Addington School

Addington School Governing Body

The Governing Body at Addington School are responsible for the conduct of the school and for promoting high standards. Governors are ‘critical friends’ to the school and each have skills, knowledge and experience required to contribute to the effective governance and success of the school. There is a mix of parent, staff and co-opted Governors, all of whom receive regular training conducted by the Local Authority and the Headteacher. Their aim is to ensure that children attend a successful school that provides them with a good education in a safe and friendly environment and promotes inclusion.

Please click here to view a video on the role of school governors and trustees

Main roles of the Governing Body

To plan ahead to make sure the school has the right strategies and resources to get the best outcomes for the students; this includes overseeing the delivery of the curriculum
To monitor and evaluate the school’s effectiveness
To oversee the school’s budget so that it is used in the best way; the governing body is responsible for the efficient management of the school’s funds
To make sure that children are safe at school
To hold the Headteacher accountable for the management of the school. The Headteacher reports to the governing body on the school’s performance and how plans are going
The Headteacher is responsible for the day-to-day management of the school

We have three committees here at Addington: Quality of Education, Finance & Risk and HR & Premises.

Please click on the links below to see the Terms of Reference for each committee:

Click here to view governor attendance records 2023-24

Click here to view previous governor attendance records.

Meet our Governors

Sukhwinder Sondhi (Parent Governor - Chair of Governors) – Sukhwinder was elected as a parent governor in May 2021 and his term will run until 16th May 2025. Sukhwinder has previously served one term as a parent governor at Addington School, and has been Chair of Governors since May 2024. Sukhwinder sits on the Finance and Risk committee and the HR and Premises committee where he has voting rights. He is the link governor for PSHE and Preparation for Adulthood. Sukhwinder has a background in law and is a qualified accountant, he is member of the legal and commercial team at Fujitsu Services Limited. He has two children; one attends Addington and the other another local school. Sukhwinder enjoys cycling, reading, and cooking. “When my son joined the school, we all received great support and have always been impressed with the passion and drive of the Addington team, ensuring that the children are provided with a nurturing environment. It was for this reason I initially became a Governor so that I could use my insight as a parent and 20+ years’ experience in a professional environment to contribute to the on-going success of the school and our children.” Sukhwinder has no interests to declare.



Jenny Tuck – Vice Chair of Governors. Jenny was appointed as a co-opted governor in December 2017 having previously been an associate governor at Addington for a year. Jenny’s current term of office will run until 17th September 2028. Jenny chairs the Quality of Education committee and sits on the HR and Premises committee where she has voting rights. Jenny is the link governor for Access & Inclusion as well as Safeguarding, LAC, Early Years and Pupil Premium. Jenny has a keen interest in special educational needs and worked in this field for most of her professional career. For the last twelve years she worked as an adviser in two Local Authorities, Surrey and Reading, working with mainstream and special schools providing support and challenge in order to ensure that the best possible provision for all children, but particularly those with SEND was made. Jenny is passionate about improving life chances for children and young people and although now retired, continues to work towards this goal. Jenny is a grandmother to two small children and in any spare time that she has she loves to go to the gym, travel and garden. Jenny has no interests to declare. Jenny is currently an associate governor at Kings International College, Camberley, and a governor at Badshot Lea Village Infant School in Surrey.
Yota Dimitriadi - Yota was appointed as a co-opted governor in March 2019. Her term will run until 5th March 2027. Yota chairs the HR & Premises committee and also sits on the Finance & Risk committee where she has voting rights. She is the link governor for Equality & Diversity, Well-Being, Health & Safety and Computing. Yota is currently an Associate Professor at the Institute of Education, University of Reading. She started her career as a school teacher, then moved to teacher training and her specialism is Computing Education. She was awarded a National Teaching Fellow of Advance HE, a prestigious Teaching & Learning award in 2019. Yota's research and practice have always been around equality, inclusion and diversity. She worked for the British Dyslexia Association and co-led the development of the online learning platform for WAGGGS (World Association for Girl Guides and Girl Scouts) among other projects. She is involved in national and international committees to support policy and practice around disability and accessibly at schools and in the workplace. She is an Amnesty International Speaker and a qualified CEOP E-Safety trainer. Yota has no interests to declare. Yota is also a governor at Alfred Sutton Primary School.
Sarah Sherwood - Sarah was appointed as a co-opted governor in June 2024. Her term will run until 15th June 2028. Sarah sits on the Quality of Education committee and the Finance and Risk committee where she has voting rights. Sarah is the link governor for Behaviour and for English and Communication. Sarah Sherwood is a Director of Special Educational Needs, having worked in the SEND arena for over 30 years. She currently works across two co-educational schools for students with autism aged 11-19, both of which she helped to set up. Previous roles include Head of School and Deputy Principal at two SEND schools with students ranging in age from 4-19. All four schools have offered both day and boarding provision. Sarah has also undertaken audits in mainstream schools to support leadership teams implementing changes to their SEND provision. Sarah has spoken at a number of conferences and events and has worked with a team to support the Kuwait Centre for Autism and an orphanage in Romania. Sarah is an ISI (Independent Schools Inspectorate) inspector, undertaking inspections in both mainstream and specialist schools. Sarah has no interests to declare.

