Hilltop School
Nexus Multi-Academy Trust
As an academy, the Local Governing Body of Hilltop School has delegated powers from the Nexus Multi Academy Trust Board of Directors, which are outlined in the Trust’s Scheme of Delegation
The Chief Executive Officer and Officers of the Trust act as advisors to the Local Governing Body and attend most meetings
Membership
Hilltop School Local Governing Body was constituted on 1st June 2016 and the following
structure of Governance is now in place:
The total membership shall be not less than 7 and not more than 12.
The membership shall comprise:
• the Chair who is elected by the Trust Board of Directors;
• the Headteacher;
• no fewer than 2 elected Parent Governors;
• two elected Members of Staff, one Teaching, one Non-Teaching;
• the remaining Governors are appointed by the Local Governing Body.
Governors can be Parents or Members of Staff but the number of Staff Governors (inc Headteacher)
must not exceed one-third of the total number of Governors.
How are Governors chosen?
There are different categories of Governors: Parent Governors, Staff Governors and Governors.
Parent Governors are elected by current parents when a vacancy becomes available.
Staff Governors, are representatives of the teaching or support staff and are elected by the eligible staff when a
vacancy becomes available.
All Governors are appointed by the Local Governing Body.
They are selected to provide skills and experience which Governors feel are required.
The Chair of the Local Governing Body is appointed by the Nexus Multi Academy Trust Board of Directors.
All Governors initially serve for a period of four years.
At the end of the four years, they can stand for re-election or be
re-appointed. Governors are free to resign before the end of their four-year term if they so wish.
Nexus Multi-Academy Trust
As an academy, the Local Governing Body of Hilltop School has delegated powers from the Nexus Multi Academy Trust Board of Directors, which are outlined in the Trust’s Scheme of Delegation
The Chief Executive Officer and Officers of the Trust act as advisors to the Local Governing Body and attend most meetings
Membership
Hilltop School Local Governing Body was constituted on 1st June 2016 and the following
structure of Governance is now in place:
The total membership shall be not less than 7 and not more than 12.
The membership shall comprise:
• the Chair who is elected by the Trust Board of Directors;
• the Headteacher;
• no fewer than 2 elected Parent Governors;
• two elected Members of Staff, one Teaching, one Non-Teaching;
• the remaining Governors are appointed by the Local Governing Body.
Governors can be Parents or Members of Staff but the number of Staff Governors (inc Headteacher)
must not exceed one-third of the total number of Governors.
How are Governors chosen?
There are different categories of Governors: Parent Governors, Staff Governors and Governors.
Parent Governors are elected by current parents when a vacancy becomes available.
Staff Governors, are representatives of the teaching or support staff and are elected by the eligible staff when a
vacancy becomes available.
All Governors are appointed by the Local Governing Body.
They are selected to provide skills and experience which Governors feel are required.
The Chair of the Local Governing Body is appointed by the Nexus Multi Academy Trust Board of Directors.
All Governors initially serve for a period of four years.
At the end of the four years, they can stand for re-election or be
re-appointed. Governors are free to resign before the end of their four-year term if they so wish.
