The Governing Body plays an essential role in ensuring the highest quality of our educational provision at Hawley Primary School.

They do this by working alongside the school staff to set the strategic vision for the school, fulfilling their statutory duties and being heavily involved in making decisions about staffing, the curriculum, finance, premises and the welfare of the children. Crucially, they also monitor the school’s performance and provide support and challenge to the leadership team of the school to ensure that the school is a safe, healthy and inclusive environment in which to learn.

The Governing Body consists of 13 people, made up of members of the school staff, a Local Authority appointee, parents and members of the wider local community.  

Nick Hewlett – Chair of Governors

I am the Head of Early Years in a London local authority and a resident of Kentish Town. I have an extensive Primary education background and experience in management and leadership having been a Deputy Headteacher and Assistant Headteacher of primary schools in Southwark. Currently I run my local authority Children’s Centres and Nurseries and am the Early Years advisor for 2 outstanding Nursery Schools. I am passionate about ensuring that our children have the best start in life, reach their full potential and will leave Hawley with a love for lifelong learning.

Jayne Jones – Vice Chair of Governors

I have been on the governing body for Hawley for almost ten years as of Feb 2023. My Hawley journey started off in the Infants school building in 2010, and graduated when we moved to the all through primary school until 2017 when my children attended. I have worked in public protection policing since 2005, and specialise in Child protection investigation. I support the school in all aspects of general safeguarding such as staying safe online. We are proud in Hawley to continue to support all families and children and ensure a safe and welcoming environment for all and in a small way I hope to contribute towards this too.

Adam Driscoll

I joined the governing body as a parent governor in 2015, my three children attended Hawley Infants school with my youngest child moving to Hawley Primary when it opened. I have lived in Camden for 20 years and been involved in the entertainment industry during that time – owning and operating music venues across London and the UK, managing musical artists and building festivals. Today I am the CEO of a music company based just across the road from the school. I want to ensure that all children at Hawley have a love of learning and gain the best opportunities to develop their skills and passions.

Jackie Herald

I live in Kentish Town and am the Local Authority and SEND link governor at Hawley Primary. Having lectured in art and design history at several London art schools I have retrained as a garden designer. Underpinned by the principles of sustainability and biodiversity, one aspect of my design practice is focused on children and family health, and planting to improve air quality and mitigate against allergies and asthma. I aim to balance my design time with writing and believe that creative opportunities for children of all abilities assist their life prospects in whatever field they develop a passion for.

Debra L’Esteve 

I am passionate about inclusion and ensuring that every child in Camden has the opportunity to access the best education in an environment where they can flourish and thrive.  Hawley Primary School values reflect my own and I am resolute in ensuring that it remains a school with a heart, where pupils develop a strong sense of community.

I joined the Governing Body in 2018 and was Chair of Governors from 2019 until July 2022.  I work as Employee Relations Manager for Camden Council and prior to this role was the Senior HR Business Advisor for Schools in Camden.  As the Senior HRBA for schools I developed very close working relationships with both Governing Bodies and Headteachers throughout Camden and became very keen to become a school governor myself once.  Both my daughters attended Hawley Infant School and always say that it was the very best start they could have had to their education; they reflect on their time at the school with great fondness and so do I as a parent. 

Gene Salerno

I am the Chief Transformation Officer of an international bank based in London. I am an experienced investment manager with a background in engineering, and sponsors a broad range of strategic initiatives to modernise and optimise activities. I am a resident of Kentish Town and a parent at Hawley.

Mark Benjamin

Having joined Hawley initially as a supply/PPA cover teacher in 2018 whilst returning to London, I am currently the Year 5 teacher, with responsibility as the geography and history subject lead. I have been teaching in classrooms since 2014, with full time teaching positions across KS2, however I have enjoyed the opportunity to work across all year groups at our school. As a result of this, it has been fantastic getting to know so many pupils and their families throughout Hawley. I very much enjoy having the opportunity to provide my skills and experience to support the school and Governing Body where possible.

Ryan Pollock

My desire to become a governor is founded in my belief that all young people have the ability to succeed, despite any barriers to learning they may face. The school environment is the most important location for the development of young people to become compassionate and socially responsible citizens. Quality education shapes the direction of a child’s future. Through my work at City Year UK, an education charity which works with schools to tackle educational disadvantage, I have developed a firm understanding of diverse student and school needs and have directly witnessed the impact quality education can have on a young person’s life chances.

Hannah Day

As an avid reader since childhood, I believe literacy and education are some of the most crucial foundations for any child’s future. I’m excited to be part of the Hawley Primary School community, working alongside the staff and other governors to ensure every child at Hawley has the opportunity to find their own love of learning. I work as a communications consultant advising businesses on public affairs, corporate narrative, leadership communications, crisis and employee advocacy. My work is underpinned by promoting diverse, equitable and inclusive working environments where people can be their true selves. I look forward to using these experiences to help Hawley continue to be a warm, inclusive community where children can happily grow and reach their full potential. 

Name	Govenor Type	Term From	Term to	Roles	Attendance at Meetings 2021-2022
Mark Benjamin	Staff Governor	04 July 2022	03 July 2026		FGB 1 of 1
Adam Driscoll	Co-opted Governor	07 Oct 2023	06 Oct 2027	Resources Committe Chair	FGB 3 of 5 Resources Committee 4 of 4
Anne Fontaine	Headteacher			Headteacher	FGB 5 of 5 L&D Committee 3 of 3 Resources Committee 4 of 4
Jackie Herald	Local Authority Governor	01 Aug 2021	31 Jul 2025	SEND Link Governor STEAM Link Governor	FGB 5 of 5 Resources Committee 4 of 4
Nick Hewlett	Co-opted Governor	19 Jul 2021	18 Jul 2025	Chair of Governors EYFS Link	FGB 5 of 5 L&D Committee 3 of 3
Jayne Jones	Co-opted Governor	07 Oct 2023	06 Oct 2027	Vice Chair of Governors Safeguarding Link Governor SEND Link Governor	FGB 5 of 5 L&D Committee 3 of 3
Debra L’Esteve	Co-opted Governor	07 Oct 2023	06 Oct 2027	Parent View Link Governor Lieracy Link Governor	FGB 5 of 5 L&D Committee 3 of 3
Gene Salerno	Parent Governor	21 May 2021	20 May 2025	Maths Link Governor	FGB 5 of 5 Resources Committee 4 of 4
Ryan Pollock	Co-opted Governor				FGB 1 of 1
Hannah Day	Co-opted Governor				FGB 1 of 1
Vacancies x 2	Parent Governor

Governors in the past 12 months

Name	Governor Type	Term from	Term to	Attendance at Meetings 2021-22
Stephan Aur	Parent Governor	21 May 2021	11 July 2022	FGB 5 of 5 L&D Committee 3 of 3
Clare Hardy	Staff Governor	22 May 2017	16 May 2022	FGB 0 of 3 L&D Committee 0 of 2
Fiona O’Malony	Co-opted Governor	07 Oct 19	11 Jul 22	FGB 4 of 5 L&D Committee 3 of 3

Parent Governors

Parent Governors play an important role in representing the views and concerns to the governors and we are always looking for interested parents who want to contribute to the school in this way.

Contacting the Governors

If you are interested in the work of the Governing Body and would like to share your views, or discuss particular issues the Governors are always happy to meet with parents.

Parent Governors are often available in the morning at drop off and at parent evenings. They can be identified from their photographs on the parent noticeboard in the school courtyard.

You are also welcome to contact the Chair of Governors by letter or email via the school office.