttun Governor Lawn Manor Academy.

I was born and educated in Port-Louis, Mauritius. I came to the UK in 1972 to train as a Psychiatric Nurse. I got engaged to Darsun and after qualifying, I moved to Swindon in 1976 to get married. We have 3 children, all born in Swindon.

I am very passionate about caring for and looking after the needs of vulnerable people. I have extensive experience working with vulnerable children and adults in a number of environments including; hospitals, clinics and as a counsellor. For over 24 years, my husband and I ran two residential care homes for people with mental health and learning disabilities.

I am well known in the town for my work to promote cohesion and equality and for representing Asian and ethnic minorities within the community. Whilst running our care homes, I became the first elected Muslim woman to chair the Millen Advice Point, at that time a unique Asian advice centre in Swindon. I have been the Chair of the Swindon Asian Women’s Association (SAWA), Vice Chair of the Women’s Equality Coalition, Chair of the Race Equality Coalition, founder member and twice elected Chair of Broadgreen Organisation for Neighbourhood Development (BOND) and Chair of Voluntary Action Swindon. In these roles I have done extensive work ensuring the views and concerns of the various communities are represented and promoted.

I am a Mental Health Act Manager with Avon and Wiltshire Partnership, volunteer with Healthwatch, a Cancer Buddy volunteer at GWH and a volunteer with Swindon Circle.

I know first-hand how critically important it is for young people to have a good education to enable them to have a rewarding life. In my 11 years as a Governor at this school, I have seen many changes and I am pleased to be part of the many developments introduced in that time. There are many pressures on young people and I know the whole team at Lawn Manor is committed to enabling and supporting all pupils to have a stimulating and supportive learning experience. I have brought my family up in this community and now I have grandchildren I am even more passionate about doing all I can to help young people to achieve their best chance in life.

Jayne Hughes

Vice Chair

Jayne Hughes Governor Lawn Manor Academy.

I became a Governor in November 2021 and very much look forward to using my knowledge and experience gained over the past 40 years to support the great work undertaken by the staff and pupils of Lawn Manor.

In my career I have worked as Head of HR/Consultant for a variety of commercial and not for profit organisations such as The Football Association, Waitrose and Honda. I have sat as a Magistrate in Wiltshire for 10 years, acted as a Trustee for an overseas children’s charity and act as a Bereavement Counsellor for Cruse. Two of my children work in education, so assist in me gaining knowledge of the demands and changes in the education sector which I hope will be of value in my work with the school.

Caireen Young

Staff Governor

Caireen Young Staff Governor Lawn Manor Academy.

I currently work at Lawn Manor Academy as Lead Professional in Student Progress and I am Head of Art. Education has always been my passion; as an educator, my aim is to instil a love of learning for all and to create a passion for education. Reflective in nature, I consider myself to be a dedicated teacher and leader, with high expectations for myself and others’ performance. Presently, I work alongside our Senior Leadership team to co-ordinate, review and implement a range of Academic Interventions and extra-curricular programmes/clubs. This allows our pupils the opportunity to experience different styles of learning and social environments in which they can excel in order for them to reach their full potential by supporting and building their confidence.

When I am set a challenge I will not only meet it but exceed it greatly. I work hard and have high expectations for all and always strive for the best outcomes for all. I instil positive attributes into everything and am able to extract strengths and channels these skills into others work so they are able to achieve their best in small and manageable chunks. I believe in marginal gains. I believe in a work life balance. I enjoy reading for pleasure and my passions are in painting, drawing and photography. I have exhibited my work in London, Devises and Dumfries and Galloway. I also like baking, walking, hiking, Yoga and running. My biggest achievement recently is that I ran a half marathon and I aim to do another this year.

Zoe Vasiloudis

Governor

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I was born and raised in Somerset and began working in the emergency control room at Devon & Somerset Fire & Rescue Service at the age of 18. Listening to people in distress and reacting quickly under pressure helped me to hone my skills in multi-tasking, prioritising, and teamwork which have served me well in my chosen career.

I attended Roehampton University gaining a BA (Hons) in Primary Education and after graduating I taught Key Stage 1 classes in London. I then ran my own business teaching Phonics classes for children and their parents. It was incredibly rewarding to help prepare children for school and work with their parents. However, I missed the bond with the children that school teaching provides so I eagerly returned to the classroom.

In 2021, my husband and I made the move to Swindon where I became a governor for Lawn Manor Academy. As a teacher, I am passionate about helping all children to achieve their potential, so I was thrilled to become a governor at a school where the staff all share my passion. I am looking forward to using my teaching experience and compassion to support the staff and pupils at Lawn Manor.

Ian Hudson

Governor

Ian Hudson (2)

Brought up in Wroughton, I left Ridgeway School after completing A-levels and immediately started my first business in telecoms. Since then I have worked extensively across Europe, China and the USA, initially building an international electronics business, and then an audio visual company working within the automotive and retail sectors. I have two teenage daughters, and am keen to bring some of the experience that I have gained within industry to support the amazing team at Lawn Manor. I believe building businesses and developing the teams that work within them, has helped me really understand the importance of education, confidence and aspiration.

Simon Worthington

Governor

I was brought up living in a school in Shropshire and have a connection to education especially an understanding of my father’s teaching profession and what it meant to him. For me now as a governor I hope that I can share some of my experiences and knowledge to help and support the staff at the school to give the children at Lawn Manor an education to be proud of.

I Started working life as an area sales manager in agricultural products before moving to Australia and spending several years on dairy farms before moving to into Melbourne to study IT and then a career as a database manager. Moving back to the UK for family reasons I started a new career in customer service and administration management ending up in finance/IT working globally on ERP implementations and systems.

Bazil Solomon

Governor

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I have been a Teacher in Swindon UK for over 20 years and see many students that I have taught over the years who are making a success of their lives and it makes me feel proud. I am commited to the education of children and youth locally and internationally. I am privileged that my position as a Lawn Manor LGB Governor provides me with an opportunity to support this school. I am dedicated to playing my part to enable pupils to achieve their full potential. I am passionate about ensuring that we help to create an environment in which pupils, youth and teaching staff, school staff are inspired to be the best that they can be. It is in creating a culture of mutual respect, trust and excellent teamwork and Community.

I have experience working as a Teacher and in Education leadership roles including HOD and Curriculum manager. I am a local government Councillor seving the Liden, Eldene and Park South Borough Ward and I work on the education committee. I serve Swindon in different roles for example as Chair of the FA Swindon and Wiltshire IAG Football. This experience has given me a focus, broad and deep background on which to support the school leadership team and in helping Lawn Manor be successful in Swindon UK.