Welcome to Grove Park School by John Hayling, Chair of Governors

 On behalf of everybody at Grove Park, I welcome you to our website, where I hope you will get a flavour of what goes on in our fantastic school.

All the adults at the school, led by our new and dynamic Headteacher, Julie Campion, firmly believe that each pupil is able to achieve regardless of their special educational need.  Our vision is very simple – to unlock and liberate the unique potential of each child.

We have a multi-talented staff team who work in conjunction with a range of therapists supporting the school to help our pupils and students to provide a relevant and contemporary curriculum differentiated for each pupil. We are fortunate to have our own hydrotherapy pool which is available to all the pupils, and the older students benefit from opportunities presented by their co-location on the campus of Beacon Academy.

The Governing Body works alongside the Headteacher and her staff, supporting and challenging, in a constant search for improvement and development of the whole school. I have been a Governor of the school since October 2013 and took up the role of Chair in September 2021 and am very ably supported by a talented group of Governors who all work closely together at a strategic level as the critical friend of the school.

The task of the Governing Body is to govern the school through the implementation of three core functions: providing strategic leadership, holding the Headteacher to account and making sure the schools money is well spent. We do this by meeting at least six times a year and by delegating specific tasks to an individual or groups of Governors who then report back to the Governing Body. You will find the agendas and minutes of meetings on the Governors section of the website.

My professional life has been spent working in the utilities and IT industry.  I joined AMT-Sybex, five years ago to lead on networks product development. This followed a career spanning nearly 35 years, working in both technical and senior commercial roles across the electricity industry.  During this time, I managed everything from energy settlement trading to major IT projects, serving on both the Electricity Pool Executive Committee and on the Board of St. Clements Services. My last job in the power sector was as Investment Policy and Low Carbon Development Manager for UK Power Networks.  I am a graduate Engineer and began my career in construction as an environmental engineer.   

On a more personal note, I am married to Lisa and our daughter Natalie, who was diagnosed with Cri du Chat syndrome and has SLD, attends the secondary phase. I was diagnosed as dyslexic while at school before very little was known about the condition and as such have first-hand experience of a learning disability.  Despite this I went on to graduate with a 2:1 from Coventry University in Engineering. 

I was delighted to be appointed as a Governor for Grove Park School and I very much enjoy using my experience in industry and my first-hand knowledge of learning disability in the area of special education for the benefit of pupils of the school.

If you would like to know more about the role of Governors or would like to discuss any aspect of Grove Park School, please do not hesitate to contact me.

 email: johnghayling@gmail.com

or via the Clerk - 01892 603095