Ingleton Primary School Board of Governors
| Governor Name | Category | Term of Office Ends | Link | Committees | Named Governor For: |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mrs Jo Colledge | Headteacher | N/A | N/A | Both | N/A |
| Mrs Vikki Bromley | Staff | 30/09/2023 | N/A | School Improvement | EYFS |
| Mr Julian Leader | Co-opted | 2/02/2027 | Kingsdale | Resources | Health & Safety |
| Mrs Jenny Thistlethwaite (Chair) | Co-opted | 07/08/2023 | Wharfedale | Resources (Chair) | FOI & Data Protection Requests |
| Mrs Michelle Hartnell | Co-opted | 30/09/2023 | Wensleydale | Resources | Pupil Premium |
| Mr David Alexander | Parent | 03/06/2023 | Barbondale | Resources | E-learning |
| Mrs Jenny Ward (Vice Chair) | Parent | 28/02/2024 | Foundation Stage – Nursery & Dentdale | School Improvement | PE/Sport & Learning Beyond the Classroom |
| Rachel Wall | Co-opted | 9/02/2026 | Swaledale | School Improvement | SEND & Safeguarding |
| Becky Dixon | Interim Clerk to Governors |
Our School Governors are responsible for overseeing the management side of the school; strategy, policy, budgeting and staffing. They enable the school to run as effectively as possible, working alongside senior leaders and supporting teachers to provide excellent education to children. All governors are valued members of Ingleton Primary School family. They bring different life experiences and have many skills that lead them to assume specific roles, for example Safeguarding Governor or Health and Safety Governor. Each one is a member of a committee – Resources or School Improvement, meeting termly and feeding back to the full governing body meeting.
The Resources Committee is responsible for the management of the school premises, the health and safety of staff and pupils and the school budget. Details of the school’s income, expenditure and balances can be found on the DfE national schools financial benchmarking website:
https://schools-financial-benchmarking.service.gov.uk/
The School Improvement Committee regularly discusses teaching and learning, pupil progress and outcomes for children. They are also involved in staff recruitment. Some of these governors have a professional background in education, HR or health.
All governors are all linked to a specific teaching group who they will visit, spending time in lessons, interacting with staff and pupils and asking questions to get an understanding of how the children enjoy their learning, before feeding back effectively and constructively to staff and governors as appropriate. These monitoring visits usually take place termly. In addition to this governors have a named role to support staff and pupils in various other aspects of school life.
We asked our Governors a few questions to help gain a better understanding of “why” they are a Governor.
Q: What areas of the School are you most interested in and focussed on?
A: As a member of the Resources Committee I am focussed on ensuring that the School is run on a sound financial footing. This is becoming every more important in the current climate of austerity and cutbacks. It would be fair to say that every primary school in the country is having to tighten its belts as a result of a reduction in funds, but I am enjoying the challenge of seeing that Ingleton Primary School stays in the black and uses its income in the most efficient manner possible.
A: My main areas of interest are the curriculum and the results! Every child should be given the chance to to meet their full potential. They should all be making excellent progress, regardless of their starting point, and that includes less able students getting support and more able students being stretched. Every child is an individual and has the same right to progress. Alongside this, as inapropriate as it can seem at times, students are judged by results and the school needs to ensure we send students off with the best result possible, whilst also ensuring that they have a well rounded knowledge and experience of things beyond the basic graded curriculum. I think this is a balance the school has been making well for many years and I hope to help maintain that through working with the team on the School Improvement Committee.
Q: What are you most proud of about Ingleton Community Primary School?
A: The overall atmosphere of friendliness and camaraderie amongst the pupils, especially the fact that there are few, if no, friendship boundaries between different year groups. When I was at school (many years ago) there was very little interaction/friendship between children in different years, but it is to Ingleton Primary Schools great credit that it is always possible to see children of differing ages playing together. I think this is extremely important for the social development of the children and prepares them well, for life at secondary school and beyond.
A: I am especially proud of the sense of community and behaviour at Ingleton Primary, which is evident in school and when you see students outside of school. Students support and look after each other with lovely manners and they are never afraid to stand up for what they think is right!
Q: What experience/skills to you feel you bring to the Governing Team?
A: I am a full time teacher at a local secondary and sixth form school and the good current knowledge of the education system really helps during discussions around the curriculum and matters which are specific to school environments; it allows me to ask pertinent questions to ensure we are providing the best environment for our students.
A: In my twenties, I spent 2 years working in primary schools in Japan, this experience has enabled me to gain a clear understanding of the similarities and differences between every aspect of primary schools in the UK and Schols in a different culture. This gives me the ability to see the respective advantages and disadvantages in both systems. Also, I have been self employed for more than a decade, and having to personally ensure that every aspect of my business is run properly gives me the ability to understand the financial challenges facing Ingleton Primary School.
Q: Why did you want to be a Governor?
A: My main reason for wanting to become a Governor in the first place was that I very much wanted to get a better understanding of how my son’s school operates and educates the children. I have greatly enjoyed getting to know the staff at the school, being involved in school matters and gaining a far deeper insight into how the school works on a day to day basis. This has only made me more appreciative of the fact that my son attends the school where the atmosphere is so happy and supportive. My hope is that he looks back on his years at primary school with affection and fondness, and I’m sure that will be the case.
