Governors

Governors

As an Academy, the school has a contract with the Department for Education which requires the school to perform effectively in return for which the school receives funding from central government. This contract requires the school to be a registered company with Directors (we call them Governors)

The Governing Body elects a Chair and a Vice-Chair of Governors at the beginning of each academic year. The Governing Body has a Clerk.

There are four main governor committees and these are: Learning & Achievement, Personnel & Pay, Finance & Premises, Admissions

There are agreed terms of reference for each committee. Each committee elects its own Chair at the first committee meeting in the academic year. Whilst each committee has specific areas of responsibility the support of other governors may need to be sought before decisions can be implemented. The committees usually meet once a term or as required.

Responsibilities of The Governing Body

The primary role of the Governors is to carry out the day to day running of the Academy Trust in accordance with its Articles of Association and with company law.

The governing body has specific responsibilities including:

• To ensure the quality of educational provision
• To ensure that the school sets challenging targets
• The responsibility for the conduct of the school
• Ensuring policies relating to the School’s operation are prepared and reviewed
• Providing information for parents
• Managing the Academy Trust’s finances and property
• Personnel matters including staff appointments
• Pupil discipline and behaviour
• Monitoring and evaluating the activities of the school
• Ensuring that the Academy Trust complies with both charity and company law
• Preparing for and responding to OfSTED and SIAMS inspections

As part of our continuing development as a governing board we have drawn up an Effective Governance Plan, which is available to read here:-

 

 

Diversity At Chew Stoke Church School, our governance roles are composed of approximately 85% white British, 5% minority ethnic background* and 10% wishing not to share their information. Similar to pupil data, any individual who is of any origin other than white British is defined as being of minority ethnic background.   Membership of Committees 2026-27
Premises & Finance Committee Charles Cameron (committee chair) Ben Hewett Genevieve Whitby Sally Connell (SBM)  Duncan Saunders James Webber
Personnel & Pay Committee Genevieve Whitby  Ben Hewett  Mike Brayne (committee chair) Jamie Hammick
Learning and Achievement Committee Genevieve Whitby Ben Hewett Vicki Hennessy (Deputy Head Tom Attfield (Committee chair) Mary Usher Clark Carole Hope (SENDCo)
Admissions Committee Convened as and when required
Governors with Special Interests
Safeguarding	Mary Usher-Clark
Early Years	Mary Usher-Clark
SEND	Jamie Hammick
Health & Safety	James Webber
Church School Distinctiveness	Charles Cameron
Risk Register	Genevieve Whitby
Monitoring Visits	Liz Dagger (clerk)
Pupil Premium	Tom Attfield
Phonics	Mary Usher Clark
Wellbeing	Mike Brayne
Pupil Attendance	Tom Attfield
Environment & Sustainability	Duncan Saunders
Allergy Awareness	James Webber

Attendance at Meetings 2025-26

Full Governing Board

Tom Attfield	6 out of 6
Mike Brayne	5 out of 6
Charles Cameron	3 out of 3
Sally Connell	5 out of 5
Nicholas George	6 out of 6
Vicki Hennessy	1 out of 1
Ben Hewett	6 out of 6
Sue Lewis	1 out of 1
Marita Price	0 out of 2
Steve Priday	1 out of 6
Duncan Saunders	4 out of 6
Fran Smettem	3 out of 3
Mary Usher-Clark	6 out of 6
James Webber	5 out of 5
Genevieve Whitby	6 out of 6

 

Finance & Premises Committee

Charles Cameron	2 out of 2
Nicholas George	4 out of 6
Ben Hewett	6 out of 6
Marita Price	0 out of 2
Duncan Saunders	5 out of 6
Genevieve Whitby	6 out of 6

 

The Clerk to the Governors is Liz Dagger.

The Governors and Clerk may be contacted through the School Office.