Members Of The Hilltop Governing Body
Paula Williams - Chair, Safeguarding & T&L Link Governor Interests & Attendance Data
Sharon Biggin - Finance Link Governor Interests & Attendance Data
Rob Mulvey - Headteacher Interests & Attendance Data
Sandra Rosado - Parent Governor & T&L Link Governor Interests & Attendance Data
Ruth Milburn - Wellbeing & Behaviour Link Governor Interests & Attendance Data
Gaynor Higham - Staff Governor (Support Staff) Interests & Attendance Data
Cathryn Tansey - Parent Governor & T&L Link Governor Interests & Attendance Data
Christopher Spowage - Staff Governor (Teacher) Interests & Attendance Data
Fiona Featherstone - Governor Interests & Attendance Data
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Paula Williams – Governor (Hilltop Chair of Governors)
Paula has worked within inclusion and special educational needs for over 30 years including as a mainstream teacher and a specialist teacher. Her most recent roles have been in the strategic leadership of local authority SEND services and provision and she brings a wealth of experience to support the work of the governing body. Paula is highly committed to children and young people with additional needs becoming successful and happy adults leading successful and happy lives. |
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Sharon Biggin - Finance Governor
Sharon has worked with young people and within communities for the last 30 years in youth centres and as part of a detached team in different areas of Rotherham. Part of her role is encouraging participation of young people in projects and activities, offering new experiences and empowering young people to grow into confident members of the community in which they live. She has developed a range of positive links and partnerships within the community and has attended the Youth Taskforce Conference to give a presentation around partnership work as a part of the Safer Neighbourhoods Team. Sharon currently works with young people to build their confidence, self-esteem and social skills in different areas of Rotherham. |
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Rob Mulvey - Headteacher
Rob Mulvey has worked in education for 29 years. 10 years in Secondary Mainstream schools and the last 19 years in three Special Needs Schools. Rob was the Deputy Head at Hilltop between 2013 and 2019 and has recently returned to the school this time as Headteacher after three years working as a Head in Derbyshire. Hilltop School holds a particularly special place in Rob’s heart and he is delighted to have returned. The school is continually expanding and changing and with the support of the Senior Leadership Team, teachers and support staff he is certain that things will continue to improve and thrive. Rob feels that it is a privilege to work in the field of Special Educational Needs and is continually amazed and inspired by the resilience and determination of the students he encounters. Rob also believes that for everyone a healthy work life balance is important in ensuring that one’s emotional and physical well-being is promoted and supported. Outside of school Rob enjoys attending live music gigs with his husband Zak, walking in the Peak District, spending time with their greyhound Alan and meeting friends and family socially. Rob is a keen cook and loves nothing more than reading recipes, planning dinner parties and sharing meals round the dining table. He has recently joined a community choir and although does not profess to have the greatest Tenor singing voice he believes in the words of the Mama’s and the Papa’s “You gotta make your own kind of music, sing your own special song”. |
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Ruth Milburn – Governor
Ruth is a Specialist Speech and Language Therapist with significant experience working with children with a range of Speech, Language and Communication needs between the ages of 1-18. Prior to training as a Speech and Language Therapist Ruth worked as a Learning Support Assistant for children with profound and multiple learning difficulties. Having worked as a Speech and Language Therapist for the NHS in both London and Yorkshire, Ruth currently runs a small private practice. |
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Sandra Rosado - Parent Governor
Sandra works for the Telecommunications company O2 Telefonica as a 2nd Line technical Guru. She is the proud mom of two, one which is a pupil at Hilltop School. Her studies were in Curative Psychopedagogy and although she hasn't used much professional it now really helps her a lot when she works with her son on his development. She would love to use that knowledge to work with the school on teaching and learning development. She is also passionate about new technology and considers herself, proudly, a bit of a geek although she is a firm believer that technology has it's time and place and it can be useful but shouldn't never rule our way of life. |
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Gaynor Higham - Staff Governor (Support Staff)
Before joining Hilltop School, Gaynor worked in the legal sector for 16 years as a Qualified Criminal Law Legal Representative spending her days being the voice of others, putting forward their views and making representations on their behalf. Following this Gaynor joined the Hilltop Team in 2015 being part of the administration team dealing in confidential HR and payroll. Gaynor is also the parent of a child with special educational needs at Hilltop School and has watched him thrive with the guidance and expertise of excellent staff, therefore knowing first-hand their worth. She understands the relentless effort that goes into caring for our students and although rewarding can be stressful at times and I recognise staff may need an outlet to discuss those challenges Gaynor is looking forward to working with the board of governor at Hilltop. She is enthusiastic and passionate to gather feedback from colleagues and act as a conduit between staff and the governing body. |
