Parent Governor Election – November 2021

Our New Parent Governor is Isobel Clift. Thank you to all of the candidates who put themselves forward for this position.

Isobel Clift

Dear Parents and Carers,

The governing body is now holding the election for the position of parent governor at Coopers Lane.

Our school community has always been quick to give amazing and inspiring support, and for this election three candidates have put themselves forward.

Each has provided a brief introduction of themselves which you can find below.

Please read through them, then follow the link that will be emailed to you on Monday 22nd November 2021 (all parents and carers) to make your choice of who should become our new parent governor.

Voting will be open from Monday 22nd November – Monday 29th November

If any parent or carer is unable to vote due to having no access to electronic voting, please contact the school office by phone or email info@cooperslane.lewisham.sch.uk

To find out more about the role of a governor, please follow this link:

https://governorsforschools.org.uk/volunteers/about-the-role/

Kind regards

James Green

Chair of the Coopers Lane School Governing Body

Candidate Pofiles

Isobel Clift

Introduction and connection to the school

I am the mother of two boys who currently attend CLPS, in years 2 and 4, so I feel as if I’ve been connected with the school for such a long time already.  Although I grew up in Hertfordshire I have been a resident of South-East London for over a decade now and am extremely proud to call it home, for now and hopefully for the long term.  As well as being a Mum, which as we all know is a full-time job in itself (!!) I work for a large accountancy firm.  When I’m not working or spending hours standing in the cold/rain/sun watching my boys play football, I enjoy reading, walking, music and going to the gym (purely with a view to allowing me to eat/drink more!).

Contributions to the school

I am currently the Chair of the PTA, a role which I took over just recently.  I find it hugely rewarding to be giving something back to the school in terms of my volunteering efforts.  The work of the PTA is so important to the school and it feels great to be an active part of it.  I am currently working on organising our next in person fundraising event, being our fabulous ceilidh night scheduled for January 2022.

Other community, charity or fundraising work outside of school

I have undertaken a number of fundraising efforts over the years, the highlight being raising over £2,500 for charity when I ran the London marathon!  I am also actively involved with fundraising efforts through work and recently completed a ‘30k in 30 days’ running challenge for our charity partner, the NSPCC.

Relevant skills and experiences

A range of professional skills which will benefit the board including project management skills, the ability to take ownership of any given task and excellent communication skills – my job requires that I have difficult discussions and this is not something that I shy away from.

A great team player – no man is an island, in my opinion!  I would be lost without the support of my team, both inside and outside work!

A desire to give something back to the community in terms of my time and skills.

I work for a company which is extremely supportive of those looking for school governor roles and provides support and training where required, in addition to allowing paid time-off to meet my governor responsibilities.

An active and engaged member of the local community – I have recently been speaking to our MP about road safety measures on Burnt Ash Hil

Why I want to become a Governor

I have been keen to put myself forward for a school governor role since my oldest son started at CLPS.  I have huge amounts of enthusiasm for becoming involved in something that affects me personally and the wider community and the governor role provides the perfect opportunity for this. 

Overall, I would be exceptionally grateful for the opportunity to become more involved with the school, I feel passionately that CLPS is an amazing school with even more amazing potential!

Paul Lampon

Introduction and connection to the school

My name Is Paul Lampon, I have lived in the Lee for 11 years. I moved to London after meeting my wife who was born and raised in the local area even attending Coopers lane as a child. I have 2 young children who currently attend Coopers in year 3 and year1.

Contributions to the school

Since my eldest joined the school I have been an active member in the PTA attending many of the in-person meetings and then on Zoom during the Covid 19 pandemic. I have been back to the in person meetings as they have started back up again and an enthusiastic participant at the PTA bingo event.

Other community, charity or fundraising work outside of school

Through my work I am part of the communities team and during the pandemic I was helping to organise foodbank deliveries for the Trussel Trust and currently we are fundraising for a Christmas toys for kids at Great Ormond Street over the festive period.

Relevant skills and experiences

I work for the Centrica the largest energy supplier in the country. I manage a large engineering team who work all over South London. In my work I need to understand people, their effect on the jobs they do and on the people they work for. It is a very customer focused world where real world in person results are the important factors. I deal heavily in health and safety assessments, understanding and mitigating risk.

A main focus for me is how to identify what needs to be improved and then make actions for that to happen and be able to follow that up to see the best end goals reached for everyone. I believe that as a Governor that would be an important quality to bring to the table to see the school keep improving year on year.

Why I want to become a Governor

I am a believer in that education can be the key to a great start in life, but also that not all children learn the same way or in the same time and that great teachers are the greatest gift our children can have. My ambition is to be able to offer my own small part in supporting the staff and the school, Hopefully I can help make our school the best it can be.

Ola Pelovangu

Introduction and connection to the school

I am a mum of 3, soon to be 4 and currently have my two eldest children attending Coopers Lane. It has been an absolute joy to see how not only my children but other children continue to grow and flourish during their time at school, as well as the progressive approach of the school to support and teach children in line with how the world is developing.

After over 14 years working in media, formerly Head of Commercial Partnerships at global media, managing our much- loved radio stations (Heart, Capital, Classic, LBC and more) and more recently as Global Brand partnerships Manager at TikTok, last year saw me transition into the role of full-time content creator. A humbling opportunity to write, create and discuss all things family, whilst using social media as a means to have open and honest conversation about family life.

Contributions to the school

I would ensure being actively involved in the PTA, and happy to represent the school alongside other governors be it for visits, inspections and key dates in the school diary. More importantly I would be able to contribute to reflective practices that are focused on maintaining the school ethos and offer support where needed.

Additionally, following similar initiatives I have introduced within my career, I would be able to contribute to conversations on embracing diversity and inclusivity within the school in a way that is centred around learning opportunities.

Other community, charity or fundraising work outside of school

I regularly work with The Toy Project to donate used toys and donate clothes quarterly through our church to create clothes care packages for families in our community.

Relevant skills and experiences

I have experience in having a stand back approach in order to inspire fresh solutions to presented development areas. More importantly I absolutely enjoy being part of a collective group who are all open to learning despite positions held. I have strong relationship building skills, which I believe is super key to the success of anything and I strongly believe be it in representing the school, assisting with inspections or important visits, I will add value in these areas.

Why I want to become a Governor

 One of my passions is to be a part of fostering an environment that parents feel comfortable and encouraged to have conversations that can drive change. This includes uncomfortable conversations that can drive change and allow the school to be thought leaders and advocates for change within the primary school environment.

Lastly, I would treat the role with the utmost respect and always ensure to uphold the schools polices and values as a governor, whilst using my initiative and being proactive to support the headteacher in setting the school vision.

Contacting the School

Coopers Lane Primary School is situated in Grove Park in the borough of Lewisham. The entrance to the school is in Pragnell Road, SE12 0LF