Meet the Governors

We currently have 11 governors* on the school’s Governing Body. They are:

• Peter Riley
  Chair of Governors
  Peter Riley

• Mrs Claire Griffiths
  Headteacher/ Associate Governor
  Mrs Claire Griffiths

  I have been working in schoolsï ¿ ½since 1994 (hard to believe as I look so young!)

  I like the fact that every day is different and that the children bringï ¿ ½new ideas each day as well.

  My favourite thing - Teaching a lesson and all the children leave with a big smile, knowing they have enjoyed learning and understanding something new.

  A word to describe me "Tenacious!"

• Mrs Lesley Dawson
  Co-opted Governor
  Mrs Lesley Dawson

  As a former police detective working in child abuse, vice and child protection I have extensive knowledge and experience of dealing with children and perpetrators of crime against children.ï ¿ ½

  I have been a day nursery and childcare provider for children from birth to 13 years, for the past 19 years.ï ¿ ½

  I have extensive knowledge of personnel and HR issues, finance and business management.ï ¿ ½ Have some knowledge of marketing and as a company we are going through a re-brand process which is increasing my knowledge and understanding particularly of ï ¿ ½newï ¿ ½ types of marketing such as social media.ï ¿ ½

  I have experience of bidding processes and applications for funding.

  I have good communication and interpersonal skills.ï ¿ ½ Not afraid to deal with conflict and happy to challenge.ï ¿ ½

  I have three sons myself who are now grown up and doing well, so have experience of their education and my expectations are that the children at Valley View will have the same quality of education that my sons had.ï ¿ ½

• Mr Russell Atkins
  Co-opted Governor
  Mr Russell Atkins

  My name is Russell Atkins. I am currently employed by Leeds City Council within the Taxi and Private Hire Licensing Department. In my role as an Enforcement Officer, I am responsible for ensuring the compliance of Taxi and Private Hire drivers, their vehicles, and the companies that they work for. A major part of my role is investigative work, investigating criminal offences regarding licensing legislation and serious public complaints against license holders. Â

  When not at work, I volunteer as a Special Constable with West Yorkshire Police. This is something I am very proud of and really enjoy doing. I feel that I am able to support my local community through policing by making people safe and feel safer. I have been a Special Constable for six years, working in the first instance at Pudsey Police Station and then more recently transferring to Elland Road Police Station in order to step up into a supervisory position. Â

  Alongside my volunteering as a Police Officer, I am also a Civilian Instructor with the Royal Air Force Air Cadets, at 44F (City of Bradford) Squadron. During my teen years I was myself an Air Cadet and attended my local Unit at Thornbury Barracks. I feel that my time with the RAFAC shaped me into the man I am today, giving me life skills, confidence, self-discipline, and pride, enabling me to be the best person that I can be. After aging out of the organisation as a cadet at the age of 20 over 5 years ago, this year I have returned to the Organisation at the request of the Officer Commanding 44F Squadron. As they had lost a huge number of cadets through the COVID-19 pandemic, I was tasked with taking a lead on the recruitment for the Squadron, and I have taken the numbers from 4 cadets when I arrived in April to 28 now, with a further 39 recruits who will begin with us in January 2022. To me it is a privilege to be able to provide the youth of today with the same experiences I was lucky enough to have as a cadet.

  With regards to Valley View, I feel I have a strong connection to the school. I was part of the first group of Year 6 children to be at the school in 2006 after the closures of Rodley and Aire View Primary Schools. I then returned to the school in order to complete two weeks of work experience while I was at High School, and I also now have two nieces in the school. On my recent visit to the school to meet with the Co-Headteachers in order to discuss the roll of a Governor, I was astounded to see the vast changes and improvements to the building. I could see that the children had a wonderful learning environment and could sense a feeling of safety, security and a warmness that must be very inviting to the children and encourages their learning.

  I would consider it to be an honour to be a part of this schools Board of Governors, to have a part in helping to continue its success and assist with taking the school where it is aiming, and it deserves to be.

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• Mr George Cull
  Co-opted Governor
  Mr George Cull

  I joined as a parent governor in May 2022 and I am the parent of Eleanor who started at Valley View in September 2021.

  I want to be a governor to be part of supporting Valley View to provide that great experience of school for all pupils and families.

  I bring  skills and experience from working as part of the leadership team of a sport and physical activity charity, supporting staff and overseeing the financial management of the organisation.

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  In my day to day work I have lots of contact with schools and headteachers in North Yorkshire and  will bring that understanding and insight from this work. Â

  Outside of work, and when I am not acting as a chauffeur for Eleanor, I keep active by playing football and competing in triathlon and this demonstrates why I am particularly keen to ensure that health and wellbeing provides a strong foundation for children to learn and grow.

• Anthony Pugh
  Co-opted Governor
  Anthony Pugh

• Mr I Hubert
  Local Authority Governor
  Mr I Hubert

• Mrs Clare Gregory
  Staff Governor
  Mrs Clare Gregory

• Mrs Amy Urmston
  Staff Governor
  Mrs Amy Urmston

• Sophie Davis
  Parent Governor
  Sophie Davis

• Duncan Harrison
  Parent Governor
  Duncan Harrison

• Vacancy
  Vacancy

  
  We currently have one vacancy on our Governing Body. If you are interested please contact the school office for more details.

• Mrs Sarah Griggs
  Previous Co-Headteacher/Associate governor** (until August 2025)
  Mrs Sarah Griggs

  I have been a headteacher since 2006. In that time the school has grown from a smaller than average 4-11 school to a large primary school with a nursery. As a small school with a small leadership team initially, there was a need for me to rapidly develop the needs of every aspect of school life. Now as a larger and expanding school there is an ever changing need for new skill sets and an increasing amount of HR and personnel matters.

• Mrs Jackie O'Toole
  Previous Vice Chair (until July 2025)
  Mrs Jackie O'Toole

  I have been a Governor at Valley View forï ¿ ½many years.

  I previously worked within the service industry focusing on provision ofï ¿ ½ Facilities Management Services to both private and public sector clients.ï ¿ ½

  I've accrued many years of experience dealing both with procurement and negotiation of legally binding contracts with a keen focus on detailed financial information.ï ¿ ½ I now work part time within the banking industry so am very used to dealing with numbers!

  I have held a management position with responsibilities including the recruitment, induction and on-going support of a team along with the requirement to discipline and (where necessary) dismiss staff.ï ¿ ½ In addition to people management, I had direct responsibility for budgeting, forecasting and ultimate control of finances.ï ¿ ½

  Having spent over twenty years working with large organisations, I have a clear understanding of regulatory requirements.

  I am now the very proud mother of three children (2 of which are at Valley View).ï ¿ ½ I have a keen interest in special educational needs, particularly for those children on the Autistic Spectrum.

* We currently have one vacancy for a Co-opted governor.