Sean Trim-Coleman (Staff Representative) - Sean was elected as the staff representative governor in March 2022. His term will run until 20th March 2026. Sean sits on the HR and Premises Committee where he has voting rights. Sean has been a Music teacher here at Addington for 10 years and is now Head of Creative Arts. He enjoys working with the whole school and supporting the students as they move up through the school. His other interests are football, running, cooking and baking. Sean was formally a director for ‘Singing for Lung Health’, a CIC who hosted weekly singing sessions for those with chronic lung disease in Maidenhead and Bracknell. Sean has no interests to declare.
Catherine Waller (Parent Governor) - Catherine was elected as a parent governor in November 2022. Her term of office will run until 31st October 2026. Catherine sits on the Behaviour, Welfare, Health & Safety and Premises committee where she has voting rights. Catherine is a scientist at a local company, she has a particular interest in improving accessibility for neurodiverse individuals in the workplace and sits on the diversity and inclusion committee for her company. Catherine has a son who attends Addington school and has always been impressed with the school and how they support and work with the children. Catherine is excited to support the school and share her insights as a parent. Catherine has no interests to declare.
Ranjana Nadgir (Parent Governor) Ranjana (Ranju) was elected as a parent governor in June 2024. Her term of office will run until 25th June 2028. Ranju sits on the Quality of Education committee and the Finance & Risk committee where she has voting rights. Ranju is a graduate in Bachelor of Commerce with +5 years of work experience in hospital administration for a medical college and attached hospital. Prior to that, she gathered some great experience of customer handling and people management skills. All her experience has been working in India; since 2008 moving to UK she has been involved in mostly volunteering work for charitable organisations. As her daughter has now moved to secondary school she is now able to focus more on a personal aspiration to get connected with Addington School as a Parent Governor. She looks forward to being able to contribute to some of the great work happening at Addington, working alongside the other governors and learning from their diverse experience. In her leisure time she loves to listen to music, go on long walks and travel to explore the great places around the world. Ranju has no interests to declare.



Emily Marchant (Clerk) - Emily has been clerk to the governors at Addington since October 2016 and also works in the school as a member of the admin team.

Associate Governors to the governing body

There are also a number of associate governors who regularly attend meetings and play a crucial role in ensuring Governors can oversee school matters in an efficient manner. These associate governors are:

Sue Tod - School Business Manager

Emer Moore - Deputy Head

Kimberley Legg - Assistant Head

Lydia Colios - Assistant Head

Ellie Webb - Assistant Head

Rhona Millar - Assistant Head

Miriam Barlow - Premises Manager

Amanda Cherry - HR Manager

Former Members of the Governing Body

Sara Attra (Executive Headteacher) - Sara was the head teacher of Addington from January 2017 until July 2024. Sara sat on the Finance and Staffing committee, the Behaviour, Welfare, Health & Safety and Premises committee and the Teaching, Learning and Assessment committee where she had voting rights. She did not have any interests to declare.

Mark Trepte - Co-Opted Governor - Mark

Cathy Tissot - Co-Opted Governor

Alexander Wills - Parent Governor - Alex

Simone Pengraeve - Staff Governor - Elected 10th October 2017, term ended 9th October 2021. Simone was a member of the Teaching, Learning and Assessment committee where she had voting rights. Simone is married to Mel who also works at Addington.

Sev Konieczny - Staff Governor - Elected 18th October 2022, term ended 11th March 2022. Sev was a member of the Finance and Staffing committee where she had voting rights. She did not have any interests to declare.

Marianne Gessey - Parent Governor - Elected 28th November 2019, term ended 17th June 2022. Marianne was a member of the Behaviour, Welfare, Health & Safety and Premises committee where she had voting rights. Marianne did not have any interests to declare.

Dee Anderson - Co-Opted Governor - Elected in December 2014, term ended 31st August 2022. Dee was a member of the Teaching, Learning and Assessment committee and the Finance and Staffing committee where she had voting rights. Dee declared that she was also a governor at Springfield Primary School in Tilehurst.

Douglas Crawshaw - Associate Governor (former parent governor) - Elected in March 2018, Douglas stepped down as a Parent Governor in September 2019 but continued to support the governing body as an Associate Governor until October 2022. Douglas did not have any interests to declare.

Keith Baker - Governor elected by Wokingham Borough Council - Elected in 2006, term ended 7.9.23. Keith declared that he was an elected member of Wokingham Borough Council and Woodley Town Council and a director of Wokingham Holding Company, a housing company for council companies.

Gemma Nemeth - Gemma was appointed as a co-opted governor 1st October 2022. Her term ended 20th September 2023. She sat on the Teaching, Learning and Assessment Committee and had no interests to declare.

Jane Sherwill - Jane was elected as parent governor in January 2017; her term ended on 11th October 2023. She sat on the Teaching, Learning and Assessment Committee and the Behaviour, Welfare, Health & Safety and Premises Committee. She had no interests to declare.