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Sherston C of E

Primary School

Learning, Caring and Achieving Together

Meet the Governors

 

THE GOVERNING BOARD

All members of the Governing board can be contacted via the School Office

STAFF GOVERNORS

Tommy Towers

Head Teacher Ex-officio by virtue of office as Headteacher/Principal

Member of Teaching, Learning & Staffing Committee and Finance and Premises Committee

 

01/09/23 ex officio

 

Anna Glassborow

Staff Governor Appointed by GB/board

School Admin Officer, Member of Finance and Premises Committee

Link Governor for Equalities

 

01/09/24-01/09/26

NON STAFF GOVERNORS

Belinda Robinson

Chair of Governors (Co-opted - Appointed by GB/board)

Member of Finance and Premises Committee

Link Governor for Communications, Community, Website Safety and GDPR

Co-opted Governor

24/04/24 - 23/04/26

25/05/22-24/04/24

Parent Governor

14/11/18-25/05/22

I have been a Governor at the School since 2018 and was elected Chair of Governors in September 2020. I have a child who was at Sherston and have always felt very lucky to have such a good and well supported school on our doorstep so became a governor in the hope that I could bring a positive contribution to the school and its future.  I have found being a governor very rewarding and it has given me great insight into the challenges schools are facing and the dedication and commitment that goes into providing our children with the highest level of education and care.  

I owned and rAn an on-line retail business where I oversaw all areas including Finance, Marketing, Customer Service and Compliance. My strategic, finance and leadership skills equip me to enable and contribute to all areas of Governance to ensure the successful development of the school. 

Dominic Koole

Vice Chair of Governors

Co-opted Governor Appointed by GB/board

Member of Teaching and Learning Committee

Link Governor for Safeguarding

24/05/23-23/05/25

I moved to Sherston with my family in 2021, having previously grown up in Gloucestershire, and love living in a thriving village. I joined the governing body to support the school and village to continue to thrive, giving the best possible experiences to local children. 

I have always passionately believed that a great education can transform lives and set young people up to succeed, whatever their starting point. I started my career working in the Department for Education, working on teacher training policy, among other areas. I then spent a number of years working at United Learning, one of the largest and most successful academy sponsors in the country. This gave me the opportunity to work very closely with many schools around the country, at different stages of their growth and development. 

I am now Head of Operations at Jamie’s Farm, a charity that works with vulnerable young people who are at risk of social or academic exclusion. I have the pleasure of working across a wide range of the charity’s business and meeting hundreds of wonderful young people in the process.

Ben Warnes

Parent Governor

Member of Finance & Premises Committee

Link Governor for H&S

21/07/23-20/07/27

I moved to Sherston in 2021 along with my wife and two boys, the eldest of which is just completing reception year at the school. Being at the beginning of the ‘school’ journey and with a long term plan to stay in Sherston it feels an ideal time to both get more involved in the community but crucially the school which with my boys ages I have a strong interest in. I am a qualified chartered engineer, and having traded large scale particle physics experiments for consumer products - initially in technology development but more recently in more strategic roles, I feel I have a broad range of skills I can draw on that would be of value to the role of parent governor. From strong interpersonal skills, facilitation of strategic working groups to managing ambitious stakeholders. Through these experiences and skills I feel I can make a valuable contribution to the Sherston Primary school governor team.

Martin Smith

Co-opted Governor Appointed by GB/board

Member of Finance and Premises Committee

Link Governor for Sustainability

29/01/24 - 28/01/26

30/01/20-29/01/24

 

I have lived in Sherston for over 30 years and my 3 children attended both Sherston and Malmesbury Schools. I can bring some experience to the Governor role, as I was initially a governor at Sherston from 1996 to 2003 as Vice-Chair for much of the period, involved in plans for school extensions and then in the new building, which we enjoy today. I then became a governor at Malmesbury School from 2003 to 2015 with periods of being Vice-Chair and Chairman of the Curriculum Committee. I was on the panel that appointed a very successful headteacher, who achieved an outstanding OFSTED inspection for Malmesbury. He is now CEO of the Athelstan Trust, that currently runs 5 secondary schools. I’m very community minded as I’m on Sherston Parish Council, I’m secretary of Sustainable Sherston and on the steering committee of Malmesbury Climate Action Network. I’m also Chair of Members of the Athelstan Trust, which is the top tier of the trust governance structure. In May 2021, I was elected as the Wiltshire Councillor for the Sherston Division. 
 
With all the above commitments, it's just as well that I have retired from my 40 year career in IT, as a Senior Project Manager in software development and can now spend much of my time working for the community of Sherston.

