Governors' Information & Duties
At The Dales School the Governing Body is made up of eight Governors. Two Parent Governors; one Local Authority Governor; one Staff Governor; three co-opted Governors and the Headteacher. The Governors work in partnership with the Headteacher and the staff of the school. As well as providing advice and acting as a link between the school and the local community, their three core functions are to:
- Ensure clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction.
- Hold the Headteacher to account for the educational performance of the school; its pupils and the performance management of staff.
- Oversee the financial performance of the school making sure money is well spent.
The Full Governing Body appoints parent Governors and co-opted Governors. Local Authority Governors are appointed by the Local Authority and Staff Governors are elected by staff members. Terms of office for parent, co-opted and staff governors is four years. The term of office for Local Authority Governors is four years or until terminated by the Local Authority. The Chair and Vice-Chair shall have a term of office of 2 years. The Full Governing Body meet each term. If you wish to contact the Chair of Governors, please use the contact us page on this website and select the Chair of Governors option.
Due to the size of our Local Governing Body it is not possible for us to fully represent the breadth of diversity in our local community. We strive to ensure our Local Governing Body considers diversity and inclusion as a core value and we have developed a team with the expertise skills to achieve this. It is not appropriate for us to report on the individual characteristics of the Local Governing Body out of respect for the privacy of our Governors.
We can confirm that we have a balanced governing body from a gender, age and social mobility perspective. As a special school, the majority of our governors have either lived experience of disability or caring for others with a disability, or have professional experience in this area. As a Local Governing Body, we are conscious of the need to reflect the ethnicity of our students. Our aim is to ensure we are as inclusive and welcoming of all forms of diversity as possible. As we move forwards our focus is to further exploring how we can represent our community in terms of diversity.
Governors
Full Name (Category of Governor) | Position in GB | Term of Office | Committee | Declared Interests | Declaration Date |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ann-Marie Ellis Headteacher | Headteacher | N/A | Headteacher | Son friends with a pupil who attends the Dales School - Social Media Contact. | 06/09/2022 |
Neil Irving Co-Opted | Chair | 05/07/2023-05/07/2027 | Full Governing Body | N/A | 15/05/2023 |
Andrew Rickard Co-Opted | Governor | 26/10/2019-26/10/2023 | Full Governing Body | Employed at Thirsk School and Sixth Form College | 12/10/2022 |
Jennifer Hinde Parent | Governor | 04/03/2022-04/03/2026 | Full Governing Body | N/A | 07/12/2022 |
Sue Thurman Co-Opted | Governor | 05/02/2020-05/02/2024 | Full Governing Body | N/A | 12/10/2022 |
Venetia Wrigley Co-Opted | Governor | 06/05/2022-06/05/2026 | Full Governing Body | Partnership Interest - N & P Wrigley. | 16/10/2022 |
Claire Turner Co-Opted | Governor | 15/06/2022-15/06/2026 | Full Governing Body | N/A | 07/12/2022 |
Mark Holmes Co-Opted | Governor | 22/02/2023-22/02/2027 | Full Governing Body | N/A | 16/01/2023 |
Angela Waldock | LA Governor | 22/02/2023-22/02/2027 | Full Governing Body | N/A | 21/03/2023 |
Cheryl Hagyard Associate | N/A | 15/06/2022-15/06/2026 | N/A | School Business Manager at The Dales School | |
Sharon Kettleborough Associate | N/A | 15/06/2022-15/06/2026 | N/A | Deputy Headteacher at The Dales School | |
Heidi Taylor Clerk to Governors | N/A | N/A | Full Governing Body | School Administrator at The Dales School |
Governors who have served in the past 12 months
Full Name (Category of Governor) | Position in GB | Term of Office | Committee | Declared Interests | Declaration Date | Leaving Date |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Elaine Harrison Local Authority | Governor | 17/07/2020-16/07/2024 | Full Governing Body | N/A | 20/10/2021 | September 2022 |
Charlotte Biggs Co-Opted | Governor | 06/05/2022-06/05/2026 | Full Governing Body | N/A | October 2022 | |
Haydn Rees Jones Co-Opted | Governor | 06/07/2022-06/07/2026 | Full Governing Body | Governor at Northallerton College, employed by NYC | 06/04/2022 | July 2023 |
Yvette Simcoe Co-Opted | Governor | 05/02/2020-05/02/2024 | Full Governing Body | Support an ex Dales Pupil as part of full time employment | 22/02/2023 | September 2023 |
Heather Blackburn Co-Opted | Staff Governor | 06/04/2022-06/04/2026 | Full Governing Body | N/A | 12/12/2022 | September 2023 |