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Cathryn Tansey - Parent Governor & T&L Link Governor
Cathryn has worked in Community based services, supporting vulnerable adults since 2003,currently part of the management team for one of our organisation services. This supports adults diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Condition, Acquired Brain Injury and Learning Disabilities. As a team we are enthusiastic about promoting independence within the community and social inclusion for our service users. I am hoping that my work experience and experience of being a parent of a child attending Hilltop school, will help with my role within the governing body. |
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Chris Spowage - Staff Governor (Teacher)
Chris is a lower key stage 2 class teacher and has been with Hilltop School for 4 years. Prior to commencing a PGCE at Sheffield Hallam University in 2015 he completed a BA Honours Degree at Manchester University where he studied Professional Stage Practice, graduating in 2010. He loves to bring his theatrical background into the classroom to come up with creative ways to engage and intrigue the pupils. Chris is Science co-ordinator and Intermediate TeamTeach trainer at Hilltop School. This is his first experience of being on a Governing Panel as Teacher-Link Governor. |
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Fiona Featherstone - Community Governor
Fiona has nearly 40 years of experience working in Careers, Connexions and SEN in Rotherham. Originally set up Parent Partnership in 1994 and also managed the Connexions service. Fiona retired in 2021 from being a manager in the EHC Team. She is looking forward to bringing her own experience to challenge and support the school to do the best for children, families and staff. Enjoys working with people, is a good listener and is excited to be part of the Hilltop team. |
How can I contact the school governors?
The Chair of Governors can be contacted via the School office.
You can also contact Clerking Services about any aspect of school governance at this address clerkingservices@nexusmat.org
The Chair of Governors can be contacted via the School office.
You can also contact Clerking Services about any aspect of school governance at this address clerkingservices@nexusmat.org
Previous Governors
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Hannah Weinhold – Governor (Hilltop Chair of Governors)
Hannah Weinhold has had a varied and unique career so far. After spending a few years teaching, she decided to specialise in careers and enterprise, providing employability, careers, and start-up advice and support to people of all ages and backgrounds. Never one to stagnate, she decided to go into the private sector and secured a position as part of the senior management team at a lone worker safety provider, where she was responsible for HR, compliance, service design, lean management, and programme management. She also managed the Client Services team. More recently, Hannah has become the Commercial Director and part-owner of GrowTraffic, which specialises in SEO, content marketing, business growth and training.Areas of specialist knowledge are project management, business start-up & growth, lean process mapping, service management, and digital marketing. |
31st August 2022
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David Burdett - Headteacher of Hilltop School
David has taught for over 20 years starting in mainstream in the Midlands in Early Years then moving back to Yorkshire in 1998 to work with learners with severe and complex learning needs in an Early Years class. Since then he has worked in Special Schools and has really had lots of fun, with support from parents and colleagues. David knows that it is the children and young people that drive him to do a great job. He enjoys the challenges at Hilltop and feel very privileged to have such a great job. |
31st August 2022
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Jen Sturch – Governor
Jen joined the board of governors at Hilltop LGB in 2018. Jen has worked in the Higher Education sector for over 10 years where she currently provides specialist advice and support for students experiencing personal, academic or practical difficulties; ensuring intervention and effective risk management. Jen has also had previous board experience, being chair of trustees for a Sheffield nursery providing essential and cost effective childcare to her local community. Jen is really looking forward to working collaboratively with the board of governors at Hilltop and is passionate about working to deliver an inclusive and responsive service, enabling a positive student experience, attainment and progression and responding effectively to student diversity. 
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25th November 2021
Governor Minutes
2019-2020
2020-2021
Useful Information
Further useful governance information can be found on the Nexus Trust website.
Please click here to locate documents such as the Governance Handbook, Glossary of Terms and the
Scheme of Delegation.
Please click here to locate documents such as the Governance Handbook, Glossary of Terms and the
Scheme of Delegation.
Updated 10/1/2022
