Castle Newnham is part of the Bedfordshire Schools Trust (BEST). Ultimate responsibility for running the Trust rests with the BEST Board of Directors, but each academy has its own Local Governing Body.

Meet the Governors

Our Governors come from a range of backgrounds, provide valuable skills and time. We work hard to ensure that the make-up of our governing body is representative of our school community which is something we keep under review.

Each governor is given a committee which includes a class they will visit during the year, subject areas they will monitor and an operational area which they will assist the school with. They are appointed to the school in the following ways:

Chair and Vice Chair:

The chair and vice chair are existing Governors ideally with at least one year's experience voted by the governing body. Members of staff cannot be the chair or vice chair. The chair leads the governing bodies and has additional responsibilities that only the chair can do.

Chair: Tom Barwood (01.09.21)

Vice Chair: Martin Hamilton (26.01.16)

Parent Governors:

Voted by the parents/carers of the school, and represent the view of all parents of the school, as such if you have a specific issue you wish discussing this should be raised with the Headteacher in the first instance.

Jason Foster (10.06.2021)

Hannah Williams (10.06.21)

Local Authority Appointments

Local authority governors are nominated by the local authority and ‘is appointed as a governor’ by the governing body if in the governing body's opinion they have met any eligibility criteria set’.  Their role is to provide another link between the local authority and the school.

Cllr Lucy Bywater (19.09.19)

Staff

Staff governors are elected by the school and represent the view of all staff and bring a unique insight of the school to the governing body. The Headteachers are automatically part of the governing body.

Kat Edwards (Headteacher) (01.09.2024)

Sara Levesley (Headteacher) (01.09.2024)

Jennie Cleary (17.05.2024)

Co-Opted

A Co-Opted governor is appointed by the governing body, as they have skills and experience that may enhance the effective governance and success of the school.

Malcolm Green (26.01.2016)

Helen Ryan (13.12.2022)

Kaushik Roy (13.12.2022)

Tom Barwood (28.03.18)

Martin Hamilton (26.01.16)

John Hambley (13.12.18)

Alex Levene (21.09.22)

Kalib DeMerchant (21.09.22)

Partnership

The governing body appoints partnership governors after a nomination process where parents of registered pupils at the school, staff, community organisations and other local bodies, as the governing body thinks is appropriate, are asked to put forward names of suitable persons to serve as partnership governors. The following partnership governors were elected at a full governing body meeting:-

Rachel Kasujja (24.03.22)

 

Clerk: Lizzie Barnicoat (01.04.2024)