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The Pioneer Academy
Family of Schools

Governance

Contact: governors@woodcoteprimary.croydon.sch.uk

Trustees/Governors

The Pioneer Academy recognises the intrinsic link between high quality governance and the quality of leadership and management of the school. The Pioneer Academy endorses the key qualities evident in the successful leadership of governors in general and chairs of governors in particular as highlighted by OfSTED:

  • Vision
  • Analytical Skills
  • Good Communication Skills
  • Energy
  • Decisive Action
  • Toughness
  • The Ability to Challenge
  • Enthusiasm

The model of governance across The Pioneer Academy is central to the principle of promoting local freedom and governance for schools to take control of their own destiny. A key principle that drives The Pioneer Academy, is that each school will be as autonomous as the quality of education it provides dictates. There is a clear delegated framework for governance at Trust Board and School Board level that makes the responsibilities of both the Trust Board and each School Board explicit.

Trustees

The Pioneer Academy Trust Board is constituted to create robust and challenging governance across our schools, realising the ambitions and aspirations for high achievement. Building on the excellence of the quality of governance, the Multi Academy Trust Board will bring synergy to the leadership, management and policy framework for all schools.

The Trust Board is made up of members of the management team, key stakeholders and invited partners who ensure an equality of opportunity for all schools during the decision making processes of The Pioneer Academy and to be a part of the wider organisation at a strategic level. The Trustees monitor performance of our schools in the light of the quality improvement framework presented at Trust Board meetings. Trustees also monitor the Trust performance by way of regular reports from the CEO against the strategic objectives.

The Trust Board meets six times a year and is supported in its work by the Company Secretary and Company Clerk.

The Trustees work collectively as a group and are accountable to the wider community for the delivery of the best possible educational, pastoral and support service. The Trust Board has overall responsibility for the management and administration of The Pioneer Academy: the operations of all schools, with some responsibilities delegated to the School Board of each school. The School Boards are legally functioning committees of the Trustees Board. They will meet termly and have special interest governors, looking after such aspects as standards, resources and buildings and premises. The day to day management of the schools is delegated to the Chief Executive Officer, Director of Education, Head Teachers, Chief Operating Officer, Chief Finance Officer and members of the senior management team.

School Board

Primary schools are central to their community, and local governance enables the school to both be influenced by and be accountable to that community.

Within a multi-academy trust such as TPA, school leaders receive professional support and challenge through the trust’s executive team, central staff and the School Board.

School Boards are to support and challenge the Headteacher regarding:

  • School vision and expectations (set by the Trust and school in collaboration);
  • Appropriateness and implementation of the School Development Plan;
  • Effectiveness of safeguarding;
  • Quality of Education, including curriculum implementation and impact, and progress and attainment of all pupils;
  • Pupil behaviour and attitudes, including attendance;
  • Pupil and staff well-being and personal development; and
  • Understanding the school community and its views.

The School Boards have a maximum of 11 members. The Chair will be appointed by the Trust Board to ensure sufficient oversight and control of the strategic direction of the school from the sponsoring trust, The Pioneer Academy. The remaining governors will include:

  • A minimum of two elected parent governors
  • A minimum of one elected staff governors (with a maximum of two)
  • The Head Teacher
  • Up to 7 community governors

Core Functions

The duties of the School Board are to:
1. Champion and foster TPA’s vision and expectations in the school;
2. Support the implementation of the school’s vision, aims and objectives;
3. Support and challenge the performance of the school through receiving and considering:

  • The Headteacher Report
  • Overview of the curriculum, its adaptation for cohort characteristics, and its implementation and impact updates (which may also be SDP priorities / Lead Governor roles);
  • Outcomes and progress data from national assessments;
  • Information regarding the implementation and impact of the School Development Plan, including through Lead Governor roles and visits;
  • External reviews or assessments of school provision, including Ofsted reports;
  1. Contribute to the school’s self-evaluation and School Development Plan;
    5. Establish procedures for receiving the views of the school community, and ensure that the views of the school community inform the School Development Plan;
    6. Ensure that School Board members are supported to enhance their skills and knowledge, including undertaking training as required; and
    7. Make and be involved in decisions in accordance with the Scheme of Delegation such as reviewing and approving policies and procedures in a timely manner and in accordance with legislation and the TPA Scheme of Delegation.

