Trustees and Governors are responsible for the general control and management of the school’s administration in accordance with the provisions set out in the memorandum and articles of association.
They are the accountable body for the performance of the school and as such, must:
i. Ensure clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction;
ii. Hold the Senior Leadership to account for the educational performance of the school and the pupils and the performance management of staff;
iii. Oversee the financial performance of the school and make sure its money is well spent
Trustees and Governors delegate responsibility for the day-to-day operation of the school to the Co-Headteachers.
Trustees
- Howard Zetter
- Michael Kutner
- Ali Durban
- Lee Portnoi
- Sarah Sultman
- Steven Daniels
Governors
RAMA VENCHARD
Chair of Governors
Having worked in the retail, hospitality and banking sectors for over 20 years, Rama has run his own project management consultancy supporting schools and colleges for over 15 years. He is the Chair of Trustees of an academy trust of 20 primary schools and the Vice Chair of Trustees on a family board of 15 special schools and 7 college centres for young adults with SEND. He has over 10 years of governance experience and is a member of the NGA’s National Leaders of Governance Advisory Panel and a member of the DfE’s new London Regional Director’s Advisory Board. His passions are music, food and the company of good friends. Please contact the Chair of Governors here: [email protected]
ALI DURBAN
Governor & Trustee
Ali is the co-founder of Gesher, and founder of the Gesher Assessment Centre. Ali's journey from exhausted SEND parent to co-founder of a thriving school community has transformed her into a ringleader for system-wide transformation. Ali currently chairs a SEND council for the Foundation of Education Development which is creating a 10-year plan and vision for UK education. Ali also sits on the Education Council for the Autism Centre of Excellence.RON BROWN
Governor
Ron is a senior professional and specialist in Adult and Children's Social Care, Health and SEND delivery, who has worked extensively in local government, not for profit organisations and commercial organisations. Originally qualifying as a social worker, followed by an MBA in Corporate Finance, Ron has over 30 years’ experience in the care sector where he has specialised in learning disability and autism. He has a strong track record of performance across a number of very challenging operating environments where he has achieved turnaround by targeting care quality and practice improvement alongside commerciality. He is currently Director of Care at HSN Care Ltd. Ron’s previous roles include Director of Services and Nominated Individual at Norwood, Head of Service (Integrated Learning Disability Service) at the London Borough of Hackney and Principal Consultant (Capita Procurement Solutions) Capita Ltd.JANE ROME
Governor
Jane Rome is Managing Director at Insight Strategy Limited, a retail management consultancy specialising in consumer and market research for the retail sector. The company also delivers strategic brand positioning and buying and merchandising training working with several HE institutions and well-known retail brands. Jane is a NED for a Promotional Marketing company where she mentors the senior management team and is also a mentor for the charity G2G and a judge for the Young Enterprise Scheme.
STEVEN DANIELS
Governor & Trustee
Steven is a Fellow of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries. He spent virtually his entire career working as an investment manager. He spent over 20 years at Liverpool Victoria (LV=) where he ran the investment subsidiary for many years. He was a Director of the Group and was heavily involved in their mergers and acquisition activity. He retired from LV in 2010.He spent about a year consulting before he was hired to set up an investment management company for Tesco’s staff pension fund which had almost 100 people working in it by the time he retired (again) in 2021.He has been Chairman, Treasurer and Warden of Pinner Synagogue and was on the Investment and Burial Committees of the United Synagogue for many years. He was also a member of the Investment Committee of the Alzheimer’s Society for nine years.He is currently an Independent Member of the Investment Committee of St James’s Place and a non-executive director of Edge Future Capital, a venture capital investment management company.PER SIMONSSON
Governor
Per was born in Sweden and moved with his late wife and his children to the UK in 1985. He was working in the computer industry for 40 years until his retirement in 2012. During the last 10 years of his career he specialized in contract management in the Financial sector. Per has been involved with the Board of Management of his local synagogue for 30 years with various responsibilities including Health & Safety for approximately 3 years. He is also the Deputy National Chairman for a Cultural Society for elderly.DAVID SUMMERS
Associate Governor
