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 GBTerm of OfficeCommitteeDeclared InterestsDeclaration Date
Ann-Marie Ellis
Headteacher
HeadteacherN/AHeadteacherSon friends with a pupil who attends the Dales School - Social Media Contact.06/09/2022
Neil Irving
Co-Opted
Chair 05/07/2023-05/07/2027Full Governing BodyN/A15/05/2023
Andrew Rickard
Co-Opted
Governor26/10/2019-26/10/2023Full Governing BodyEmployed at Thirsk School and Sixth Form College 12/10/2022
Jennifer Hinde
Parent
Governor 04/03/2022-04/03/2026Full Governing BodyN/A07/12/2022
Sue Thurman
Co-Opted
Governor05/02/2020-05/02/2024Full Governing BodyN/A12/10/2022
Venetia Wrigley
Co-Opted
Governor06/05/2022-06/05/2026Full Governing BodyPartnership Interest - N & P Wrigley.16/10/2022
Claire Turner
Co-Opted
Governor15/06/2022-15/06/2026Full Governing BodyN/A07/12/2022
Mark Holmes
Co-Opted
Governor22/02/2023-22/02/2027Full Governing BodyN/A16/01/2023
Angela Waldock
LA Governor 22/02/2023-22/02/2027Full Governing BodyN/A21/03/2023
Cheryl Hagyard
Associate
N/A15/06/2022-15/06/2026N/ASchool Business Manager at The Dales School
Sharon Kettleborough
Associate
N/A15/06/2022-15/06/2026N/ADeputy Headteacher at The Dales School
Heidi Taylor
Clerk to Governors
N/AN/AFull Governing BodySchool Administrator at The Dales School

Governors who have served in the past 12 months

Full Name
(Category of Governor)
Position in GBTerm of OfficeCommitteeDeclared InterestsDeclaration DateLeaving Date
Elaine Harrison
Local Authority
Governor17/07/2020-16/07/2024Full Governing BodyN/A20/10/2021September 2022
Charlotte Biggs
Co-Opted
Governor06/05/2022-06/05/2026Full Governing BodyN/AOctober 2022
Haydn Rees Jones
Co-Opted
Governor 06/07/2022-06/07/2026Full Governing BodyGovernor at Northallerton College, employed by NYC06/04/2022July 2023
Yvette Simcoe
Co-Opted
Governor 05/02/2020-05/02/2024Full Governing BodySupport an ex Dales Pupil as part of full time employment22/02/2023September 2023
Heather Blackburn
Co-Opted
Staff Governor 06/04/2022-06/04/2026Full Governing BodyN/A12/12/2022September 2023