Each School Board has a Chair, Vice Chair, a Safeguarding Governor, an Inclusion Governor, and an Attainment and Progress Governor.

What do School Board Governors do?

School Board Governors are very important in making sure that the school is fulfilling its purpose in providing an effective education for the children. The main aspect of the role is to be a “critical friend.” This is a bit of “governor speak” but describes the responsibility in that we are there to sense, check and monitor. A School Board Governor’s job is to focus on those aspects that indicate the performance of the school, and also take a strategic view of where we want the school to get to. It is not focused on day-to-day running of the operational side or day-to-day issues. The School Board Governors do not intervene in the professional responsibilities of teachers, but they do agree policies which, when put into practice by the teaching staff, determine what is taught to children. These policies are available on the website or from the school office.

The School Board meets at least once a term. Standing items on all School Board meeting agendas will be quality of education, SEND, safeguarding, pupil progress (including of pupils with EAL, SEND, LAC and FSM), finance, health and safety as well as school culture. Minutes of these meetings are displayed on a notice board by the school office.

The Pioneer Academy seeks to develop the role of School Board Governors to provide robust support and challenge, judging the impact of school leaders and all staff through the outcomes for pupils.

The School Board Governors work to these key principles:

  • To provide challenge and support to the Head Teacher and staff of the school to raise standards and keep pupils safe
  • To champion high achievement for all pupils, with a particular focus on the ‘Corporate Parenting’ role held by all governors
  • To monitor all aspects of the school performance, with probity and integrity
  • To ensure they are trained to understand data and performance to give them insight into the progress the school is making
  • To bring and discuss the views and perspectives of pupils, parents, carers and the community
  • To take an active role in the committee structures, deploying key skills effectively to the benefit of the school and The Pioneer Academy

How are School Board Governors elected?

The Chair will be appointed by the Trust Board to ensure sufficient oversight and control of the strategic direction of the school from the sponsoring Trust, The Pioneer Academy. The two staff governors are elected by and from the staff at the school. They serve for four years. The two parent governors are elected by the parents of all pupils at the school and must be the parent of a child at the school at the time of their election. If their child leaves the school before the end of their 4-year term of office, they do not have to stand down. When there is a vacancy for a parent governor, all parents will be notified, invited to nominate candidates, provided with information about the candidates and be issued with a ballot form. The community governors are appointed by the School Board and serve for four years.

School Board Governor Profile:

Name of School Board Governor

Term of office

Governance Role

Current responsibilities – employment/ self-employment/other non-executive roles

Previous roles/posts within other organisations and how these demonstrate expertise/skills required for role as Governor

Attendance 2023/24 (4 meetings)

Personal statement

Nicola Long

22/07/19 – 22/07/27

(reappointed 22/07/2023)

Co-opted Governor

Appointed by Governing Board

Chair of Governing Board

Special Interest Areas:

  • Safeguarding
  • Parent, Child and Community

Director for a leading global communications agency.

I am Chair of Governors at Woodcote Primary, having previously been elected as a parent governor in July 2017. As Chair, I am responsible for ensuring the Governing Body challenge and question school leadership to drive the best outcomes for pupils. Both of my children have been educated at the School.

100%

I am passionate about ensuring children and staff have every opportunity to shine and reach their true potential at Woodcote Primary School. Equally, I am proud to be part of a wider school community that is welcoming to all.

Natalie Conway

16/11/21 – 16/11/25

Co-opted Governor

Appointed by Governing Board

Special Interest Roles:

  • Attainment and Progress
  • Parent, Child and Community

Safeguarding and SEND lead at The Pioneer Trust’s Central Team

I have been a teacher in Croydon schools for 20 years and have been on numerous governing boards. I was the SENDCo and Assistant Headteacher at Woodcote Primary for 8 years, and throughout this time, I was also on the governing board. I now work within the Central Team for TPA and continue to support Woodcote as well as the other schools in the trust. This gives the privileged position of seeing the SEND provision in a range of schools.

