September 2025
Dear Parents and Carers,
I would like to take this opportunity to introduce you to the Governing Board at Millbrook Junior School and tell you a little about what we do.
The main role of the Governing Board is to ensure the future of the school through a continuous journey of improvement, based upon all our children achieving their potential in a safe and happy environment, and ensuring the school makes the best use of its budget.
Our ‘vision’ is central to what we do. In summer 2025, the governors and the senior leadership team undertook a strategic review of the future development of Millbrook Junior School. This resulted in ‘Our Vision, Values and Strategy Plan (2025-2029) (see documents below). This document outlines our ambitions for Millbrook Junior School going forward. Each year the governors, with the senior leadership team, will identify key actions to ensure these ambitions are acted upon.
Central to our vision is ‘The Five Hands of Millbrook Junior School’. The document was developed principally through consultation with our children, as well as with parents and staff. The ‘School Council’ consulted with their class members to identify what sort of school they want Millbrook Junior School to be. This vision informs our curriculum which provides both breadth and balance and enriches the learning experiences of all our children. We believe it is an excellent preparation for when our children move to their secondary school and beyond as young adults. Whenever governors make a monitoring visit to the school, we talk to the children about the ‘Five Hands’ and how they help them as learners and future adults. In our last Ofsted Inspection Report (June 2023), the inspector commented upon the importance of the ‘Five Hands’ to our school and that it was evident as she walked around the school as well as in talking to our children and staff.
When visiting school, governors undertake a variety of activities to gather evidence of how well the school is doing. We mainly do this through Governor Impact Visits (or GIVs). Each GIV will look at a specific aspect of school life. This is often determined by the school’s priorities for that year – as documented in the School Development Plan, which governors agree at the beginning of each school year. For each GIV, we gather evidence of the progress being made. We do this by talking to senior staff, year leaders, subject leaders, and staff. We also talk to groups of children across each year group to find out their views. Governors, during the visit, will also look at the children’s books as well as teacher planning. Following each visit, the governors will produce a report for the Governing Board and the senior leadership team. The report includes findings and recommended actions to be taken.
In addition to monitoring the curriculum, we will continue to monitor and review other aspects of the school. This is undertaken by ‘lead governors’ responsible for such areas as safeguarding, health and safety, special educational needs, pupil premium and pupil/staff wellbeing.
In 2025/26, the governors will continue to meet formally through two committees - the Governing Board and the Resources Committee. The Governing Board meets at least seven times a year and the Resources Committee normally five times a year.
The governors are very proud of what Millbrook Junior School achieved in 2024/25. This includes:
- Working more closely with our parents and carers and listening and responding to parental feedback – this resulted in very positive parent/carer surveys and excellent attendance at parental events e.g. assemblies, maths evenings, parent(s) evenings, ‘Meet the Team’ event;
- Our much higher profile in local newspapers and social media accounts celebrating the work of the school and the achievements of our pupils;
- The continued improvement to the internal learning environment, based upon the research ‘Calmer classrooms’;
- Embedding our Restorative Approach to pupil behaviour which has resulted in the vast majority of children in school behaving very well and those that find this more difficult are well supported
- Ensuring our staff workload and wellbeing is effectively supported by senior leaders and governors - staff surveys and GIVs (Governor Impact Visits) confirm this;
- Continue to provide a broad and balanced curriculum enhanced by trips and visitors – which pupils value as they tell us through ‘pupil voice’ and the School Council
- The increase in new classes and the induction of new pupils – supported by the work done by our Head Pupils
Finally, working in partnership with our parents and carers is very important. We will continue to consult with our parents and carers as well as other stakeholders (children and staff) in 2025/26 to help us make Millbrook Junior School the best school it can be for all our children.
Yours sincerely
Paul Davies
(Chair of Governors, Millbrook Junior School)
Find out more about our Governors
Please click on a section header below to find further information about our Governors
Safeguarding: Emma Smith
Vulnerable Groups (including SEND/Pupil Premium/LAC): Paul Davies, Tracey Adam, Natasha Bedham
Health and Safety: Justin Skists
Staff and Pupil wellbeing: Karon Berry
Governor training and development: Lorraine Sinclair
Resources Committee: Lorraine Sinclair (VC), Paul Davies, Justin Skists, Emma Smith
Website compliance: Lorraine Sinclair
Headteacher Appraisal Panel: Paul Davies, Adrian North, Emma Smith
Paul Davies
Chair of Governors
Paul was born in Liverpool. After gaining a degree in History from the University of Manchester, he trained to become a teacher. He taught both in secondary and primary schools in Merseyside and in Arizona (USA) in the late 1970s and 1980s. He left teaching to become a local authority school adviser while working as an Ofsted Inspector for 12 years. In 1994 he joined Liverpool Hope University as a part-time senior lecturer and subsequently became Vice Dean of Education from 2002 to 2007. He left Liverpool to become the Head of Education and Associate Dean at the University of Bedfordshire and now works part-time as an Education Consultant advising on school governance and teacher training.
