Governors
What do the Governors at Ashdene do?
All Governing Boards have three core functions set by the Department for Education plus one suggested by the National Governance Association
- Ensuring clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction;
- Holding executive leaders to account for the educational performance of the organisation and its pupils, and the performance management of staff
- Overseeing the financial performance of the organisation and making sure its money is well spent.
- Ensuring decision take into consideration the views and experiences of stakeholders (pupils, parents, staff and community)
Here at Ashdene we endeavour to be ambitious for all the children and have a commitment to continuous school improvement. As a result, we have set a clear vision, ethos and strategic direction for the school which is captured in the mission statement where we clearly state that we want the pupils at Ashdene ‘to be passionate about learning, resilient, independent, inquisitive and creative’. To achieve this the full governing board (FGB), the resources committee and the Learning, Inclusion & Progression (LIP) committee meet once a term. When able to do so, the governors regularly visit the school to meet and talk to the staff, undertaking learning walks with the senior leaders, attending Inset days and Professional Development Meetings and meeting with the School Improvement Partner. To keep parents informed we place briefing notes in the school newsletter and the Part I minutes, once approved, are available from the office. As governors we endeavour to be accessible as possible, you may see us around school, you can contact us via the school office or e-mail the chair of governors, chair@ashdeneschool.net. However we do ask that if the issue relates specifically to your child you use the channels put in place by the school staff to ensure that the matter is dealt with appropriately and in a timely manner.
To demonstrate that the board is doing their absolute best for the children at Ashdene, the recent achievements are as follows;
- Being judged as outstanding by OfSTED. They reported that the governors provide very strong leadership. They are knowledgeable and dedicated. They provide the right balance of support and challenge to ensure that the quality of education is always improving.
- Governors have a range of skills, both in education and in other fields such as finance. They keep up to date with regular training to make sure they are abreast of issues affecting the school.
- Receiving the commendation of ‘Good Assurance’ for the Schools Financial Value Standard (SFVS) Assessment stating the ‘Comprehensive answers given and detail provided. Evidence is dated and fully referenced. Action Plan is good, with appropriate timescales and responsibilities. Thank you for maintaining the high standard.’
- Scoring 100% on the Statutory Building Compliance register. Comments such as ‘excellent, demonstrating consistently high compliance scores, well done.’
- Appointing two new governors David Felton (co-opted) and Vahid Niasar (parent) adding to the skills set of the FGB.
List of Governors
Name |
Term of Office |
Type of Governor |
Role |
Committee membership |
Madeline (Maddi) Clemens |
02/02/17 01/02/25 |
Associate |
H&S Gov |
Resources |
Jayne Cross |
01/09/19 31/08/23 |
Associate |
SEND |
|
Anne Gadsden |
03/10/17 02/10/21 |
Co-opted |
Chair of Governors Chair of LIP HT Performance Management CofG at another CE school and a school in Staffordshire |
All |
Collette Mather |
01/09/20 31/08/24 |
Head Teacher |
All |
|
Laura O’Brien |
26/09/18 25/09/22 |
Staff |
LIP |
|
Katie Orr |
24/01/2019 23/01/2023 |
Co-opted |
Chair of Resources/Governor Training |
Resources |
James Pulle |
19/09/19 18/09/23 |
Co-opted |
MAT |
LIP |
Ian Pilkington | 23/01/20 22/01/24 | Parent |
Vice Chairperson
|
Resources and LIP |
David Felton |
28/01/2021 27/01/2025
|
Co-opted | TBC | |
Vahid Niasar | 28/01/2021 27/01/2025 | Parent | TBC |
Publication of Governors’ details and the Register of Interest
The Chair of Governors has declared that she is the chair of governors at two other schools one in Staffordshire and one in Stoke-on-Trent and that she is the Director of an Education Consultancy. James Pullee is the head teacher of the local high school and David Felton is a director and trustee of a local small not-for-profit preschool. There are no other declarations of any business interests or material interests arising from relationships between governors or relationships between governors and school staff, including spouses, partners and close relatives for the above named governors.
Governor attendance at meetings for the academic year 2018-2019
Name |
Number of meetings possible |
Number of meetings attended |
Percentage attendance |
Rachel Ainsworth |
6 |
6 |
100 |
Madeline (Maddi) Clemens |
6 |
3 |
50 |
Jayne Cross |
7 |
9 |
78 |
Anne Gadsden |
10 |
10 |
100 |
Robert Hussey |
6 |
6 |
100 |
Collette Mather |
12 |
12 |
100 |
Katie Orr |
5 |
5 |
100 |
Sacha Thompson |
9 |
9 |
100 |
Laura O’Brien |
9 |
9 |
100 |
Meeting dates for the academic year 2020-2021
Thursday 24th September | 4.00-6.00pm | FGB |
Wednesday 7th October | 9.15-10.30am | Resources |
Thursday 12th November | 2.00-4.00pm | LIP |
Thursday 28th January | 4.00-6.00pm | FGB |
Wednesday 10th February | 9.15-10.30am | Resources |
Thursday 4th March | 2.00-4.00pm | LIP |
Wednesday 26th May | 9.15-10.30am | Resources |
Thursday 27th May | 4.00-6.00pm | FGB |
Thursday 8th July | 2.00-4.00pm | LIP |