Ballot Paper - Election of Parent Governor - Opens midday 26thJanuary 2015

  1. THREE CANDIDATEShave been nominated for the TWO VACANCIESof Parent Governor.
  1. CANDIDATES’ STATEMENTS are on the website and attached below
  1. Each parent must vote on a SEPARATE FORM
  1. EACH PARENTis entitled to a number of votes equal to the number of vacancies e.g. ABLE TO

VOTEFOR TWO candidates

  1. Please VOTE IN INK BY PLACING AN Xagainst the candidate(s) of your choice
  1. Papers recording more than the required votes or marked in any other way will be INVALID.
  1. We will be using a DOUBLE ENVELOPE SYSTEMwhich guarantees anonymity whilst ensuring

nobody votes twice over.

CANDIDATES IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER

Mrs Lisa Cartlidge
Dr Richard Emsley
Dr Helen Warren
  • Below are statements prepared by each candidate about themselves (also on website)
  • When you have chosen your preferred candidates, please fold the ballot paper.
  • Do not write your name on the ballot paper.
  • The ballot paper should be sealed in an inner unmarked envelope, which should be sealed in an outer envelope with the name of the voter printed on the back.
  • The voter will be ticked off, the outer envelopewill be shredded and the unmarked envelope will be put into the ballot box.
  • Ballot papers may be returned via a pupil, by post or by the voter in person. A ballot box will be available at reception at school.
  • All ballot papers must be received by noon on Tuesday 3rd February. Ballot papers received after this date, for whatever reason, will not be counted.
  • The result will be announced by 3.30pm Thursday 5th February

Lisa Cartlidge

Following receipt of the recent school news letter, I am applying to be a school governor. I have two children in the Cotswold School, one in lower 6th and another in year 10.

I work for Thames Valley Police as a Police Enquiry Officer, during that role I take calls from persons from all walks of life. I take referrals from social services which get passed to the child abuse investigation unit. We also get many calls from families involved in domestic situations to varying degrees. Therefore I am well aware of the many different backgrounds children can come from and the effects this can have on their life. For this role I have been through a strong vetting process and have signed the official secrets act.

I am from a farming background and although my parents have given me a very strong work ethic, school was thought of as a waste of time and I received no encouragement in school life ( I don’t think they attended one parents evening). I feel this has held me back in my career choices. I actually believe I may be dyslexic and know from personal experience that not every parent believes that school is valuable or necessary, making it even more important that when they are in school they enjoy it and can be motivated by good teachers.

I have a particular interest in special needs and feel that my experience in this area would enable me to work with the school to develop its systems for supporting children with special needs

I would very much welcome the chance to be involved with the governors and hope my input can help others who struggle through school life.

Dr Richard Emsley

Please accept my nomination for the post of Parent Governor at The Cotswold School: my son is a pupil in Year 7.

I am an engineer turned serial entrepreneur and for the past 20 years I have made a career out of building and selling technology-based businesses. ln this capacity, I have served as a director on numerous Boards, including plc level, and as a result I am familiar with organisational governance issues, the demands of staffing a complex organisation and of working with finite resources. Currently, I am a Director of Afion Media, based in Stow and in this capacity I advise companies and

Boards on business strategy and fund raising.

For fresh air, exercise and adrenalin, I have coached minis rugby at Stow RFC for the past eight years and am currently with U12s. While I enjoy the sporting success we have achieved, one of the main benefits has been to see the children develop as people as well as players. For relaxation, I research the background to British military medals and their campaigns and in this capacity I sit on the national Executive Committee of the Orders & Medals Research Society where I am responsible for the development of its online strategy and for the organisation of the annual Convention.

A school is a challenging, complex environment that needs to provide a safe, secure and supporting environment where pupils of all abilities can realise their potential, whether in an academic field, sports, the arts or a vocational pursuit. However, a school's academic success is a very narrow definition of success as a school has a pivotal role in creating well-rounded, confident people capable of taking their place in an increasingly globalised and competitive world and this places many demands on the management and leadership of the school.

As with a business, good leadership and management are key to achieving a well-run organisation and I would like to offer my experience and enthusiasm in helping The Cotswold School develop and grow.

Dr Helen Warren

I would like to stand in the election for one of the parent governor posts on the governing body of the Cotswold school. I have a daughter who joined the school, as a Year 7, in September 2014 and a son I hope will join Year 7 in September 2015.

I am hugely impressed with the way the school is run, its ethos, the outstanding results the school achieves, as well as the school’s sporting and dramatic achievements and the fact that pupils are nurtured and happy. I would love to be part of making the school even better.

My background is as a physicist. I gained a degree in physics and a doctorate in astrophysics from Oxford University and then spent some years as an academic at Oxford and Sussex universities, researching the large scale structure of the Universe and teaching physics to undergraduates, as well as interviewing for undergraduate admissions to Oxford.

I am now a senior software architect working for a successful software company in the Cotswolds.

For the past 5 years I have been Chair of Governors at my children’s primary school in the village where we live. This has been an immensely challenging but very rewarding experience through which I feel I have learnt a great deal.

I have always had the strong belief that there is no reason one should need to pay to receive a fantastic education, having been through the state system myself at an outstanding comprehensive school, much like the Cotswold school. Although my governing body experience has been at a primary school until now I would hope that I have a good understanding of the principles of governance and a lot of transferable skills and experience. In terms of the specific skills that are mentioned in the advertisement for these posts, my children do not have special educational needs in the usual sense although they have both been on the gifted and talented register and I believe that special educational needs at both ends of the spectrum should be considered to be of equal importance.