Paul has been a governor for over 25 years. During this time, he has been a governor of 7 schools which includes being chair of governors of 5 primary schools, Vice Chair of a Secondary School and chairing a trust of 8 schools. He is currently Chair of Governors at Lander Road Primary School (Sefton in Merseyside) and Chair of Ashby Fields Primary School in Daventry.
Paul is honoured and pleased to become a governor and chair of Millbrook Junior School governing board (from April 2019). His involvement with Millbrook Junior School began with his previous post as Northamptonshire County Council (NCC) Adviser to School Governance from 2013 to 2017. The school has made significant progress in recent years and he looks forward to making a contribution to its success.
“We all want the best for the children and to provide opportunities for every child to reach their potential and achieve.”
Adrian North
Vice Chair of Governors
Adrian was elected onto MJS Governing Board in October 2013 and he is currently the longest serving member. He has two daughters. He too attended both Millbrook Infant School and Millbrook Junior School in the 1970s, having lived in Kettering since birth, so he has a long-standing affiliation with and affection for our school. Career wise, he is a qualified Mechanical Engineer and for the past twenty years has held senior positions within Automotive & Aerospace companies managing Quality Assurance & Compliance functions. Adrian applied to become a Governor, because he wanted to give something back to the school that gave him so many happy memories as a child and also because he wanted to use the skills, knowledge and experience he had gained in his work life, to assist the school in achieving the best possible; education, experiences & chances in life for the children in his local community. As Safeguarding Lead, he regularly attends relevant training to keep apace with the ever changing regulations & social influences. Currently he is also the Vice Chair. He is a very keen sportsman, having played Rugby at Kettering for over twenty years, and now plays Badminton. You may even catch him pounding the local pavements as he also regularly runs, just in case he gets a chance to play rugby again! In the small amount of spare time he has, as well as enjoying life with his family, his interests include: supporting Kettering Rugby Club and reading Sci Fi novels.
Danielle Warren
Headteacher
Danielle’s early career began in various schools in Somerset where she taught across the primary phase and gained experience of leading Science and PE.
Following a year spent learning about people, places and herself, travelling the world, she returned to her passion of teaching and learning.
For the next few years Danielle taught in Leicestershire schools, gaining valuable skills and becoming an Assistant then Deputy Head.
Prior to joining Millbrook Junior School, Danielle was the Head of a large (400+) primary school in Northamptonshire, leading it through significant changes. These included a building extension, conversion to Academy status and improving the school from Inadequate to Good.
In addition to a teaching degree, Danielle’s qualifications include NPQH (National Professional Qualification for Headship) and a Masters in School Effectiveness and Improvement. This enabled her to study the theory of leadership whilst further developing practical teaching and learning skills. Most recently, she has completed the NPQEL (National Professional Qualification for Executive Leadership). While leading at Millbrook Junior School, significant improvements have been in made in pupil outcomes and the school achieved a ‘Good’ from Ofsted in December 2017.
Danielle believes her qualities and strengths are that she is passionate about teaching and learning, she is a people person and she is enthusiastic. Personally, she is committed to life-long learning.
Josje Reid-Anderson
Clerk
Jos’s career as clerk to the Governing Body, started in 2012 at a school in Thrapston and she has expanded her experiences over several schools in the County. In October 2016 she was contacted by Northamptonshire County Council to minute a meeting at Millbrook Junior School and she has stayed with the school since.
Jos’s career in her full time jobs, span from PA, Office Manager to Procurement, Finance and HR, when moving to the UK in March 2002.
Her spare time interests include volunteering at a local Scout Group, an animal sanctuary and in the PTA of her son’s school. When she has spare time left, she enjoys reading and watching movies.
Lorraine Sinclair
Vice Chair of Governors
Lorraine has lived and taught locally for her whole life. She has a vast experience of school life at every level, to include primary, middle and secondary education, senior and middle management and as a hard-working, committed and dedicated class teacher. She has a wealth of experience in and out of the classroom and throughout her career; she has taken a full and active part in every aspect of school life. Her professional interests include teaching and learning, the pastoral care and academic progress of pupils and the development of positive working relationships with all school stakeholders. Her experience and skills can be of value to the Governing Board and she looks forward to a harmonious working relationship with all connected to the school.