25% (due to maternity leave)

Woodcote has been on an impressive journey in the last decade and I am proud to have been a part of that as a senior leader and governor. We have undergone multiple Ofsted visits and have been able to achieve positive feedback. As a new Mum, I am hopeful that my little boy will be able to attend Woodcote in the future. That indicates how highly I regard the school, staff and community at Woodcote. A community that I am fortunate enough to be a part of.

Sacha Bunatyan

16/11/21 – 16/11/25

Parent Governor

Appointed by Parents of school

Special interest areas:

  • SEND and Disadvantaged Children
  • Parent, Child and Community

Executive Coach, self employed

Professionally, I am a certified Executive Coach and a business leader with over 20 years’ experience in global senior leadership roles at the Financial Times, Coty, Dentsu, AOL among others.

100%

I am a mother to two twin boys in year 6. I bring my passion for talent development and team building, coupled with good organisational and business operations skills to the Woodcote Board of Governors. I focus on supporting the in its continued transition to the Pioneer Academy and to challenge the intent, implementation and impact of the new policies and practices to improve outcomes for all our children.

Alicia Palomo López

16/11/21 – 16/11/25

Parent Governor

Appointed by Parents of school

Special interest roles :

  • Parents, children and community
  • Attainment and Progress

Teacher at Whitgift School

Roles:

Modern Languages Teacher

Responsibilities for T&L Development in the Lower School

I am a qualified teacher and experienced leader with over 20 years of teaching experience and over 10 years as an examiner for different boards (IB, AQA, Pearsons and CIE).

I was second in Languages in my first school, Thamesmead School in Shepperton (mixed comprehensive) and ICT coordinator.

In my second school I was Head of Spanish and the Virtual Learning Environment Coordinator at Wallington School for Girls.

Finally, other roles I have had at Whitgift are Head of Ruta Hispana and Ignite Coordinator.

I am currently in my second year of an MBA in Senior Leadership in Education, skills from which I am already transferring into my governor’s role.

75%

I am a proud mother of two wonderful girls and I have been a member of the Woodcote Primary School family since my eldest joined nursery in 2015. Soon after I joined the school’s PTFA and I have since then been an active member of the team, contributing to raising a lot of money for the school and engaging and interacting with our school parents and children. It has been an extremely rewarding experience and one I will always cherish in years to come. I have seen the school transformed in my time at Woodcote and I can’t wait to see what our next phase brings for our children and staff.

I bring my passion for education to the Woodcote Governing Board. I aspire to

monitor and evaluate the progress the school is making and act as a source of challenge and support to the headteacher at a vital development stage of the school as we transition to Pioneer Academy. I relish the opportunity to be a driving force in standards improvement at Woodcote.

Clare Wingrave

21/09/21 – 21/9/25

Co-opted

Appointed by Governing Board

Special interest areas:

  • Safeguarding
  • Parent, Child and Community

Retired Head Teacher

Schools Advisory Board, de Stafford Secondary School

Academy Council, Oasis Academy Skinner Street

I am a qualified teacher and have experience of senior leadership in primary schools for over 30 years.

I retired in August 2021 from my role as Principal of Oasis Academy Byron and Executive Principal of Oasis Academy Skinner Street in Gillingham. Through working with these academies and supporting other academies in the Oasis Trust I am able to bring a strong understanding of school leadership and the impact that this has on pupil outcomes.

50%

Having been involved in primary education for many years I am keen to continue using the expertise that I have gained to support another school. As Byron is part of the local Coulsdon Cluster of schools along with Woodcote, I am familiar with the school and its background.

I am looking forward to working with the staff and governors to ensure that Woodcote continues to provide outstanding quality education for the children in the community.

