Governors
We are pleased to welcome you to the governors’ section of the site. We hope it will give you an insight into who we are and what we do.
Wolvercote Primary School is an academy managed by THE RIVER LEARNING TRUST. Each school within The River Learning Trust is managed by its local governing body and the Senior Leadership Team of the school.
Working in partnership with the Headteacher and staff, governors ensure high standards of achievement for the children in the school. We focus on strategy and school improvement; we decide what we want the school to achieve, set priorities and monitor progress to realise these aims. We have three core strategic functions delegated to us by The River Learning Trust Board:
- Setting the vision, ethos and strategic direction of the school, within the context of The River Learning Trust
- Holding the Headteacher and senior staff to account for the educational performance of the school and its children
- Ensuring the school remains within the budget delegated by The River Learning Trust and making sure the money is well spent
What do the Governors do?
The River Learning Trust delegates key strategic responsibilities to the governors. The governors then work collaboratively with the Headteacher and senior staff to establish the vision and ethos of the school within the context of The River Learning Trust.
We look at where the school is now, ask what we want the school to achieve and how are we going to achieve this. Together with the Headteacher and senior staff, we use the published school performance data.and additional outcomes from the school’s self-evaluation, to inform priorities in the School Improvement Plan. We set clear, ambitious targets for the school and develop policies and budget and staffing structures to achieve these aims. We also appoint the Headteacher.
The governor’s act as a critical friend to the school, reviewing the performance of the Headteacher, checking that progress is being made towards targets, and evaluating the effectiveness of policies and the School
Improvement Plan. We also help celebrate the school's successes and ensure that parents are involved and informed as appropriate.
Governors get to know the school through attending meetings and by visiting the school during the school day.
The governing body is organised into two sub-committees, which take responsibility for holding the Headteacher to account for the educational performance and financial performance of the school. The sub committees are:
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Impact Committee - This committee has an overview of the academic performance of the school.
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Resources Committee - This committee has an overview of the effectiveness of the schools resources including staffing, equipment and the building and grounds. It also has oversight over the schools budget.
Each governor is allocated to one of the two sub-committees and some governors take on specific responsibilities, for example, Safeguarding and Health & Safety.
Who are the Governors?
Chair of Governors: Austen Cook
Vice Chair: Dan Sparrow
Chair of Impact Committee: Paul Buckley
Chair of Resources Committee: Dan Sparrow
Headteacher: Mandy Hook
Clerk to Governors: Leyla Kizilcay
Parent Governors
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Mary-Jane Newton
-
Dan Sparrow
-
Rebecca Williams
-
Magali Matsumiya
Staff Governors
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Julia Ryle-Hodges (teaching staff)
-
Kerrie Butler (Support Staff)
Community Governors
-
Austen Cook
-
Paul Buckley
LEA Governor
-
Jo Sandelson
Associate Governors
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Louise Eames (Business Manager) - Resources Committee Only
List of Governors who have served within the last 12 months and attendance at FGB Meetings 2022-23
List of Governors who have served within the last 12 months Updated October 2023 |
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Name of Governor |
Appointed As |
Responsibilities/Link Roles |
Date of Appointment and appointed by: |
End of office |
Meetings Attended 2022/2023 (LGB + Committee) |
Mandy Hook |
Ex-officio by virtue of being the Headteacher of the School |
All areas covered by the LGB and committees. |
Appointed by virtue of being the Headteacher. September 2022 |
- |
12/12 |
Austen Cook |
Community Governor |
Chair of Governors Resources Committee GDPR Finance |
Appointed by: Local Governing Body November 2016 Ext November 2020 |
November 2024 |
7/8 |
Paul Buckley |
Community Governor |
Chair of Impact Committee PSHE, Wellbeing and Behaviour in relation to Personal Development. Communication and PR |
Appointed by: Local Governing Body June 2021 |
June 2025 |
8/8 |
Mary-Jane Newton |
Parent Governor |
Impact Committee Wider Curriculum |
Appointed by: Parents January 2021 |
January 2025 |
3/8 |
Dan Sparrow |
Parent Governor |
Vice Chair Chair of Resources Committee Health & Safety Safeguarding Medical Care |
Appointed by: Parents December 2020 |
December 2024 |
7/8 |
Register of Pecuniary Interests
Governor |
Relevant business interests to include: *Name of Organisation *Nature of Business *Nature of interest |
Other educational establishments governed |
Relationships with this school’s staff to include: *Spouses *Partners *Relatives |
Date declared |
Paul Buckley |
None Declared |
None |
None |
11/09/2023 |
Austen Cook |
Oxfordshire County Council Finance Consultant Devon County Council Finance Consultant Haringey Council Finance Consultant Nottingham County Council Finance Consultant Lunatus Ltd Director |
None |
None |
11/09/2023 |
Mary-Jane Newton |
Oxford University Press Publisher Employment Oxford Union Society Membership Beta Gamma Sigma Society Membership UCL University Alumna The University of Oxford University Alumna Twig Education/Imagine Learning Publisher Employment Artemis Studios Performing Arts School Non-Executive Director/Trustee Nord Anglia Education Employment |
None |
None |
13/09/2023 |
Daniel Sparrow |
Rapid Indigo Ltd IT Services Director |
None |
None |
22/09/2022 |
Rebecca Williams |
None declared |
None |
None |
10/09/2023 |
Mandy Hook |
Wolvercote Primary School Education Headteacher |
None |
None |
15/09/2022 |
Magali Matsumiya |
None declared |
None |
None |
18/09/2023 |
Jo Sandelson |
Oxford City Council City Councillor |
None |
None |
12/10/2023 |
Kerrie Butler |
Staff Member at Wolvercote Primary School |
None |
None |
03/02/2023 |
Julia Ryle-Hodges |
Staff Member at Wolvercote Primary School Primary Science Teaching Trust Trustee Oxford University Press Father is Chair of the Board |
None |
None |
17/09/2023 |
Cleverbox | Test |
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