Lorraine’s interests outside school include cookery, reading, visiting new places and learning new skills. She is married with a grown up son.
Lorraine is delighted to have been co-opted on to the Millbrook Juniors Governing Board, having been the staff governor for eight years. She will continue to embrace this special opportunity to support the school as it continues its exciting journey towards sustained improvement, and maintaining its commitment to provide high quality, memorable and enriching learning experiences for its pupils.
Karon Berry
Karon is delighted to join the governing board. She has been teaching at Millbrook Junior School for seven years, in Years 5 and 6.
After her children started school, Karon decided to train to become a teacher and achieved a BEd at the University of Bedfordshire. She specialised in languages and did a three-week placement at a school in Grenoble, France. Her first post was in a village school, where she gained experience of teaching all age groups.
At school, Karon’s interests are Art (a subject she leads and is passionate about), Maths and all aspects of teaching and learning.
Outside of school, Karon lives in Rushden with her partner. Her interests include spending time with her family, Art, Sewing, Baking and knitting.
Jud Purdy
Justin is married with a daughter who used to attend Millbrook Junior School. He is a director of his own property maintenance business, built up over 12 years and lives in Kettering.
He is proud to be chosen to be a school governor, to allow him to support the school to achieve the best for the children, now and for the future. He prefers to use life’s curve balls and challenges as opportunities to better himself, to succeed and to learn.
Justin has qualifications in photography, which is one of his outside interests, and enjoys gardening, music and spending time with his family.
Tracey Adam
Tracey was born in South Africa and lived there until she relocated with her husband and three children to the UK in 2006. She qualified to teach in South Africa and once in the UK, had to overcome many hurdles to obain her Qualified Teacher Status to continue to teach. During the time she was unable to teach in England, Tracey got her first permanent post working at Millbrook Junior School as their first Higher Level Teaching Assistant. Because Millbrook Junior were so supportive to her, she feels it a great privilige to be serving her first time as a governor on their governing body. She hopes to use her experience in education to contribute to the school preparing children to be the best they can be and laying a pivotal foundation for tomorrow’s happy, succesful adults.
Outside of work, Tracey’s time is divided between being the best grandma she can be to her first grandchild and enjoying the simple things in life with her family and friends.
Justin Skists
Justin is married with two daughters that currently attend the Millbrook Junior and Infant schools. He has lived in Kettering for over 10 years, and is eager to support the school in achieving its goals of providing the best for all of our children.
He is keen on STEM and its applications to the "real world", and works as a Software Engineer for a technology company in Cambridge.
Outside of work, he enjoys spending time with his wife, playing with the kids, and taking the dog for a walk.
Abeera Amin
Abeera was born and bred in Pakistan and moved to the UK in 2018. Different aspects of her personality include having a background in medicine, being a mother, and having a consistent urge to gain knowledge, improve and pass it on to help others. She believes in opting for a balanced approach in all matters of life. She is particularly keen on promoting physical health among children and holds a future interest in sports medicine. She has also worked as a professional photographer taking up part-time projects for ten years, serving as fuel to her creative side.
Being a School Governor has provided her with more insight into the system and a chance to support the children in school. In her spare time, she loves to read books, travel and explore new places with her family and, of course, her camera.
Emma Smith
A former pupil of Millbrook Junior School in the 1990s, Emma has come full circle by joining the Governing Body to support the next generation of learners. Now a consultant nurse, Emma has held senior NHS roles across various hospitals in England, bringing a wealth of expertise in healthcare leadership.
In addition to her professional work, Emma volunteers as a trustee for a local mental health charity, serves as a career mentor at a London university, and contributes as a panel member on a research board. These roles reflect her commitment to mental health, education and community wellbeing.
As a Governor, Emma is passionate about ensuring every child at Millbrook Junior School has access to the opportunities and support they need to thrive she brings valuable insights into safeguarding, mental health and leadership, helping to foster a holistic approach to the wellbeing of pupils, staff and the wider school community.
Natasha Badhan
Natasha is honoured to join the board of governors at Millbrook Junior School.
She was born and raised in Canada but has lived in the UK for over 15 years, with the last six years based in Northamptonshire.
She brings to the table her experience as a doctor, with an interest in child health.
Natasha has young children who have recently started school. For this reason, she wishes to further her knowledge of the British education system, and hopes to support the school and give back to the local community.
She firmly believes that by supporting children, we can help shape their future to reach their full potential.
The Governing Body meet during the year and minutes are recorded.
Supporting information is offered at the side of the page.
