Handale School Governors
Governors serving on Local Governing Body’s are accountable to the Trustees (who in turn are accountable to the Department for Education) as well as to the communities they serve. Whilst not trustees under charity law, nevertheless, the governors are under a duty to act in good faith and in the best interests of their school and Lingfield Education Trust.
This duty includes a responsibility to do the following:
- To ensure their Academy complies with its legal obligations.
- To fulfil the charitable object of Lingfield Education Trust.
- To set targets, monitor pupil progress and attainment, and to challenge the Head teacher and Senior Leadership Team (SLT) to achieve the objectives of their Academy.
- To act with integrity, to avoid any personal conflicts of interest and not to misuse any charitable funds or assets of their Academy or Trust.
- To act prudently in the financial management of their Academy, avoiding putting any assets, funds or the reputation of their Academy or the Trustees at undue risk.
Our initial governing body consists of:
1 Headteacher – ex offico appointment.
1 staff governor – elected by staff of the school
2 parent governors – elected by parents of the school
3 co opted governors – appointed from the local community with the relevant skill sets, by Trustees.
Members of the Trust board are always keen to hear from members of the local community who may be interested in becoming a school governor. When appointing governors, Lingfield Education Trust will seek to fill these posts with people who live in the local area where possible whilst having regard for the balance of skills and experience that the LGB needs to fulfil its functions.
This will include the following skills/experience:
- Financial expertise and commercial experience.
- Education; experience of primary education, understanding of current education policy and the Ofsted framework and school performance indicators.
- Ability to analyse school data, ask questions and hold to account.
- Legal expertise.
- Community engagement/community cohesion.
- School governance.
- Premises management.
- Strategic planning.
- Human resources management, including performance appraisal.
- Marketing.
More information regarding governance at Lingfield Education Trust can be found on the governance section of the website, here. This includes the Trust ‘Scheme of Delegation’, which details the functions and responsibilities of Local Governing Bodies (and associated committees) within Lingfield Education Trust. Please contact the school to speak with Mrs Padgett if you may be interested in joining the team!
Our Local Governing Body Terms of Reference can be downloaded here.
To contact our chair of governors, please call the school and we will gladly put you in touch with Mr Fowler by passing on his contact details.
Chair of Local Governing Body
| Name | Appointed by | Date from | Date to |
| Mr Darren Fowler | Co-opted Trustee East Cleveland Cooperative Learning Trust Business of Interest – Document | 03.11.21 | 02.11.25 |
Local Governors
| Name | Appointed by | Date from | Date to | Business of Interest |
| Mrs Emma Purver | Trustee Appointed Governor- Vice Chair | 17.05.21 | 16.05.25 | Document |
| Mrs Gemma Harrison | Parent Governor | 20.10.2021 | 19.10.25 | Document |
| Mrs Joanne Suscens | Parent Governor | 18.04.22 | 17.04.26 | Document |
| Mrs Rio Farrier | Staff Governor | 11.10.17 | 10.10.25 | Document |
| Mrs Mary Hall | Trustee Appointed Governor | 01.03.21 | 08.02.25 | Document |
| Mrs Nicola Padgett | Ex-officio by virtue of office as headteacher/principal | 01.01.2021 | Not recorded | Document |
Historic (left within the last 12 months)
| Name | Role | Appointed By | From | To |
| Mr Dave Caley | Staff Governor | Staff | 06.11.2018 | 05.11.2022 |
Governing Body Meeting Attendance
All academies and Trusts must publish their annual accounts as well as key legal governance information, such as Funding Agreements, Articles of Association and accounts information. For these documents relating to Lingfield Education Trust, please click here.
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