Parent Governors Elections DEADLINE July 9th 2021

22nd June 2021Ms E Roberts

PARENT LOCAL GOVERNOR ELECTIONS

We are delighted to let you know that we have received two applications for the role of Parent Local Governor.  As we only have one vacancy on the Local Governing Body for Heartlands High School this means that we need to hold an election.

The nominations are (in alphabetical order):

  1. AZIZ AHMED
  2. MAHMOOD NOROUZIMEHR

Below are the personal statements written by the candidates setting out their skills and experience and what they will bring to the role should they be elected.

You will only have one vote. Please read the personal statements and vote for your preferred candidate using this link which will take you to the ballot form where you can cast your vote.

Voting will close at: 9.00 am on Friday 9 July 2021. Votes after this time will not be counted.

Once the election is over, I will let you know the outcome. In the meantime, if you have any queries, please let me know.

Yours faithfully,

Jo Millard

Clerk to the Governing Body

jo.millard@heartlands.haringey.sch.uk

CLICK HERE TO READ THE ELECTION LETTER & PERSONAL STATEMENTS 22-6-21

PERSONAL STATEMENTS

CANDIDATE No. 1 – AZIZ AHMED

I would love to join as a Parent Governor for the following reasons and also the skill set I can bring.

I have lived in Wood Green for almost 30 years plus and I am very aware of the diverse culture the area brings and also the barriers that many face trying to fit in. I have 2 children that go to Heartland High School year 7 and year 9 and my eldest who has now gone on to University from Heartlands.

I am currently a Parent Governor at Earlham School and have been doing this role for the last 3 years and prior to that I was an IEB appointed at Earlham by the Education Director and being the only Parent Governor in the country to do that role. My profession is in Finance and I have been with Barclays over 15 years doing various roles in management.

My passion is around getting the community together and providing positive changes to help our children to have a better future and also have an active role in Diversity & Inclusion. I am a great believer that change must happen from an early age and our children are our future and parents of all backgrounds should feel comfortable in working with the schools and have more of an involvement.

I am currently leading D&I for Barclays with other colleagues and can say that we have a lot of work to do to get to where we need to be.

I am a great believer that a happy school is a school that does well academically and to achieve every single person including parents, teachers and children must feel included.

 

CANDIDATE No. 2 – MAHMOOD NOROUZIMEHR

I am excited at the chance of being a Parent Governor at Heartlands. My son is in year 7 and I have a few years to commit to Heartlands. As a parent of a child with special needs, I have come to understand many of the challenges faced by the school, the child, parents/guardians and commissioners in balancing needs and expectations.

My aim is to support the school to nurture a safe and happy environment for our children and the staff, with high standards of learning, in times of increasing influences and pressures. I am very keen also to see more that our children and parents embrace diversity. I was the Chair of the PTA for 2 years at my son’s primary school. There, I gained good insight into school operations, its politics and how finances worked. I also helped to join the school-and-parent voice through positive communication and sign-posting of ‘success’.

There are continuous demands from the National Curriculum and the school reporting process; all this with reducing funds, forcing continuous streamlining and efficiencies. As a healthcare manager, I bring skill and experience in budgeting and resource management. My focus is about achieving value for money, which goes beyond number-crunching; this applies to our school when we look beyond the cost of delivering education but nurturing a desire for learning.

As your representative, I will bring important qualities, such as my integrity, my commitment
to transparency and accountability and my ability to scrutinise and ask questions that focus on the bigger picture.

I have held Policy & Process Development positions in organisations. As the Chair of a
charitable organisation, I have developed and put in place good governance practices. My
passion is to promote life-long love of learning for all our children. I believe I would be a
valuable addition.

Sexual abuse in schools

1st April 2021Ms E Roberts

Whilst we all worked very hard every day to ensure our school, and all schools, are as safe as they can be for children we are faced recently with compelling evidence that for many school is not a safe space.

Today, 1st April, a dedciated NSPCC helpline 0800 136 663  for victims of sexual violence and harassment in schools has been opened. 

We are unequivocal in our message that sexual harassment, abuse or any mistreatment of  any member of our community is wrong and will not be tolerated at Heartlands High School. When victims of such treatment bravely come forward we envelop them in support and care.  We have onsite counselors, support workers and trained staff to assist them in telling their story and we always report all allegations to the police immediately and where necessary social services or professional bodies. You can read more about our local safeguarding arrangements and other policies HERE. 

We have a well trained, experienced and highly effective safeguarding team, their work is reviewed externally every year.  This team is led by the Headteacher and Ms Attreed, our designated safeguarding lead.  We support students daily in making sure that they are welcomed  into a calm and safe place of education.

The education we provide includes strong and regular messages around abuse and mistreatment: what it is, how to spot it and what to do if it is happening to you or someone you know.  Our SEARCH days provide the landscape for this and include touch points throughout the year, along with assemblies and form time sessions to ensure that this a regular message not a once a year reminder.  Our PHSE and SRE curriculum are reviewed every year and keep in line with advice from leading charities and advisory bodies

We will be undertaking some additional work around abuse in schools when we return from Easter break.

We hope that no member of the Heartlands family have ever endured abuse from any of their peers or staff members. We hope that no member of the Heartlands family will ever endure abuse from any of their peers or staff members. However we also know that to be blind to the possibility is to be blind to the problem.

We are reaching out to all our existing and previous students to ensure they know who they can talk to and how both now and in the future should they wish to share their story of abuse and be helped to take action.  In the Summer term we will also be undertaking ‘The Big HHS Ask’ a survey asking students anonymously about their school experiences and their feelings toward how the school manage issues such as peer on peer abuse.  This will frame any development work we may undertake in the coming months and years and hopefully give us a clear and honest picture of the landscape at HHS.

Together we can and will stop abuse in schools.

Other services which may help

  • Childline (24 hours)- 0800 11 11 
  • Crime Victims – Victim Support 0808 16 89 111 
  • Crimestoppers – Crime Prevention 0800 555 111 
  • NSPCC – Child Protection Helpline (24 hours) 0808 800 5000 
  • Samaritans (24 hours) -116 123 
  • The dedicated NSPCC helpline 0800 136 663 for victims of sexual violence and harassment in schools.Â