Membership of Governing Board
Chair: Paul Davies
Vice Chair: Jud Purdy
Headteacher: Danielle Warren
Co-Opted Governors: Adrian North, Jud Purdy and Tracey Adam, Lorraine Sinclair, Emma Smith, Natasha Badhan
LA Governor: Vacancy
Staff Governor: Karon Berry
Parent Governors: Abeera Amin and Justin Skists
Associate Members: Karen Harrison (appointed September 2015), Rachel Gibbs (appointed September 2021) & Jenny Green (appointed September 2022)
Clerk to the Governors: Jos Reid-Anderson
Information about length and terms of office can be found by clicking here.
What We Believe and Aim For
At Millbrook Junior School, we are incredibly proud of our children. We know each child arrives with their own story, and we believe in helping every one of them become the very best version of themselves.
Our mission - Dream, Believe, Aspire, Achieve – is not just a phrase we repeat. It is the heartbeat of our school, guiding every decision and every interaction.
We celebrate the unique mix of cultures, backgrounds, and perspectives our pupils bring. Our community is strengthened by this diversity, and we are committed to making sure every child—no matter their background, identity, or ability—feels valued, included, and supported to thrive.
The values respect, equality, courage, independence, and resilience are at the core of what we do, shaping children not just for school—but for life.
These are expressed in, and supported by, the document ‘The Five Hands of Millbrook Junior School’
Where We Are Going
Strategic Goals to Achieve by 2029
We have defined six key goals to help us grow stronger as a school and community:
- To be an inclusive school—removing barriers, celebrating diversity, and ensuring equity across all areas of school life and supported by our continued commitment to the ‘The Five Hands of Millbrook Junior School’.
- To deliver a meaningful curriculum that reflects who our children are, where they come from, and prepares them to thrive in a changing world.
- To maintain financial stability, using our resources wisely to benefit every child and ensure value for money.
- To nurture strong leadership at every level—growing people who care and who can lead with purpose.
- To build strong partnerships with parents and carers—working as a team to support every child.
- To play an active role in our community, making a positive difference both inside and beyond the school gates.
- How We Will Bring Our Vision to Life
Strategic Objectives (2025–2029)
These are the clear steps we are taking to turn vision into action:
🌟 For Our Children
- Create a school environment where every child feels safe, supported, and free to be themselves.
- Provide high-quality teaching and targeted support so all children can achieve their full potential.
- Remove barriers to learning and ensure all pupils—especially those facing challenges—have fair access to opportunities and support.
- Teach a curriculum that reflects the diversity and strength of our local and national communities.
- Enhance classrooms and shared spaces to make learning engaging, purposeful, and exciting.
- Make the most of our outdoor and indoor spaces to support active, creative, and real-world learning.
🌼 For Our Staff
- Attract and develop our staff—who want to stay, grow, and lead.
- Prioritise staff wellbeing, building a positive culture of care, trust, and appreciation.
- Offer high-quality training and development—tailored to each staff member’s needs and strengths.
- Partner with training providers and neighbouring schools in enable our staff to continue to develop and reach their potential.
🤝 For Our Families
- Build warm, respectful partnerships with parents and carers—celebrating progress, sharing challenges, and working together to support every child.
🏘️ For Our Community
- Build deeper connections with local organisations, services, and groups who care about our children.
- Create meaningful opportunities for children to engage with, contribute to, and feel proud of their community.
- Celebrate the identities and traditions of our families through shared events, cultural learning, and local partnerships.
🧭 For Our Governors
- Strengthen governance through ongoing learning, reflective practice, and regular school engagement.
- Plan through clear succession planning and support for new governors.
- Monitor our finances with care and transparency to ensure every decision offers value and impact.
- Explore long-term options—such as partnerships or academy status—to ensure our school has a secure, connected, and forward-looking future.
How We Will Keep Ourselves on Track
Monitoring and Review
We believe in growing with purpose—and that means regularly stepping back to reflect, learn, and improve. Our governors and senior leaders work closely together to keep our goals alive, visible, and rooted in everyday school life. Here is how we will stay focused and accountable:
- School Development Plan (SDP): Our yearly action plan for meaningful, measurable improvement.
- Governor Improvement Plan (GIP): A focused roadmap for governor development and school support.
- School Self-Evaluation (SEF): Honest reflection on where we are and where we need to grow.
- Governor Monitoring Activities: Including Governor Impact Visits and Lead Governor engagement to ensure our work is based upon the real experiences of pupils, staff, and parents.
- Responsive Action: We will stay flexible—ready to adjust our plans to meet the needs of the moment.
- End-of-Year Governor Review: A yearly review of our progress as a school and which informs the direction for the year(s) ahead.
Governors Data and Records