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Governors

Welcome from the Governors

Welcome to Chieveley Primary School. Each new academic year brings fresh opportunities for both our pupils and staff to flourish and grow. We are great believers that school should be more than a place to be taught; it should provide an environment which allows pupils to develop their personalities, social skills and empathy, and help prepare them for their next steps in life. For that to happen, the school needs to have the right people and the right culture. We are both proud and confident of the environment Chieveley Primary School has created under the leadership of our Headteacher, Mr Harris.
 

We thought it would be helpful to explain to you why Chieveley has governors, who they are and what role they play. We will keep it snappy as we suspect you have other areas of the website you also want to look at.
 

We very much hope you enjoy the school and the inclusive culture we aim to create.
 

Very best wishes,

Chieveley School Governors

Why does the School have Governors?

The Local Authority requires our school to have a Governing Board. The Board is the school’s legally accountable body and is there to provide a strategic oversight, rather than being involved in the day-to-day operations of the school (that is Mr Harris's job!) The instrument appointing the Governing Board is attached below.

Who are the Governors and how are they appointed?

Our Board currently comprises of:

 

No

Appointment

Who

               Chair of Governors

     1                    Sarah Blundell
                    Vice-Chair     1                   Emma Cahill

Parent Governors

2

Voted in by the parents for a four year term.

Brett Melvill-Smith

Ben Johnson

Co-opted Governors

 

Appointed to the Board by the other Governors for a four year term. These governors bring specific skills or experience.

Sarah Blundell

Emma Cahill 

Staff Governor

1

Voted in by staff for a four year term.

Sarah Theunissen

Local Authority Governor

1

Nominated by the Local Authority and appointed by the Board for a four year term.

Position vacant

Clerk of Governors

1

  

Julie Astall

Head Teacher

1

  

Michael Harris

The role of Governor is voluntary and non-paid. As a Board, we undertake a skills assessment to ensure we have an appropriate cross section of skills and abilities to fulfil our mandate. Where we identify a skills gap, we look to co-opted governors who can bring those additional skills. It should be noted that a number of the co-opted governors do not have children at the school, however, take on these roles to provide the school with be benefit of their time and experience. We are extremely grateful to these individuals, as they provide the Governing Board with much greater breadth and depth of knowledge.

We also have our Clerk of Governors, without whom we would not be able to achieve what we do. Julie Astall is an instrumental part of the Governing Board and ensures we meet our compliance obligations and keep detailed records of Governing Board’s activities. 

How often do we meet?

The Full Governing Board (FGB) meets 7 times a year. In addition we have three working groups, one committee and governors with specific roles (see below) who report to the FGB at each meeting. The Working Groups, Committee and Governors with specific roles work closely with Mr Harris and the staff during the year to provide oversight and discuss compliance. 

The Governors with specific roles are:

  • Safeguarding (Emma Cahill)
  • Finance Chair (Brett Melvill-Smith)
  • Staff (Sarah Theunissen)

What do we do?

The Board has three core functions:

  • Ensuring clarity of the vision, ethos and strategic direction.
  • Holding the executive leaders to account for the educational performance of the school and its 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.

In order to fulfil our mandate, we have a Finance Committee to provide challenge and oversight around how the school spends its money. We also have working groups which focus on the welfare needs of the pupils and staff and also the pupil’s educational development and performance.

With governors representing the Local Authority, parents, wider community and staff, we feel the Governing Board represents all the key stakeholders at the school.

Governance Documents

  1. Instrument of Government Chieveley 2015
    PDF File
  2. Chieveley Approved Standing Orders 2024
    PDF File
  3. Finance Committee Terms of reference 2024
    PDF File

Structure of the Governing Body

To ensure effective and efficient management in the school, the governing body has sub-committees and working groups responsible for key areas of the management of the school.

Sub-committees and working parties report in to the Full Governing Body, which meets at least 6 times a year.  Minutes from these meetings can be requested from the school office.

As at 10th July 2026, the governors and their responsibilities are as follows:

Governor 

Appointment body,

date of appointment and

term of office

Committee and Working Group membership

and responsibilities

Sarah Blundell

Date of first appointment: 12 October 2021

12th October 2025-11th October 2029 

Chair of Governors, Finance Committee

Emma Cahill

Date of first appointment: 9 May 2025

8 September 2025 - 7th September 2029

Vice Chair, Safeguarding
Michael Harris

Headteacher

from 16/4/24

Finance committee

Curriculum and development working group

 
Brett Melvill-Smith

Parent Governor

Date of first appointment: 20th November 2024

20/11/24-19/11/28 

Chair of Finance committee
Sarah Theunissen

Staff Governor

Date of first appointment: 13 July 2020

3rd July 2024 - 2 July 2028

 
Ben Johnson

Parent Governor

Date of first appointment: 20 November 2025 

20 November 2025 - 19 November 2029 

  

Julie Astall

Clerk  

Clerk to governors 

Clerk to Finance committee 
Amy Page School Business Manager (advisor) Finance committee - non voting


REGISTER OF BUSINESS INTERESTS - SEPTEMBER 2025 TO AUGUST 2026

Name of Governor

Relevant business

interests

Relationships

with the

school staff*
Sarah Blundell None None
Emma Cahill None None
Brett Melvill-Smith None None
Michael Harris Employee of the school None
Ben Johnson None None
Sarah Theunissen Employee of the school None
Amy Page Employee of the school None

ATTENDANCE REGISTER OF FULL GOVERNING BOARD

Name

FGB meetings

Finance committee meetings
 

24/09/25

19/11/25

28/01/26

11/03/26

29/04/26

06/05/26

23/09/25

11/11/25

13/01/26

10/03/26

22/04/26

30/06/26

Michael H

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Sarah B

Y

N

Y

Y

N

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Emma C

Y

Y

Y

N

Y

Y

            

Ben J

(appointed

20/11/25)

N/A

N/A

Y

Y

Y

Y

            

Brett MS

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Sarah T

N

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

            

Maria C

(left 1/6/26)

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

N/A

Clare M

(left 30/6/26)

Y

Y

Y

Y

N

N

            

Karin CK

(left 28/01/26)

Y

Y

Y

N/A

N/A

N/A

            
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
 

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