Chieveley Primary School
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
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 | 4 | Appointed to the Board by the other Governors for a four year term. These governors bring specific skills or experience. | Sarah Blundell Maria Collins Clare Mills 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:
What do we do?
The Board has three core functions:
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.
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 | Working Groups |
| Finance Committee |
|
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 30th January 2025, 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 |
| Chair of Governors, Finance Committee, Chair of Curriculum and development working group |
Emma Cahill |
| Vice Chair, Safeguarding |
| Michael Harris | Headteacher from 16/4/24 | Finance committee Curriculum and development working group Business as usual working group Child and staff protection working group |
| Brett Melvill-Smith | Parent Governor 20/11/24-19/11/28 | Chair of Finance committee |
| Sarah Theunissen | Staff Governor 1/10/20 to 2/7/28 | Development working group Chair of Child and staff protection working group Business as usual working group |
| Sarah Blundell | Parent Governor 12/10/21 | Chair of Governors Development working group Able students |
| Ben Johnson | Parent Governor 12/25 | |
| Maria Collins | Co-opted Governor 23/11/22 to 22/11/26 | Finance committee Inclusion governor |
Julie Astall | Clerk | Clerk to governors Clerk to Finance committee |
| Clare Mills | Co-opted Governor 29/1/25 - 29/1/29 | Health and Safety |
| Amy Page | School Business Manager (advisor) | Finance committee - non voting |
| 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 |
| Clare Mills | None | None |
| Sarah Theunissen | Employee of the school | None |
| Maria Collins | None | None |
| Amy Page | Employee of the school | None |
ATTENDANCE REGISTER OF FULL GOVERNING BOARD
Name of Governor | Attendance 2025/26 (meetings attended /total) |
| Sarah Blundell | |
| Emma Cahill | |
| Brett Melvill-Smith | |
| Michael Harris | |
| Ben Johnson | |
| Clare Mills | |
| Sarah Theunissen | |
| Maria Collins | |
| Amy Page |