The purpose of a governing body is to help provide the best possible education for pupils. Governors meet regularly with the Head teacher and staff to decide the school’s aims and policies, and to oversee the efficient running of the school.
The governors work in partnership with the school and local authority.
The governing body has the following core strategic functions:
Establishing the strategic direction, by:
- setting the vision, values, and objectives for the school
- agreeing the school improvement strategy with priorities and targets
- meeting statutory duties.
Ensuring accountability, by:
- appointing the headteacher
- monitoring progress towards targets
- performance managing the headteacher
- engaging with stakeholders
- contributing to school self-evaluation.
Ensuring financial probity, by:
- setting the budget
- monitoring spending against the budget
- ensuring value for money is obtained
- ensuring risks to the organisation are managed.
Meet the Governors
CHAIR OF GOVERNORS- Dominic Cullen
My name is Dominic Cullen, I am married with four children, all of whom have attended or currently attend Cobbs Brow. I am currently employed as a Quality Control Team Coordinator at an influenza vaccine manufacturing facility in Liverpool. I hold a B.Sc (Hons) in Applied Biochemistry.
I am passionate about delivering a high quality education for all, and am fully committed in helping Cobbs Brow Primary to achieve this. I have been a parent Governor for 8 years and Chair of Governors for 5 years. I am currently a member of the Staffing and Finance, Buildings and Grounds and Pay and Appeals Committees additionally I am also a Link Governor (LASGB, Chairs Forum and Child Protection).
During my tenure as a Governor I have undertaken several courses to give me the necessary skills and expertise in
order to support school and be effective as a Governor. I have also completed a nationally accredited Chair of Governors qualification delivered by the national college of leadership.
VICE CHAIR OF GOVERNORS- John Fitzsimons
I am John Fitzsimons, I volunteered as parent governor in October 2013, since then I have taken on a number of roles from building & grounds issues and overseeing all health & safety throughout the school; most recently taking on the role of vice-chair. I am really enjoying the opportunity to be a parent governor giving help advice and support to the Head, deputy-head and all their staff.
I am married with 2 children who both attend Cobbs Brow primary school in years 5 and 3. I served for 8 years in the HM Forces (Army) and currently I am I local taxi driver.
My hobbies are swimming, running, cycling and keeping fit, I am also a triathlon coach and swimming teacher which I
work in the local areas.
HEADTEACHER- Ian Eaton
My name is Ian Eaton and I am the Headteacher of Cobbs Brow Primary School. I have held several roles throughout my time at Cobbs Brow including class teacher, Key Stage 2 Leader, Deputy Head and Headteacher. I am passionate about children’s education and welfare and I am determined and motivated to raise standards within school.
I am married with one child and the experiences I have gleaned from being a father have helped support my educational beliefs and philosophy. I have lived locally for most of my adult life and I have many friends and relatives living in Skelmersdale. I have worked alongside the local community to raise funds for various charities and I am a coach for a local football team for adults with learning difficulties.
I am proud to be the Headteacher of Cobbs Brow Primary and I will continue to work closely with parents, staff, Governors and the local community to maintain the high standards and expectations within school, whilst moving it forward to make it even better.
GOVERNOR- Lisa Hudson
My name is Lisa Hudson and I became a co-opted Governor at Cobbs Brow Primary school in February 2015. As part of my role within the governing body I am the Training Link Governor, this involves identifying training needs for individual Governors and keeping the governing body up to date with training events on offer.
I have worked at Cobbs Brow for the past 12 years in various roles; I currently manage our Tiny Acorns room for 2-3 year olds. I completed my Early Years training with Cobbs Brow between 2002-2004 and I also attended Cobbs Brow as a child. Cobbs Brow has a big place in my heart.
My son enjoyed his primary school years at Cobbs Brow and my daughter is currently attending Cobbs Brow.
I have found being one of Cobbs Brow’s governors an extremely enriching and rewarding experience and I am committed to continual improvement of our school.
GOVERNOR- Lisa Freeman
My name is Lisa Freeman. I have worked at Cobbs Brow Primary for the past eleven years and I am part of Cobbs Brow governing body. My role in school is as a Year 5/6 teacher and Key Stage 2 Leader. Within the governing body, I take on the role as the Curriculum Governor which means that I lead the curriculum committee meetings as well as attending other committee and full governing body meetings.
