» Governors

Our 2023/24 Annual Report

LGB Terms of Reference

A summary of the role of the Local Governing Body is outlined below, however, full Terms of Reference can be found in the Trust’s Scheme of Delegation.

Seek to understand and question how the school is led and managed, acting as a critical friend.
Monitor and challenge how the school is fulfilling the Trust’s ethos, vision, and strategy.
Determine and review of the educational targets of the schools, including but without limitation, determination of the School’s Development Plan
Monitor and challenge educational standards, reporting on concerns from the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to the Trustees of the Educational Standards Committee.
Assist in overseeing the Health and Safety of all students, staff and visitors; and ensure safeguarding for all students.
Act as the panel when reviewing the school Headteacher/Head of School’s decisions on exclusions, and other committees as required e.g. salaries, complaints and pupil and staff disciplinary/dismissal committees.
To ensure the School is complying with Trust policies in respect of safeguarding, health and safety and GDPR risk management.
Represent the school’s stakeholders and be their consultative body.
Forge links with the community and provide a vehicle for Trust board engagement with the school, its parents and local community, to help ensure that the Academy Trustees stay connected.
Act as an ambassador for the school.
Bring any issues and risks to the attention of the Trust Board.
Provide constructive feedback to the Board where a policy may not be effective in the local context, and suggest alternative approaches.
Help ensure the Trust works as one entity, in the interests of all its schools equally.
Deal with any other matters which the Board of Trustees may refer from time to time.
Report to the Board of Trustees annually on members contribution and the impact of the LGB.
Ensure value for money is being achieved from school budgets. (This does not include formal financial accountability which is delegated to the Director of Finance).
Provide a consultative forum for the school for the implementation of new policies and procedures.
For church schools, to monitor and support the Christian distinctiveness and church ethos of the school.
Assist in the effective and efficient performance management of teaching staff, making recommendations to the Trust board on pay progression.
Monitor and evaluate the quality and impact of governance.

Every school within the Marches Academy Trust has a Local Governing Body.

All current and prospective Governors should have read the Marches Academy Trust Governor’s Handbook, the Governor Code of Conduct and Scheme of Delegation*.

*These documents contain further information on the duties and responsibilities of our Governors.

Governors’ Handbook

Trustee and Governor Code of Conduct

Scheme of Delegation

The Local Governing Body is composed of the following Governors:

Parent Governors – two per Local Governing Body

Parent Governor elections are carried out when the term for the current Parent Governor(s) expires / if a Parent Governor resigns / when a school joins the Marches Academy Trust.

More information on the role of Parent Governor can be found in the Governance Handbook.

When the number of nominations for Parent Governors exceeds the number of vacancies, a ballot will take place.

Parent Governor Ballot Process

Staff Governors – one per Local Governing Body

Staff Governor elections are carried out when the term for the current Staff Governor expires / if a Staff Governor resigns / when a school joins the Marches Academy Trust.

Staff Governors are just the same as any other Governor, although it is important to note that they are representative of staff, not staff representatives.

If you would be interested in joining the Local Governing Body, or have any questions regarding any of the above, please contact Bee Lopez Bloor, Clerk to the Trust’s Boards, in the first instance – [email protected]

Our LGB needs you!

We are looking to recruit Community Governors at our school to help us deliver our ambitious and inclusive ethos of achievement through caring and drive progress, making success a reality for our pupils. If you would like to apply or would know anybody you wish to recommend, please contact the Trust’s Governance Officer Bee for further information or call 01743 462984.

Declaration of Business and Pecuniary Interests

Please click here to view an enlarged copy of the Declaration of Business and Pecuniary Interests

Governor Bios

Colin Callaghan, Community Governor & LGB Chair

A teacher of Modern Foreign Languages for 37 years, he became a Deputy Head for six years and then worked as a Headteacher at three different schools for a total of 13.5 years. He was until recently Chair of Governors of a secondary school in a deprived area of the East Midlands.

Rachel Evans, Parent Governor

Rachel has a level 3 Childcare and Education Qualification, with extensive experience of working with children aged 0 – 11 years. Passionate about children’s learning and development, she currently works with pre-school aged children in a local community setting. She also has three children attending the school.

Julie Johnson, Community Governor.

Julie was Headteacher at Shrewsbury Academy and now heads up the Trust’s inclusion school. She is part of Local Authority Integrated Care System Speech and Language Communication Working Party, part of Local Authority Integrated Care pathway for Neurodiversity. She is also a highly experienced SENDCO/ Safeguarding Lead with 15 years’ experience.

Colm Kealy, Community Governor

Colin has worked in education in the UK since 1997. The last 21 of those years as an A Level Business teacher at Shrewsbury School. He has been the head of A Level Business for the last 15 years. He looks after the football team there and is the administrator of the school Basketball club. He has been a pastoral/academic tutor to CYP of all ages throughout his time at Shrewsbury School.

Jessica Fieldhouse, Governor

Jessica currently works as a support surveyor at National Grid, with over 10 years of managerial experience in GIS and Land Referencing. Her roles have honed her attention to detail skill, crucial for reviewing policies and data for strategic planning and school governance. Jessica manages electricity schemes, ensuring timely and budgeted delivery, which helps in assessing school targets. Her experience with diverse teams highlights the importance of communication and collaboration, essential for engaging with staff, parents, and board members. As a STEM champion, she aims to provide industry insights and advocate for hands-on STEM learning opportunities, leveraging my engineering sector experience.

Grange Primary | Chair of Local Governing Board

Please mark correspondence:

C Callaghan – Chair of the Local Governing Board

Grange Primary School
Bainbridge Green
Shrewsbury
SY1 3QR

Email: Colin Callaghan – [email protected]

If you would like to read the Local Governing Body’s meeting minutes please contact Bee Lopez Bloor, Clerk to the Trust’s Boards in the first instance: [email protected]