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26 March 2024 in Latest news

Best class attendance

Children were excited to find out who were the best attenders for Spring 2. It might have been a short half term but we really packed loads in to make…
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22 March 2024 in Latest news

100% Attendance for the half term

Congratulations to these 3 children who were picked from the raffle to win the 100% attendance for this half term. All 3 winning an Easter egg for themselves and Thomas…
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21 March 2024 in Latest news

Easter Bake off

Congratulations to the winner of this years Easter Bake off! It was a difficult decision for Mike McCreedy to select the winners. However, the children really enjoyed buying and eating…
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21 March 2024 in Latest news

Easter fun!

Today year 4 visited Meadow Court Care Home.  We had lots of fun playing bingo with the residents and even won some Easter chocolate!
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20 March 2024 in Latest news

Easter egg donation

Thank you to Holy Trinity & St Matthews Church - Ronkswood, Worcester for your kind donation of Easter eggs. We have a very happy year 3!
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>> GOVERNANCE AND FUNDING

Governance is a key element of the leadership and management of the Griffin Schools Trust (GST) itself and of the schools individually and collectively. Please click here to see our Governance Structure.

 

The Trust (itself accountable to DfE) is the body to whom schools are directly accountable. It delegates autonomy to each Local Governing Board/Body (LGB) or School Improvement Board (SIB) according to the Scheme of Delegation.

The Trust Board is made up of experts in UK and international education as well as private sector professionals with a wide range of commercial experience and expertise. In keeping with our vision we also place an emphasis on attracting Trustees who have backgrounds and networks in Sport and the Arts. The Board acts as guardian to the Trust vision, and ensures that progress towards its fulfilment is underpinned with the highest standards of compliance with our regulators so that public funding is very well-used.

Serving as a governor in a GST school requires a commitment to the seven principles of public life and to a code of conduct which puts the school and its pupils at the centre. GST governors meet formally every thirteen weeks (i.e. once every school term) and much of the real work is done between these meetings, through Working Groups and individual contributions to the school’s life according to each governor’s skills and the needs of the school.

The role is very different from that of a governor in a Local Authority school, recognising that the Head is the school’s Chief Executive and the Board is there to advise, support and challenge through appropriate channels and to evidence the impact that governance is having on the school’s progress. As in the world of non-executive directors, GST governors are expected to bring their skills to bear and to work in co-operation and collaboration with the staff team, the whole Local Governing Body and the Trust to bring about rapid and sustained improvement for the pupils they serve.

The Trust is responsible for the appointment, performance management and professional development of the Heads, though the LGB’s work has a vital role to play in highlighting and evidencing the impact that the Head and governors are making through their termly meetings. Through their work in and for the school, governors come to know the school community and to be well-informed about its performance, able to talk about it confidently and accurately to the Trust, to Ofsted, to parents and to interested local groups.

We very much appreciate the work that governors do and the part they play in the success of the schools they serve and indeed of the Trust. We hope that governors find reward in the impact they make on young lives and their individual experience of the living reality of the GST motto: Proud Traditions Wide Horizons High Achievement.

The West Midlands Governing Board is:

Suzanne Beston
Lisa Guest
Adam Jones
Sonya Lavill
Mike McCreedy
Ron Pillay – Chair
Anne Powell
Phil Thomas

 

Suzanne Beston

Head of Perry Wood

Suzanne has been teaching for 22 years in the primary sector. She has worked predominately in Sandwell, only recently relocating to Worcestershire. Suzanne has taught in 4 schools and has been a subject leader in many areas, ranging from DT, Maths, ICT and RE. She rapidly became a member of the senior leadership team taking a more active role in whole school initiatives. Assessment, attendance and parental engagement have been key areas that she has improved over the years. Mathematics has been her strength and she was a leading maths teacher in Sandwell for many years. Suzanne has been a Deputy Head Teacher for 10 years in 2 schools. Her passion is to engage pupils in active learning; designing curriculums that are inspiring and purposeful and finding ways to involve parents further in their child’s learning. Suzanne was a keen sportswoman in her younger days, in which she played in her school netball team and was a competitive swimmer. She values the importance of finding each child’s talents, seeking to create a school environment where pupil talents are celebrated and recognised alongside core curriculum subject talents. Suzanne is a strong believer in growing the talents of her own team to ensure everyone is reaching their true potential.

