The Governing Body works as a team to make sure the school is a safe and happy place for children to learn and staff to work. Governors have a general responsibility for seeing that the school is run effectively. The strength of the Governing Body lies in the collective knowledge, experience and expertise of its members.

The Governing Body has three main roles:

• To work with the Headteacher and staff to provide and support the strategic direction and vision for the school.
• To have responsibility for monitoring and evaluating the school's effectiveness, asking challenging questions and pressing for continuous improvement to promote the interests of the school and its pupils.
• To ensure accountability. The Headteacher and staff report to the Governing Body on the school's performance. In turn, the Governing Body is answerable to parents and the wider local community for the school's overall performance.

The full Governing Body meets once every term to discuss the strategic issues facing the school at the time. In addition, there are two sub-committees that meet once every term. These sub-committees cover:

• Curriculum and Special Educational Needs
• Resources – Finance, Health & Safety, HR, Premises

Governors can include parents, staff members, local authority representatives and members of the community. The Governing Body is supported by a Clerk and by the local authority. Governors often visit the school to observe different aspects of its activities and may receive training run by the local authority.

The current members of the Governing Body are listed below. The usual term of office is 4 years. The Governing Body can be contacted through the school office.  To contact the Chair of Governors, Matt Martin, please write or email to: 

Matt Martin, Chair of Governors

Burlington Infant & Nursery School, Burlington Road, New Malden, KT3 4LT

clerk@bri.rbksch.org

If you are interested in becoming a governor, please come and speak to us. Minutes of our governing body meetings are also available on request. For all enquiries please contact our clerk clerk@bri.rbksch.org

Instrument of Government

Governor Meeting Attendance Record

Governor Diversity Information 2024-25

Meet our Governors

Matt Martin

I began my close association with Burlington in 2010 in a role of Parent Governor, when my youngest daughter was in Reception. In 2013, I took over as Chair of Governors and save for a break between 2018-2021, have continued in that capacity ever since.  I am extremely proud of my association with this outstanding school and consider myself extremely blessed to continue in the role as Chair of Governors.

Roshan Sivapalan

Having grown up in the local area, as a former pupil myself (a very long time ago!) and more recently with my own children now attending Burlington I have held a close affiliation with the school for many years. I believe in the paramount importance of early years education to provide the necessary foundations for our pupils, in their formative years, to go on and excel in all forms of their social, emotional and physical development as well as later academic achievement. My professional background is in real estate and law and I have established and run small businesses in these sectors. I am very grateful for the opportunity in becoming a Governor of the school to help promote the growth and development of our future generation and in doing so support the local community. I have been a member of the resources committee of the governing body since late 2022 as well as being a link governor for safeguarding.

Michelle Dalby

I am a parent Governor and I have two daughters who are at Burlington Infants and Juniors. I feel privileged to have become a Governor in 2016 to give me the opportunity to support our community, and to contribute towards providing a high standard of education for all of the children at the school.  My background is in academic science, where I worked as a research scientist for 20 years. More recently I started my own business selling children’s books, as I passionately believe that getting young children interested in reading is key to their education. I am on the Curriculum Committee, focusing on reading and writing.

Hannah Pirinen

I joined the governing body in 2021 as a co-opted governor when my son was in Year 1 and my daughter was in Nursery. My initial impression of Burlington Infants was formed during Covid, where as a parent, I saw firsthand the commitment and dedication of teaching staff in their response to the pandemic. It was inspiring to see how they adapted to the new learning landscape and a fascinating window into the skills needed to teach our children. As a result, I felt inspired to give something back to the school, to contribute to its development and help support its vision. 

I worked as an insurance broker for 13 years before taking a career break to raise my children. With a professional background in the financial services industry, I joined the Resources Committee, in addition to the Curriculum Committee, where I am Maths Governor. This year, I became Curriculum Committee Chair, as well as taking on a part time role working as a Teaching Assistant in the school.