Governing Body
Welcome from the Chair – Sharon Taylor
Welcome from the Chair
Kings Copse is small Primary School situated in Hedge End that has a Visual Impairment Unit attached. It is the only school in the south of Hampshire to have this and was purposely built on one level, with wider doorways and space to accommodate children with a range of varying needs.
Every year, we see a new group of children that join the family of Kings Copse. As governors we watch them develop and thrive on what the school has to offer. The staff team are committed and dedicated to each and every child with the senior leadership team knowing every child by name and able to identify strengths of each and every child.
The school has fantastic grounds, with our very own Forest outdoor area that has been redeveloped with thanks to Team Kings Copse. This is a fantastic outdoor space to facilitate learning. We also have excellent apparatus for outdoor play and development, and a wonderful area for our Early Years and Key Stage 1 children to develop and engage through play.
The governors here at Kings Copse work hard to support and challenge the leadership team. We remain strategic in our role ensuring that we focus on the 3 key areas of governance –
- Ensuring clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction
- Holding executive leaders to account for the educational performance of the organisation and it pupils, and the effective and efficient performance management of staff
- Overseeing the financial performance of the school and making sure that its money is well spent.
Children and parents may often see governors in and around school carrying out monitoring visits, meeting with children to find out about their learning and talking to staff to understand the progress and development of children in the school. We triangulate this evidence with that presented to us by the leadership team, to ensure that the school us performing as it should be.
At the heart of everything that we do is Safeguarding and along with the education and development of all the children, we have a responsibility to ensure that Safeguarding is effective across the school, that staff and children and safe from harm and that procedures and policies are followed as they should be.
We continue to be committed to the school and will do everything that we can to ensure that each and every child has a wonderful journey during their time at Kings Copse.
Sharon Taylor
Chair of Governors
Contact the Governing Board
If you would like to contact the governing board then please email the clerk to governors – Jane Parker at clerk@kingsapps.co.uk We aim to respond to your email within 5 school days.
Meet the governors
Becky Hope – Headteacher
Sharon Taylor – Chair of Governors – Parent Governor
I was elected as a Parent governor at Kings Copse Primary School in May 2021. I have worked in education for over 25 years, starting as a teacher and moving into leadership roles. I was also a Teacher Trainer delivering PGCE and Cert Ed programmes for a number of years. Before the birth of my son, I was Head of Department at a large Further Education College, managing large numbers of pupils, ensuring achievement and success and managing budgets. This included a range of off-site provision. I became a school governor 13 years ago after being asked if I could support an Infant school that was struggling with its English and maths provision.
I later went on to become a trustee on a Multi Academy Trust and later a Chair of that Trust.
After the birth of my son, I moved into school governance as a career and have spent the last 9 years supporting schools across Hampshire, Portsmouth, Southampton, Bournemouth and the Isle of Wight with school governance, developing and training governing boards and providing advice and strategic direction as required.
I now work for a MAT providing governance support to a number of schools.
With my education background and school governance knowledge, I want to be able to support the school especially during these challenging times.
Ritchie Latham – Governor - Vice Chair
I was appointed to the Kings Copse Governing Body in 2021. My career background is working in large banking organisations around the world and I hope that my experience, along with a strong desire to see the best outcomes for pupils, can be of use to the School.
I grew up in Hedge End (although I attended a rival Primary school) and my daughter is an ex-pupil of Kings Copse, so I am very happy to be able to do something that benefits the pupils, the school, and the wider community here.
I currently have responsibility for Safeguarding.
Andy Dickie – Parent Governor
I have been part of the governing body for Kings Copse School since October 2018. I have two daughters at the school. My working back ground for the past 20 years has been in sports coaching. 18 of these year's with Southampton FC. Primarily football but now every aspect of sports. For many of these years I worked in schools with all ages of children.
Having seen first-hand the importance of education right from day one of school to the very last day. I feel I have transferable skills which could help to ensure children are in an amazing environment, this is why I became a Governor.
Anna Adams - Parent Govenor
I joined the governing body in November 2022 as a parent governor. I have been a parent ot Kings
Copse for the last 6 years and will continue to be for another 4 years. I have been a teacher for 17years, with the last 10 years working as the Special Eductaional Needs Coordinator as well as a designated safeguarding lead. I also deliver the Early Carers Teacher Programme within the Multi Academy Trust that I work for. I decided to become a governor as I wanted to give something back to the school community. I feel
that with my education background I can support the school in striving to encourage the children to be the best that they can be.
Simon Hassett – Co-opted Governor
I was appointed to the Kings Copse governing body in November 2023 and I have three daughters at the school. I am the founder of a company based in Hedge End that provides hardware, software and educational resources to secondary schools in 14 countries. My 15+ years experience of starting and running companies means that I can offer insights and assistance in a number of areas within the school.
Florence Hubert - Co-opted Governor
I was appointed to the governing board in late 2024. I decided to volunteer at Kings Copse to give back to my community. I bring to the role my experience of working in economics as well as my volunteering experience in sports' clubs. I am enjoying learning about school governance and I am focussed on supporting the school in enhancing the educational outcomes of all our pupils here at Kings Copse.
Lee Wotman - Co-opted Governor
I have been a co-opted Governor at Kings Copse Primary School since April 2024. As well as joining to mainly assist with vitally important Health & Safety, I have recently taken on the role of Development and Training Governor. I enjoy playing an active role in helping to maintain the schools’ excellent values and standards & contributing to the schools ongoing educational success and ensuring that every child is given the opportunity to receive a quality education. As an experienced professional and business manager, I hope i can bring transferable skills to assist the school on their continually developing journey and strive for excellence.
Chris Bishop - Co-opted Governor
I was appointed to the governing board in July 2025. Having young children myself, I am deeply invested in ensuring all children at Kings Copse get the best possible start in their educational journey. I chose to volunteer as a way to give back to my local community and support the school’s continued success. Professionally, I bring a background in digital marketing, e-commerce, and data analysis. I look forward to applying these skills to support the strategic direction of the school and help the board make data-driven decisions for the benefit of all our pupils.
Tracey Sellars - Staff Governor
I became a Staff Governor in October 2025. Prior to that I worked as a trainer for a bank and after my children were born, I became SENCO at a local preschool for 7 years. I have worked at Kings Copse since 2013 in various roles, currently, Learning and Inclusion Support. I am particularly passionate about Pupil Wellbeing, supporting the whole child so that all of our children can fulfil their own potential. I am looking forward to supporting the school in a different way in my role as staff governor, taking on a more strategic role and continuing to ensure that every child can achieve.
Cat Smallpiece - Parent Governor