Working within Cobbs Brow and being a governor at the school, allows me to be completely committed to support the provision of an outstanding education for the children and support parents, staff and governors within my role.
GOVERNOR- Margaret Gardner
My name is Margaret Gardner. I have been a Community Governor since I retired 9 years ago. I taught at Cobbs Brow for over 20 years and held the position of SenCo for much of that time. I am the named Governor for S.E.N. and am on the Curriculum Committee. I have a very high regard for the quality of education given to the children who attend Cobbs Brow and wish to contribute to that in my role as Governor.
GOVERNOR- Katriona Clark
My name is Katriona Clark. I am currently in my third year as a parent Governor at our school. I have always been involved with Cobbs Brow since my two children have been attending so it seemed like a natural progression to become a Governor. As part of my role within the Governing body I serve on the Finance Committee and regularly attend the Standards and Effectiveness meetings as well as the termly, full Governors meetings.
You will often see me in and around school as I am a Teaching Assistant in both Juniors and Infants. This role gives me an excellent insight into the day to day running of a school as well as an appreciation of the commitment and passion that goes into maintaining an outstanding school. I am dedicated to Cobbs Brow School and truly want the very best for all our children.
GOVERNOR- Margaret Duffy
My name is Margaret Duffy. I have been a Governor at Cobbs Brow since November 2014. I have a background in education, having been a teacher since 1987. I worked in a Liverpool Primary School for twenty seven years and am currently working as a supply teacher. I regularly attend Governors meetings and committee meetings and I am committed to ensuring the best outcomes for pupils.
GOVERNOR- Pamela Hunt
My name is Pamela Hunt. I have lived in the Skelmersdale area for 21 years and within West Lancashire all my life. After working as a lecturer and programme leader at a Cheshire FE/HE college for 10 years, I have spent the past 12 years of my career working in the capacity of Head of Quality/Assessment for 3 Ofqual/QAA regulated awarding organisations. I sit on the Quality and Standards Committee and Board of my current awarding organisation, so have an understanding of the commitment and responsibility that goes with a role the Governor role and have a good working understanding of the educational landscape.
I am an active member of the Federation of Awarding Bodies’ Qualifications and Regulation Group.
I manage a large team of External Quality Assurers, Lead Examiners and Markers. My key role is to assure quality assurance of the awarding organisation’s regulated qualifications, and to assure standardisation and consistency. I am responsible for investing appeals and complaints, as well as cases of identified cheating and malpractice. My teaching subject specialisms were Business, IT, Administration, Teaching and Learning.
I volunteered as Local Authority Governor in April 2016 to enable me to use my experience and expertise to ‘give something back’ within my local area. I will enjoy the opportunity to be able to give help, advice and support to the Head, deputy-head and all their staff.
GOVERNOR- James Ellwood
My name is James Ellwood. I have been a Co-Opted Governor at Cobbs Brow School since April 2016. My relationship with Cobbs Brow started when I was a pupil. School played a significant role in my life through providing me with a strong learning and moral foundation. My background lies in education as a Teacher of Music at Our Lady Queen of Peace. My role as a Governor includes attending Finance, Standards and Effectiveness, Curriculum and full Governors meetings. As a Teacher and Governor I am aware of the impact that a high quality education can have on our learners for which I am wholly committed to.
GOVERNOR-Kelly Farley
My name is Kelly Farley, I have just been appointed Parent Governor at Cobbs Brow School and I am thoroughly looking forward to being part of the team and helping Cobbs Brow achieve and maintain high standards. I am married with two children who both attend Cobbs Brow, they are in Years 2 & 5. As a child I also attended Cobbs Brow.
I currently work for Knowsley MBC, working for Knowsley Sensory Impairment Service who are part of the SENSIS Team. I have been a specialist 1:1 teaching assistant for the past 17 years.
The service I work for provide support for pupils within mainstream settings, whom have a visual or hearing Impairment from birth to 19 years of age. I have mainly worked on the visually impaired side of the team and I have been a qualified Braillist for the past 11 years.
As well as my full time job, I work part time providing rest bite care for a young adult who is MDVI (Multi disabled, visually impaired). I also volunteer at the local Girl Guiding Rainbows group and have done so for the past 2 years. My youngest child still attends and so do many other local girls. A lot of which attend Cobbs Brow themselves. My interests are cooking, baking & going to the gym.