Julia Crawford

11/07/23 – 11/07/27

Co-opted

Appointed by Governing Board

Special interest areas:

  • Safeguarding
  • Parent, Child and Community

Employed as an Education Welfare officer within the Croydon Area

I have worked within schools for the last 15 years working as a Lunch Time Supervisor, Teaching Assistant and then training to become a Higher Level Teaching Assistant. I then left this position to become a full time Foster Carer, where I then was asked to mentor new carers and help run some of the safe guarding training. I have been an Education Welfare Officer now for approx. 18 months and feel this ties up my skills working with families and children to ensure they are all feeling successful in achieving the best education they can for their child and for their family

100%

I am passionate about children being able to receive the best education, I so want children to have the very best opportunities available to them so they can fulfil their true potential. My eldest daughter joined the Woodcote Primary School Family in 2018, the school was super supportive and nurturing and this is exactly what she needed. I also appreciated calls from the school when things weren’t going that well for her too. I realised then that this school could make a difference to children’s lives and were doing so in front of my own eyes. Therefore, when an opportunity arose to become part of the Governing Team I knew it was an opportunity to give back to this amazing school.

Tinu Lebechi

11/07/23 – 11/07/27

Co-opted

Appointed by Governing Board

Special interest areas:

  • Attainment and Progress
  • Parent, Child and Community

Senior Policy Advisor at the Home Office

I bring to the governing role my professional skills such as organisational skills, big picture thinking, working across organisational boundaries and good interpersonal skills.

50%

It is a honour to serve this great school and the Woodcote community. As a member of the governing board, I look forward to contributing to school growth and development and enabling every child to meet their full potential.

Patrick McCann

11/07/23 – 11/07/27

Co-opted

Appointed by Governing Board

Special interest areas:

  • SEND and Disadvantaged Children
  • Parent, Child and Community

Detective Inspector with a background in safeguarding, risk management and community policing.

Professionally, I am a qualified Detective Inspector and have been involved in policing for 18-years. I have extensive experience in, safeguarding, risk management, community policing and staff development.

These provide skills I believe allow me to challenge and question school leadership to drive the best outcomes for pupils.

Both of my children have been educated at Woodcote.

I have additional qualifications as part of rugby coaching and mental health in children and young people.

100%

I am a father of two boys, one in year 3, the other having just left Woodcote. I have seen the school grow with the introduction of the fourth-class intake and its transition to ‘The Pioneer Academy.’

I am looking forward to working with the school staff and governing board to ensure Woodcote continues to grow and provide outstanding quality education for the children in the school, improving the outcomes for all children.

Peter Russell

19/11/21 – 19/11/25

Staff Governor

Appointed by staff of school

Special interest role:

  • Staff liaison

Site Manager – Woodcote Primary School

Long serving with over ten years’ experience.

Nominated ‘responsible person’ for all matters of premises Health & Safety compliance.

Leadership of the premises team ensuring the school environment is safe, clean and maintained to the highest standards with prudent budgetary control measures.

Regional Horticultural Manager – Homebase Ltd.

Performance management, Ability to communicate at director level, developing strategies, risk assessing.

Lead Project Manager – Carlisle Group.

Effective planning, managing expectations, budget management, presenting at board level, fully conversant with CDM regs and H&S in the work place.

75%

I have previously been an elected member of the board and fully intend to be an active governor with high levels of engagement and contribution.

I possess a wealth of career- based experience and offer value in many areas not necessarily associated with my current role in the school.

I am keen to develop the role of staff governor ensuring it serves all staff well by improving communication channels and making all staff feel valued and included in strategic matters.

Ultimately, my goal is to seek improvement for the children in our care whilst increasing staff engagement and morale.

Serena Soares

18/01/22 – 18/01/25

(reappointed 18/1/24)

Associate Governor

Appointed by Governing Board

Teacher at Woodcote Primary School

Having completed my teacher training at Woodcote I was offered a job and have taught in Key Stage 2 ever since.

100%

I am currently teaching in Year 4 and I have particular interest in the environment and was pleased to be invited to be geography lead. One of the perks of this job is working with children across the year groups, at the moment we are doing an Eco Project with Year 6. I am excited to be part of Woodcote’s journey and to see what happens next.
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Contact us

Woodcote Primary School Dunsfold Rise Coulsdon Surrey CR5 2ED

0208 660 9972

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