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 | ||
Linda Shepherd Staff Governor Appointed by GB/board Teaching Assistant, Member of Finance and Premises Committee
01/09/22-01/09/24 | ||
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 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 one child at the school 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 own and run an on-line retail business where I oversee 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 | 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 | 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 | 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. | ||
Becky Fisher Foundation Governor Appointed by Foundation Member of the Teaching and Learning Committee Safeguarding, Wellbeing and Whistleblowing Governor | 19/01/21-19/01/25 | |
Education changes lives and a good education improves life chances of the most vulnerable and disadvantaged in our society. I want to work as a governor with our amazing staff to give all our children the best possible life chances. I have already contributed to the Foundations and Ethos Committee.
Before working in the Gauzebrook Group as a Rural Schools and Churches Worker I worked with schools and social services across Oxfordshire as a Senior Home School Link Worker, supporting families in need and ensuring children had access to education. I have also been a partner in a national publishing business. | ||
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 | 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. | ||
GOVERNING BODY SUB – COMMITTEES (2023/24) | |
Finance Premises | Teaching, Learning and Staffing |
Mike Ward (Chair) Tommy Towers (HT) Belinda Robinson Martin Smith Linda Shepherd Ben Warnes Sarah Mackrill (SBM)
| Tommy Towers (HT) Alex St John Wright (Co-Chair) Nicola Atwell (Co-Chair) Becky Fisher Dominic Koole
|
LINK GOVERNOR ROLES (2023/24) | |
Health & Safety | Ben Warnes |
Safeguarding | Becky Fisher |
Wellbeing | Becky Fisher |
Whistleblowing | Becky Fisher |
SEND, Pupil Premium, LAC | Dominic Koole |
EYFS | Alex St John Wright |
Curriculum | Nicola Atwell Alex St John Wright |
Sports Premium | Belinda Robinson |
Communications & Community | Belinda Robinson |
GDPR | Belinda Robinson |
Website - filtering and monitoring & online safety. | Belinda Robinson |
Equalities Monitoring | Becky Fisher |
Foundation and Ethos | Becky Fisher |
Sustainability | Martin Smith |
PAST GOVERNORS (in post for some or all of the Academic year 2022/23) | ||
Name | Status at School | Term of Office |
Rev Adam Beaumont | Ex Oficio Governor | 02/12/24-30/11/23 |
Dean Moran | Ex Oficio Head Teacher | 03/01/23-31/09/23 |
Jess Greatrex-Smith | Parent Governor | 10/06/22-11/07/23 |
Bertie Archer | Local Authority Governor | 25/05/22-11/07/23 |
Rose Manessei | Parent Governor Co-Opted Governor, Appointed by GB/Board | 25/03/22-13/01/23 |
Gary Muchmore | Co-Opted Governor, Appointed by GB/Board | 02/12/20-01/12/22 |
Susan Leyden | Ex-Oficio Head Teacher | 01/09/16 – 16/12/22 ex officio |