Governors


The Governing Body of Robert Clack School is a diverse group of committed individuals who reflect the school community they serve. They uphold the school’s values of mutual respect, compassion, discipline, high expectations and aspirations, and hard work. The Governors (in partnership with the Headteacher) make a positive contribution by ensuring that the school delivers a broad and balanced curriculum, and demonstrates continuous improvement in its performance. They work hard at meeting their collective and individual responsibilities through a number of established committees and regular visits to the school.   Governing bodies have three core strategic functions:


• Ensuring clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction;

• Holding the Headteacher to account for the educational performance of the school and its pupils; 

• Overseeing the financial performance of the school to ensure value for money.

 

‘Governors are active and highly supportive. They are important critical friends to senior managers and other staff.’ (OFSTED)


All Governors gain great satisfaction from playing a part in helping to improve the education and life opportunities of our young people, and remain committed to helping the school make continued progress for the benefit of its pupils and their families, its staff and the wider community.


The term of office for all Governors is four years with the Chair and two Vice-Chairs being elected annually. The full Governing Body meets termly. The Curriculum and Finance & Discipline sub-committees meet twice each term.

 

For more information on the role of Governors in Barking & Dagenham schools, and how you might become a school governor, refer to the School Governors section on the Barking & Dagenham website: www.barking-dagenham.gov.uk   


Please note that when the school has a Parent Governor vacancy, parents are notified and given the opportunity to nominate themselves or another parent (with their consent).  If more than one nomination is received, a secret ballot is held. Co-opted Governors and Local Authority Governors are elected by the Governing Body.  Staff Governors are elected by the staff of Robert Clack School. 

  • Membership

    Please use this link to find out more about our Governors.

  • Sub Committees and Portfolios

    Finance & Discipline Committee

    • Mr David Cane MBE (Chair of Finance Committee)

    • Mr Roger Driscoll

    • Mrs Carley Monk

    • Mr Hassan Habtoune

    • Mr J Course

    • Miss E Lines

    • Mr S O'Brien

    • Mr S Richardson

    • Dr R Spandl

    • Mr R Taylor



    Curriculum Committee

    • Mrs C Monk (Chair of Curriculum Committee )

    • All Governors open to attend


    Please click here to see a list of Governor responsibilities.



  • Governors Biographies

    Carley Monk (Chair of Governors)

    Carley attended Robert Clack School as a pupil, and currently has one child at the School.  Her experience and knowledge in business administration, customer service and SEND are relevant to her role as Co-opted Governor at the school.  Carley strongly believes that all pupils should be supported at school to enable them to reach their full potential, and that their mental health and well-being is of paramount importance alongside this.


    David Cane MBE

    David lived in Barking and Dagenham for over 20 years and worked in the Borough for 16 of those. He has two children, both of which grew up in the borough.  David has served for over 20 years on the board of Governors for Robert Clack School, with three of those as Chair.  David works as a “Quality Director - Europe & South America” for probably the largest producer of Colour in the world. 


    Roger Driscoll

    Roger lived in Dagenham with his wife for 35 years.  Both Roger and his wife worked in Dagenham until 2008 when they moved to Epping.  Roger has served on the Governing Body for over 25 years.  He has relatives and friends in Dagenham, and visits frequently. Roger’s interests include being Secretary of an angling club.  Roger is a retired Quantity Surveyor and does not have any business interests that may conflict with the school.


    Ibrahim Hemaida

    Mr Hemaida works for the NHS as a Senior Nurse Manager. He is a qualified quality improvement leader and an expert in healthcare transformation, holding a Master Black Belt Level 6 qualification in Lean Six Sigma. He is currently pursuing a Master of Business Administration (MBA) in Healthcare.

    Mr Hemaida has been serving as a Parent Governor at Robert Clack School since 2018, demonstrating a strong commitment to promoting continuous improvement in the school’s performance and making a positive contribution to the education of its pupils.

     

    Jade Lines

    Jade attended Robert Clack School as a pupil and currently has a child who attends the Primary School. Jade is a School Business Manager at another School in the Local Authority and is able to bring experience in financial planning and the day-to-day operational aspects of the school, giving her a solid understanding on how schools function behind the scenes. Jade hopes to share this knowledge in her role as Parent Governor. Jade is passionate about ensuring every child has the opportunity to reach their full potential.


    Jane Meaden

    Jane has lived in the Borough for just over 36 years. She has three children two of which attended Robert Clack.  Jane has worked at Robert Clack School for nearly 20 years having worked in the SEN department, attendance, main office and have run the Learning Support Centre on the Gosfield Road site for the last 4 years where she supports our students academically and with their emotional well-being. This is her first year as a Staff Governor where she hopes to contribute to an already amazing team.


    Lisa Newton

    Lisa has 2 children and lived in the Borough for 40 years until recently moving. Lisa has worked at Robert Clack Primary School since it opened in 2021. She is a class Teaching Assistant and has recently trained to be the Primary ELSA ( Emotional Literacy Support Assistant). Lisa hopes to continue contributing to support the School's strategic direction and provide a staff perspective and experience.


    David Southall

    David has lived in the Borough all his life, and has one child currently attending Robert Clack School, with his second child joining in September 2025. David is the contact Governor for English and Music, and is Vice-Chair for the Gosfield Road site. He is passionate about the success of the school and its Governance; especially the school’s Rugby squads. David spent 25-years in the British Army and now works within the corporate security industry as Head of Security for a Data Storage company.


     

  • Attendance at Meetings

    Please use this link to find out about the Governors attendance to meetings and this link to find out about attendance to sub-committee meetings.