After Newcastle University, David enjoyed a 30-year career with Shell in their UK and overseas petrochemical, coal, and oil businesses. In 1996, David established a consultancy, servicing oil and manufacturing companies in USA, UK, Africa, and the Indian Subcontinent. He was also a project funding advisor to Shell’s environmental UK CSR step-out. Simultaneously David became a board member on Harrow Council’s Strategic Partnership, Chair of Greener Harrow, Chair of the Community Engagement Forum, a member of the Project Development Board, and an adviser to Harrow Town Centre & Major Projects Panel. In 2004, David as de facto Facilities Manager of Pinner Synagogue, commenced a complete refurbishment and re-engineering of the safety and security infrastructure. He is a member of the Synagogue’s security management team. In 2014, David successfully managed a complex 3-year planning application process and the licensing / permission to establish an Eruv for the Pinner Jewish Community. He subsequently jointly project-managed its construction and remains involved. David also advises residents on planning applications which, on one occasion, included representing them in the High Court. He is a member of the Royal Society of Chemistry, the Energy Institute, Pinner Probus and B’nai B’rith UK.GRAHAM SHERLING
Associate Governor
Graham is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales. He spent his whole career in practice becoming a partner in Gibson Appleby in 1982 and became a partner in Hillier Hopkins LLP when they merged in 1996 before leaving in 2010 and becoming a sole practitioner. He semi-retired in February 2023. Graham will be joining the Infrastructure to provide valuable expertise in financial aspects.PAUL HODGKINSON
Associate Governor
Paul started working at Youth Challenge Pupil Referral Unit in 1997 and held numerous positions there. He started as a voluntary mentor before becoming a class teacher and eventually the Teacher in Charge in 2003. During his time as Teacher in Charge, Youth Challenge was twice judged to be Outstanding by Ofsted. Paul became the Manager of the Bolton Pupil Referral Service in 2010 and supervised the federation of all of Bolton’s PRUs. In 2014 he also become the Interim Executive Headteacher of Lever Park School where he worked with the staff team on a Rapid Improvement Plan which eventually resulted in the School being moved out of Special Measure. In 2016 he became the new Executive Principal of the Bolton Impact Trust. In total, Paul’s Schools and Academies have been judged Outstanding by Ofsted on eight separate occasions.
Paul has advised the DfE, Local Authorities and Schools on Leadership, Behaviour Management Strategy, Alternative Provision and Special School funding and Governance. He also recently co-chaired the Foundation for Education Development’s AP/SEND Council. Paul currently sits on three School Trust Boards and is also the Chair of Trustees for a local charity which supports young adults with Special Educational Needs.
MARK COHEN
Governor
Mark works as an IT Consultant for a global engineering firm leading a team of 30, advising clients on all aspects of IT and technology in their new building design & construction projects, he has responsibility for all areas of running the business unit including HR, finance, and project delivery.JONATHAN MINDELL
Governor
Jonathan has had a career-long focus on improving customer engagement, with sector experience spanning financial & business services, healthcare, employee benefits and travel. He has worked for some of the world’s best regarded service organisations including Marks & Spencer, Prudential, Bupa and Citibank and, more recently, Mercer, the global human resources consultancy where he was Senior Partner. Having ‘escaped’ from the corporate world, Jonathan is currently the UK CEO for the global ‘virtual’ management consultancy, Internal Consulting Group (ICG). In addition he sits on the Corporate Advisory Board for Rainbow Trust, the charity that supports the families of seriously ill children; and lectures at Brunel University, where he delivers the Career Development module on the MBA programme. He was Vice Chairman and Chairman of Pinner United Synagogue for six years, during which time he was also Chairman of Governors for the synagogue nursery school. For the last 8 years he has been both a judge and Business Adviser for Young Enterprise.ANNABEL ROSE
Governor
Annabel is the Deputy Head at Kerem School, where she leads on teaching, learning, and assessment, ensuring high standards of education and pupil progress. She is dedicated to fostering a learning environment where every child is challenged, supported and inspired. She has a particular interest in designing and implementing innovative curricula that are both relevant to the modern world and tailored to meet the individual needs of our pupils at Kerem. In addition to her role at Kerem School, she is currently a Lira Winston Fellow, participating in a programme focused on nurturing and developing future heads in Jewish schools.BRADLEY HARTSTONE
Parent Governor
Bradley is the Group Managing Director of a successful chain of luxury Jewellers and leads a team of over 40 employees. He over looks every aspect of the company, from the buying and manufacturing of goods to the smooth running of the retail stores. He is the Vice Chairman of the Hatton Garden BID, representing his fellow jewellers in the Hatton Garden area. Bradley is also a qualified building and quantity surveyor and started his professional career in this area before moving into the jewellery world.Committees
Gesher School GB Committees_Sep24
Governor Constitution
Gesher School GB Constitution_Sep24
Governor Attendance Information
Gesher- FGB meeting attendance 2023-2024