Nicola Atwell

Local Authority Governor 

Co-Chair of Teaching & Learning

Link Governor for Curriculum (humanity subjects)

11/07/23-10/07/25

Having bought our first home in Sherston in 2009 and being brought up in Hawkesbury Upton, I am proud to be a local! After studying Music and Arts at The BRIT School in London and working for the BBC Classical Television Department, I ventured into teaching where I have led the music departments at both Colston's Independant and Westonbirt School. I am currently still teaching at Westonbirt where I run the Westonbirt Community Choir and outreach projects with local feeder schools.  As a passionate champion of the arts, I am excited to join the Governing Body at Sherston School where I feel I can bring my experience in education, teacher training and creative arts to help support the school, staff and pupils in its continuation as a thriving village school. 

Mike Ward

Parent Governor

Chair of Finance and Premises

10/10/22-09/10/26
I am a qualified accountant and a Partner within a local firm of accountants. I have over 20 years experience in accounting and finance. I hope to use the experience i have gained to benefit the finance function of the school. I am local to Sherston having lived in the village most of my life so I am very passionate about ensuring the community continues to thrive.  I have young children of my own who already or will attend the school so i certainly have a vested interest in the success of the school.

Alex St John Wright

Co-opted Governor

Co-Chair of Teaching & Learning 

Link Governor for Curriculum (Core Subjects)

29/03/23-28/03/25
We moved from Bristol to Luckington in late 2021 and both my children started at Sherston immediately, in Year 1 and Year 3. They have settled so quickly into this lovely school.  However, as a primary school teacher near Stroud, I don’t often get the chance to attend school events or be around in normal school time, so it was a great opportunity to be able to join the governing body and be a part of the wider school community. I have been a Year 5/6 teacher for 13 years, as well as being a staff governor at my school in the past. My specialism is in writing and I have been a moderator for the county for KS2 assessments and am currently undertaking an NPQ in Leading Literacy.  Outside of school, I enjoy playing guitar, board games and the odd game of football when the creaking knees permit. I look forward to helping the school move forward as a governor. 

Heather Martin

Foundation Governor

Member of Teaching & Learning

Link Governor for EYFS and Ethos

 

 

ASSOCIATE GOVERNORS

Ben Parkyn

Associate Governor Appointed by GB

Member of F&P Committee

Link Governor for Sport Premium and Communications

18/09/2024 - 17/09/2026

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have a child currently at the school with another likely to join him in the coming years and I would very much like to ensure a valuable early education for them and the other children of the village. 

 

I currently work as a business analyst where there is always the need to understand the environment in order to suggest and implement improvements. I believe these skills will be transferable to help challenge the school to ensure it has a clear strategy with related goals, as well as help ensure there is a coherent set of actions to help the school achieve its strategic aims. 

 

On a personal level, a large part of my life has been dedicated to children’s basketball coaching. Everything from introductory sessions for primary school children through to coaching at a regional level. 

Camille Sowersby

Associate Governor Appointed by GB

Member of T&L Committee

Link Governor for SEND, PP and Wellbeing

18/09/2024-17/09/2026

As a relatively new arrival in Sherston, my husband and I have been so impressed by the village and we were keen to get involved to support the place we’ve come to love. Our daughter is only 5 months old, but I so want her to attend Sherston primary when she’s ready and I’d really like to offer my services to try to help the school in the meantime.

 

As a solicitor and manager of a very keen legal team within a charity, I hope I have some skills to offer. I have dedicated my career to helping disadvantaged members of society obtain legal representation and through that I have always worked closely with public bodies. I am also a safeguarding specialist (although focusing on adults with additional needs, rather than children), which I hope may be useful.

 

 

GOVERNING BODY SUB – COMMITTEES (2024/25)
Finance PremisesTeaching, Learning and Staffing 

Mike Ward (Chair)

Tommy Towers (HT)

Belinda Robinson

Martin Smith

Anna Glassborow

Ben Warnes

Ben Parkyn

Sarah Mackrill (SBM)

 

Alex St John Wright (Co-Chair)

Nicola Atwell (Co-Chair)

Tommy Towers (HT)

Dominic Koole

Heather Martin

Camille Sowersby

 

 

 

LINK GOVERNOR ROLES (2023/24)
Health & SafetyBen Warnes
SafeguardingBecky Fisher
WellbeingCamille Sowersby
WhistleblowingDominic Koole
SEND, Pupil Premium, LACCamille Sowersby
EYFSHeather Martin
Curriculum

Nicola Atwell

Alex St John Wright

Sports PremiumBen Parkyn
Communications & CommunityBen Parkyn/Anna Glassborow
GDPRBelinda Robinson
Website - filtering and monitoring & online safety.Belinda Robinson
Equalities Monitoring Anna Glassborow
Foundation and EthosHeather Martin
SustainabilityMartin Smith

 

PAST GOVERNORS

(in post for some or all of the Academic year 2023/24)

Name

Status at School

Term of Office

Linda ShepherdStaff Governor

01/09/22-01/09/24

Becky FisherFoundation Governor19/01/21-01/09/24
Rev Adam BeaumontFoundation Governor - Ex Oficio02/12/24-30/11/23
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