Chieveley Primary School
Welcome from the Chair of Governors
Welcome to Chieveley Primary School. Each new academic year brings fresh opportunities for both our pupils and staff to flourish and grow. I am a great believer 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. I am both proud and confident of the environment Chieveley Primary School has created under the leadership of our Headteacher, Mr Marriott.
At one of the first assemblies of this new school year, my daughter mentioned that Mr Marriott had explained to them who wore the various coloured lanyards at the school and what roles they had; Governors wear yellow lanyards so you will no doubt be able to spot us around the school site and especially at events!
I thought it would be helpful to explain to you why Chieveley has governors, who they are and what role they play. I will keep it snappy as I suspect you have other areas of the website you also want to look at.
As a brief introduction to me, I’ve been a Governor since October 2020 and took over as Chair of Governors in October 2022. I have a daughter at the school and my wife, Caroline, is on the PTA. I work with an amazing team of Governors and staff and am very much looking forward to the year ahead.
I do my fair share of drop-offs and pick-ups, so feel free to grab me for a chat in the playground or the reception team can always arrange a catch up if that works better for you.
I very much hope you enjoy the school and the inclusive culture we aim to create.
Very best wishes,
Graham Morrison (Chair of 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 Marriott’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 |
Parent Governors | 2 | Voted in by the parents for a four year term. | Graham Morrison, Sarah Blundell |
Co-opted Governors | 7 | Appointed to the Board by the other Governors for a four year term. These governors bring specific skills or experience. | Andrew Taylor, Simon Collins, Maria Collins, Victoria Brown, Kate Finch, Richard Parker, Fiona Armstrong |
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. | Karin Carter Keall |
Clerk of Governors | 1 |
| Jo Campbell |
Head Teacher | 1 |
| Michael Harris |
In September 2023, I was very pleased to announce that Fiona Armstrong agreed to join the Governing Board as our Safeguarding Governor, replacing Sally Miles who retired in August 2023. This is a key role and Fiona joins us with a wealth of experience. We pass on our sincere thanks to Sally who had filled the role for the previous 3 years.
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. Jo Campbell is an instrumental part of the Governing Board and ensures we meet our compliance obligations and keep detailed records of Governing Board’s activities. Jo has previously worked for Chieveley as School Business Manager.
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 Marriott 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.
Dates of Full Governor Board meetings 2023/24 - all 6pm in school
As at 27th September 2023, 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 |
| Graham Morrison | Parent governor 15/10/20 to 14/10/24 | Chair of governors Vice chair of Finance committee |
Victoria Brown | Co-opted governor 12/7/17 to 18/7/25 | Chair of Curriculum and development working group |
Karin Carter Keall | Local Authority governor 13/8/20 to12/8/24 | Curriculum and development working group Vice chair Child and staff protection working group |
| 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 |
| Richard Parker | Co-opted governor 29/1/2020 to 19/12/2028 | Chair of Finance committee |
| Sarah Theunissen | Staff governor 1/10/20 to 30/9/24 | Development working group Chair of Child and staff protection working group Business as usual working group |
Simon Collins | Co-opted governor 21/1/2021 to 20/1/2025 | Inclusion governor Curriculum and development group Finance Committee |
| Kate Finch | Co-opted governor 21/1/2021 to 20/1/2025 | Business as usual working group, Finance committee Health and Safety governor |
| Sarah Blundell | Parent Governor 12/10/21 to 11/10/25 | Vice chair of governors Development working group Able students |
| Maria Collins | Co-opted Governor 23/11/22 to 22/11/26 | Finance committee |
| Fiona Armstrong | Co-opted Governor 27/9/23 to 26/9/27 | Safeguarding governor Child and staff protection working group |
Jo Campbell | Clerk appointed 26/3/20 | Clerk to governors Clerk to Finance committee (from 21/7/21) |
| Ruth Jones | School Business Manager (advisor) | Finance committee - non voting |
| Name of Governor | Relevant business interests | Relationships with the school staff* |
|---|---|---|
| Victoria Brown | None | None |
| Lucy Hislop | None | None |
| Karin Carter-Keall | None | None |
| Michael Harris | Employee of the school | None |
| Graham Morrison | Wife works for Ernest & Young | None |
| Richard Parker | None | None |
| Sarah Theunissen | Employee of the school | None |
| Simon Collins | None | None |
| Kate Finch | None | None |
| Sarah Blundell | Shareholder in 100 Percent IT | None |
| Maria Collins | None | None |
| Ruth Jones | Employee of the school | None |
| Jo Campbell | Employee of the school | None |
| Fiona Armstrong | None | None |
ATTENDANCE REGISTER OF FULL GOVERNING BOARD
Name of Governor | Attendance 2023/24 (meetings attended /total) | Name of Governor | Attendance 2022/23 (meetings attended /total) |
| Victoria Brown | 8/8 | Victoria Brown | 6/6 |
| Sarah Theunissen | 5/7 | Sarah Blundell | 6/6 |
| Sarah Blundell | 8/8 | Simon Collins | 5/6 |
| Simon Collins | 7/8 | Karin Carter Keall | 5/6 |
| Karin Carter Keall | 7/8 | Angus Marriott | 6/6 |
| Angus Marriott | 7/8 | Sally Miles | 4/5 |
| Kate Finch | 8/8 | Graham Morrison | 6/6 |
| Graham Morrison | 8/8 | Andrew Taylor | 3/6 |
| Richard Parker | 7/8 | Sarah Theunissen | 6/6 |
| Andrew Taylor | 0/4 | Kate Finch | 5/6 |
Fiona Armstrong | 5/8 | Maria Collins | 4/5 |
| Maria Collins | 2/2 | Richard Parker | 6/6 |
| Michael Harris | 1/1 |
GOVERNORS WHO LEFT THE GOVERNING BOARD during academic years 2022/2023 and 2023/24
| Governor | Appointment body, date of leaving |
| Sally Miles | co-opted resigned 5/8/23 |
| Andrew Taylor | co-opted resigned 24/1/24 |
| Angus Marriott | Headteacher - resigned 14/4/24 |