Our Governors                                                                                                  

The role of the governor is an important aspect of any school.  A Governing Body’s role is to act as a critical friend to the school, challenging and supporting its strategic work in relation to its school improvement priorities.

Our Governing Body is committed to continual improvement and the development an maintenance of high standard and quality in all aspects of school life.  The full Governing Body meets each half term in school and the committees meet once a term. All our Governing Body have successfully completed the DBS and section 128 checks.

Chair of Governors: Andrea Wright

Chair of Resources Committee: Ellen Wood

Chair of Standards Committee: Jane Sinclair

Information about our Governors: 

Joanne Vickers (Headteacher)

Andrea Wright (Chair and Parent Governor)

My name is Andrea Wright. I have a child at Altofts Juniors in Year 3 and my eldest son finished Year 6 recently. After qualifying as a teacher I worked in a residential special school prior to moving into other roles in safeguarding and social care. I currently manage a residential home for children with disabilities. I have previously held the role of Chair of Governors at another local infant school. I live in Altofts with my husband and two children and our cocker spaniel. As a family we enjoy holidays and days out and I like reading and crafting when I get chance. I look forward to working with the school to ensure all the children attending reach their maximum potential.

​Jane Sinclair (LA Governor)

Jane Sinclair has been a governor at Altofts for over ten years and is the Local Authority governor. Before retirement, Jane worked in secondary schools for over 31 years. She started work in Wakefield and then moved to the East Riding of Yorkshire where she was a Pastoral Deputy Head with responsibility for Special Needs Education, Child Protection, PSHCE and teacher training. She was also an Acting Head Teacher for a period of time. Jane also worked for the Open University for 7 years as a tutor on it's MA course for educationalists, dealing with small scale research projects in a wide variety educational settings. After retirement, Jane has maintained her interest in Education by serving on Admission Appeals panels and by being a governor. During her time as a governor she has undertaken training run by the LA and the school and has served as Chair. She is currently the SEN governor. Jane lives in Wakefield.

Liam Petitt (Co-opted Governor)

Liam Petitt is our Maths Governor . Liam joined in the summer of 2021 and sits on the Standards committee as well as the general governing body. Liam has been teaching for 14 years and has been staff governor at a previous school. He currently works for Trinity MAT with West Yorkshire Maths Hub and White Rose Maths. Over lockdown you have heard Liam’s voice as he wrote and recorded the Year 2 Home Learning material. Liam wears many different hats in the educational community, he is an SLE, Professional Development Lead and KS1 Moderator. Determined to bring fun and a deep level of understanding to maths for local children Liam lives in Altofts with his wife and two young children. The family spend their free time walking, cycling, swimming and playing board games.

Mark Chester (Co-opted Governor & Vice-Chair)

Mark is National Account Manager for AQA. Mark has worked for AQA for 9 years, working across the largest secondary schools across Yorkshire, Hull and East Riding. He worked as a secondary PE teacher for 5 years, and is also a former professional rugby union player, which saw him travel to New Zealand, Italy, Canada and Scotland, before returning to England in 2012. 

Katie Beedle (Staff Governor)

My name is Katie Beedle and I am currently year group leader for Year 4 and Science lead. As a member of staff who has been teaching at the school for over ten years, I am looking forward to taking on my new role as staff governor and helping to drive the school forward. In the past, I also thoroughly enjoyed my time as SENCo and have a particular interest in SEN provision. I am also a governor at a special school in Wakefield so have some experience of being part of a governing body.

In my spare time, I enjoy being a season ticket holder at both Leeds United and Castleford Tigers and I also try to attend classes at the gym when I can.

Anna Jones (Parent Governor)

Originally from a small country in the heart of Eastern Europe, I relocated to England over a decade ago. I have had a very warm welcome by the local community which helped me immensely to settle down and become a part of it. Having joined the Governors Board at the Altofts Junior as a Parent Governor I am hoping to bring the cultural and language diversity aspects as well as my values and skills as a parent who is very passionate about the children of our community to be successful in their studies and future adult life.

Being a parent myself, I am very passionate about my children’s wider curriculum, I value and prioritise children’s mental wellbeing and have first-hand experience in dealing with the issue in and out of school.

My daytime job is in finance, which helps me to have a better understanding of the school budgeting. I also have Level 2 qualifications of Helping in School as well as Helping with SEND in primary school. In the past I have been presented with several opportunities to work with children as a volunteer. Very recently I helped at the Eastmoor Community Centre, a complementary school in Leeds for Russian speaking children, as well as my local school, Lee Brigg school.

I enjoy working with children and have learned so much from them.

I am thrilled to have the opportunity to play a part in decision making processes, having the best interests of the children of my community at heart.

Ellen Wood (Co-opted)

Ellen is one of our co-opted Governors, who joined the Governing Board in July 2023. She lives in Altofts and is the Practice Director of Newport Land and Law, a solicitors firm based in Wakefield. She has a wealth of experience and skills from the education sector, having worked for a number of educational charities in her early working life. 

In more recent years, since having her two children and then seeking a better work-life balance, Ellen has worked in Local Governance, for the Registration Service (as both Senior Registrar and Ceremonies Manger) as well as School and Academy Governance Services (as a clerk to Governors, as well as offering training to new Governors within a multi-academy trust).  She became a Practice Director in 2018.

Living in the local community, she is eager to be a part of improving the educational opportunities for children in Altofts and hopes to work hard in her role as a Governor to do this. Ellen is the pupil premium link Governor and chairs the Resources Committee.

Constitution and declaration of interests.2022-2023