Goldstone Primary School & Little Owls Nursery

I have two boys at Goldstone (in years 3 and 5) and have been a parent governor since March 2019. I am the chair of the Finance, HR and Estates sub-committee and am the governor subject lead for the maths and the citizenship/PSHE/SRE areas.

Away from Goldstone I have worked as a civil servant in central government for nearly 20 years and am currently a Deputy Director in the Department for International Trade, having previously worked in the Home Office, Department for Work and Pensions and Department for Education.

I hope that this has given me a broad range of skills and experience that I can draw on as a school governor to help maintain Goldstone as a great place for our children to learn and grow.

I became the Minister of Goldstone Church in 2015, leading a congregation that has met at Goldstone School since 1991. My grand-daughter was at Goldstone, so I wanted to be more involved in the life of the school. As a result, I was really pleased to be made a co-opted governor from September 2022.

Prior to becoming a church Minister, my professional background was as an accountant, mainly in the charity sector.

Together with my fellow governors, I look forward to ensuring that Goldstone School continues to be the great place for young people to grow and learn.

I came to Goldstone Primary school in September 2015 to teach whole class music as a subject specialism around the school. In this role I have been privileged to teach every year group from nursery to year 6, to lead the school choir and orchestra and support our whole school music and performance curriculum. Before coming to Goldstone, I taught as a class teacher in various year groups at schools in Brighton &Hove and East Sussex. I have three children and have served as a parent governor in the past, I am enthusiastic about community engagement and working with others to create and maintain opportunities for all our children. 

I am excited to be part of the governing body and represent my colleagues at our dynamic and forward-looking school. I am particularly interested in equality and diversity and strengthening engagement with all of our community stakeholders.

I have two sons who are currently at Goldstone and have always wanted to contribute and give back to the school.

My background is in education and working with young people. I have spent twelve years as a Secondary and Sixth Form teacher and, while teaching became a Widening Participation Coordinator, working with students who were first in their family to apply to university. As someone from a similar background, I have always valued a good foundation in education and the importance of widening access to opportunities and a supportive learning environment.

While taking a career break to bring up my sons, I tutored and supported students hoping to get to university, working with students with special educational needs, which has given me a different perspective on teaching and was incredibly rewarding. I have an insight into working for the school as a breakfast club playworker, supporting Year 3 children, which was fulfilling and has showed me the importance of a good start to the day for children attending the club. In the past three years, I have been a Personal Tutor at BHASVIC, where I have taught students a range of PSHE topics, including looking after your mental health and wellbeing, which is so important for young people. As a parent governor I hope to play a positive role in shaping the development of the school and making sure it continues as a fantastic place for children to learn and grow.

I am Councillor Faiza Baghoth. I was honoured to join the excellent team of diversely talented and experienced Governors as a Co-opted Governor in 2022. I am also a member of the School’s Anti- Racist Steering Group.

I am a qualified doctor and apart from the degree in medicine, I have acquired the following qualifications in Cambridge ESOL Level 5 Certificate, Level 2 Award in Support Work in Schools, a certificate in Health and Well-being to mention but a few. Since moving to Brighton about twenty years ago, I  have worked and volunteered with local voluntary organizations like the Hangleton and Knoll Project, H&K Multicultural Women’s group,  Macmillan cancer awareness group and Syrian community group.

I am a mother of three and I am passionate that every child gets access to good quality education that enables them fair competition wherever they go, because I believe they are the future. Their health and wellbeing is core to their achievements. Therefore I will work with my fellow Governors and the School to ensure every child gets the opportunity to develop and persevere regardless of their social, economic, ethnic background or their individual setbacks.

Having lived and studied in different countries with different cultures, I speak several languages among which is Dutch, Arabic and Swahili. I hope my diversity of experiences and languages will be an asset to the School’s Governing Body.

Co-opted Governor