 

Lisa Guest

Executive Head of Bramford and Chivenor

Lisa began teaching in 1994 before taking on the Head of Bramford role towards the end of 2016, then becoming the Executive Head of Bramford & Chivenor in 2020. She was a subject leader in her first year of teaching and quickly moved through leadership roles of head of year, key stage, assistant head, and deputy before taking on an acting headship. Lisa’s whole teaching career has been in poor socio-economic communities where she has a passion for offering a wide range of experiences and opportunities for all pupils, whilst raising aspirations and achievement. Assessment and curriculum have also always been at the heart of her school improvement initiatives. Lisa is a firm believer in team work and that ‘together we improve’ this stems from her sports background. Sport is still one of her passions, especially football and golf. However, many would say shopping and holidays are also her main hobbies. Lisa is driven to do all she can to ensure her school has happy children and staff, helping everyone of them reach their potential, to find skills and talents within each of them and developing them. She wants learning to be non-stop and where everyone cannot wait for the next day to begin.

 

Adam Jones

Adam has 15 years’ experience both operationally and strategically across adult and children’s social care, including Learning disabilities, Autism, Mental Health and SEND. During this time Adam has led on projects to improve the lives and independence of those people with social care needs in Worcestershire. He is also a chartered housing professional with extensive experience in supported and social housing.

Adam is a parent at Perry Wood and was inspired by the holistic education offer provided by GST. Adam feels that all children should have equal opportunities for learning and experiences regardless of their background or economic status and knows that GST also shares these values.

 

Sonya Lavill

Sonya has extensive professional experience in the private, maintained and not for profit sectors, working in finance, operations and customer care. Her interest in being a school governor came from her knowledge of schools through the eyes of a parent and from a desire to make a difference for all children, particularly in the least affluent communities. She is a strong supporter of GST’s vision to promote Proud Traditions, Wide Horizons and High Achievement in every school.

 

Mike McCreedy

Mike has more than three decades of public sector experience, including senior roles at the Commission for Racial Equality and The Big Lottery Fund. In retirement, Mike continues to contribute his skills in good governance. Dedicated to the GST vision and its values, Mike is Chair of the Board of Trustees and also a member of the West Midlands Governing Board and is committed to ensuring that local governance and corporate governance are closely linked in practice.

 

Ron Pillay

Chair

Ronald Pillay brings over 20 years of experience in teaching and leadership, in a variety of contexts in the UK and internationally. As an experienced senior leader, he is passionate about improving the life chances of all young people, irrespective of their backgrounds. His expertise is in driving improvement through teaching and learning, curriculum development, coaching, mentoring, and middle leadership development, while holding firm to the belief that the child is at the centre of everything we do.

 

Anne Powell

Anne is a music graduate who found her vocation in teaching in the least affluent communities in East London. As a primary Head and then Executive Head, Anne has led and supported rapid and sustainable improvement journeys in several GST schools, primary and secondary. Her leadership saw two long-term underperforming schools speed from special measures to confidently outstanding. The first GST Head to become the CEO on the strength of her record, Anne presides over the further realisation of the Trust’s vision. She is driven by a belief that good exam outcomes are the corollary of a great education and not its sole focus.

 

Phil Thomas

Philip has served on Bramford’s Governing body as a parent governor since 2011. In 2016 he became the Chair and is proud to be part of the school alongside the other members of the governing body and staff. As a parent Philip has two children currently in the school so has a keen interest seeing the school have positive growth in education and also ensuring that the school continues on its journey to become Ofsted Outstanding and Griffin Great. He has over 20 years’ experience the in I.T. sector working in public and private organisations including schools, colleges, universities and other government organisations. Outside of work Phil has a keen interest in Music, Theatre and Golfing.

 

Mandy Lloyd – Clerk
westmindlandsclerk@griffinschoolstrust.org
01905 354800

Address of Chair:
Perry Wood Primary and Nursery School, St Albans Close, Worcester, WR5 1PP

>> SCHOOL GOVERNANCE DOCUMENTATION

>> TRUST GOVERNANCE DOCUMENTATION

Proud Traditions | Wide Horizons | High Achievement

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