Governors
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The Governors are part of the school’s leadership team and have three key roles.
1. Working with the Headteacher, we set the vision, ethos and strategic direction for the whole school.
2. We hold the Headteacher to account for the educational performance of the school and its pupils, and the performance management of the staff.
3. We monitor the effectiveness and evaluate the impact of school strategies and policies and oversee the financial performance of the school and make sure its money is well spent. We have to account for the school’s overall performance to Ofsted, the local authority and parents.
Our remit covers the whole school - buildings and staff as well as education and learning - but particularly: educational achievement, breadth and balance in the curriculum, how (in broad terms) the school should be run, and how the budget allocated to the school should be spent.
A few years ago, instead of having a Resources Committee and a Learning, Teaching & Curriculum Committee each of which met once a term, we decided to have three Full Governing Board meetings each term. One of these meeting focuses on finance, staff, premises and health & safety, another focuses on teaching and learning and pupil welfare whilst the other is a general meeting.
This worked for us and therefore we continued with the format. However, because the Spring Term is such a short term, we recently decided to experiment with only having two Full Governing Board meetings in this term.
Over the last academic year, each of our governors has had a good attendance record at these meetings.
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Currently the Governing Board comprises:
· The Headteacher
· 4 parent governors (parents or carers of pupils at the school, elected by the other parents)
· 1 staff governor (elected by teaching and non-teaching staff)
· 6 community governors (selected by other governors to represent the local community and provide specific skills)
· 1 Co-opted governor (selected by other governors for a one-year term).
Our Governors are a broad mix – some teachers, some working in the non-academic/educational world, and some retired. We all have one thing in common – to make sure our school is the best of its kind in the area.
We currently have vacancies on the Board for a parent governor and a co-opted governor and if you would like to be considered for either of these vacancies please let me know. I look forward to hearing from you and I can be contacted via the school office.
Chris Gentry
Chair of Governors
(All written correspondence to be sent c/o Princes Risborough Primary School)
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Members of Governing Body (as of September 2023)
Mr Chris Gentry
Community Governor
Chair of Governors (July 2019)
Business Interests: None
Chris has been a school governor for just over 30 years but only joined our governing board in October 2016. Chris is the Chair of Governors as well as being responsible for Health & Safety and Data Protection. Chris worked in local government for 42 years but is now retired although he has a part-time job which keeps him occupied for 2.5 days a week. He lives in High Wycombe with his wife and two sons and, in his spare time, he enjoys running and reading and tolerates gardening.
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Mrs Kerri Byrne
Parent Governor
Vice Chair of Governors (July 2019)
Business Interests: None
Kerri joined the governing board in 2018 and has a background in performance and contract management, as well as project management and commissioning. Kerri is the Vice Chair of Governors as well as being responsible for Pupil Premium and Safeguarding. She lives in Princes Risborough with her family, and loves singing.
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Mr Russell Blakeborough
Community Governor
Business Interests: None
Russell joined the governing board as a parent governor in September 2015. Russell runs a software development company specialising in open source software and has a particular interest in the ‘internationalisation’ of websites. He lives in Princes Risborough, has 2 children and enjoys cycling, gardening and learning languages.
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Mrs Amy Howlett
Headteacher
Business Interests: None
Amy was appointed Headteacher of Princes Risborough Primary School in early 2020 but has been teaching for 14 years and joined the school in 2016. Amy has always taught in the local area and her 2 children attend the school. Her background is in Foreign Languages, having lived abroad in both France and Germany. In her spare time, Amy enjoys eating out and going to the gym and exercise classes.
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Mr Chris Priddis
Parent Governor
Business Interests: None.
Chris joined the Governing Board as an Associate Governor in February 2021 and is now a Parent Governor. He has one child in the school, and a toddler at a local nursery. Chris works as a petroleum economist and realises the importance of primary education as a cornerstone of learning and development.
Chris enjoys living in Princes Risborough and spends his spare time walking and cycling with his family.
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Mr Robert Carington
Community Governor
Business Interests: None
Robert joined the Governing Board in May 2023. He has lived in the area (in Bledlow) all his life and currently has one toddler at a local nursery. Robert is a director at his family business which is involved in farming and residential property in the local area. Robert is also a councillor on the Buckinghamshire Unitary Council for the neighbouring Ridgeway West ward. Robert enjoys spending his time gardening and attempting to cook.
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Mrs Anna Newbold
Parent Governor
Business Interests: None
Anna has been a secondary English teacher for over 15 years. She moved out of mainstream education in 2014 to manage a medical referral unit in London. She moved to Princes Risborough in September 2021 with her husband and two young children and now teaches in the secondary mental health provision in Bucks. Anna is passionate about education and making learning accessible to all. In her spare time, Anna enjoys spending time with her family, days out in the countryside, baking and running.
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Mrs Emma Rolfe
Community Governor
Business Interests: None
Emma has a background in technology with over 10 years working with schools and MATs to promote digital skills in the classroom, currently working for Microsoft with a personal passion to inspire young women to pursue a career in STEM. She lives in Bledlow with her partner, owns a local business and enjoys spending her time outdoors gardening, traveling and mountain biking.
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Mrs Alex Barker
Community Governor
Business Interests: None
Alex joined the governing board recently as a community governor. She has had a long career in Corporate Governance and Investor Relations and now works directly with Charity Board’s and SME’s to support them with Governance.
She lives in Weston Turville with her husband and daughter and loves being a theatre mum.
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Mrs Jess Gregory
Staff Governor
Business Interests: None
Jess previously taught in the ARP at Princes Risborough Primary School 8 years ago, before leaving education for a little while to start her own business with her husband in 2017. She returned back to working in education and has always had a passion for working with children with Special Educational Needs. Jess joined Princes Risborough Primary School as SENDCo in 2022, and is really enjoying this new role. Jess enjoys keeping fit, being outdoors and spending time with her two young children.
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As school Governors, we carefully consider whether we have any conflict of interest between ourselves and the good of the school. In addition to a register of interests, we are required to declare any interests specifically addressed by the agenda of each meeting. Governors are required to declare any relevant business and pecuniary interests, such as governance roles in other educational institutions and any material interests in the school.
The extent to which the school provides a curriculum of suitable depth and relevance to meet both statutory requirements and the needs and interests of the students is a key judgment when evaluating the leadership, management and governance of the school.
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Great Learners Trust
The school is part of the Great Learners Trust and the Trust must make available for public inspection various documents. This is the link to the Trust website where these documents can be found https://www.greatlearnerstrust.co.uk/
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Governors Stepping Down
Governors leave the Governing Board for a number of reasons and the following have decided to step down during the past twelve months
Adam Jackson - Governor from 2020 to 2022 - work commitments
James Shapland - Governor from 2019 to 2022 - work commitments
Marie Bell - Governor from 2019 to 2022 - other commitments
Katie Holder - Governor from 2020 to 2021 - work commitments
Alex Durao - Governor from 2022 to 2023 - work commitments
Kat Warner - Staff Governor from 2020 to 2023 - left school
Bans Sagoo - Governor from 2022 to 2023 - work commitments
Katy Jones - Governor from 2020 to 2023 - personal reasons
Jim Brudenell - Governor from 2019 to 2023 - end of term of office
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