Local Governing Body

Meadowside has been part of Elevate Multi Academy Trust from the outset and is happy to be part of the educational vision of the Trust, whilst retaining their own strong identity.  The Trustees have allowed its Academies to retain the same composition for their local governing bodies, which is set out below. 

The three core functions of the local governing board are:

To ensure clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction;

To hold the head teacher to account for the educational performance of the Academy and its children;

To oversee the financial performance of the Academy and make sure its money is well spent.

 And to monitor the Ofsted Framework priorities of intent, implementation, impact, behaviour & attitudes, personal development and leadership & management.

Responsibilities:

Together, the Governors are responsible for:

• Setting aims and targets for the Academy and checking the Academy’s progress towards attaining these.

• Monitoring how well the Academy’s policies and plans are working.

• Accounting for the performance of the Academy and the Local Governing Body.

• Working with the Head teacher to make sure that teaching at the Academy is effective and good quality and the children are making the best possible progress.

• Taking general responsibility for the Academy and its budget.

• Challenging and supporting the senior management team and taking opportunities to show interest in and appreciation of staff and children.

• Promoting the interests of the Academy and its children in the wider community.

 Types of Governors 

There are several different types of Governor:

• Parent Governor

  Elected from parents at the Academy by parents at the Academy.

• Staff Governor

  Elected from staff at the Academy by staff at the Academy.

• Co-opted Governors

  Appointed by members of the Local Governing Body. They are intended to be representative of the local community and may add particular kinds of expertise.

   

               

  Elevate Governance:

  As a multi-academy trust, Elevate is a charitable company limited by guarantee. This means that Elevate is a single legal entity, but it has several Academies within its family. Currently, Elevate has 14 Primary Academies. These are mainly situated across North Yorkshire with 1 Academy in West Yorkshire.

   

  Elevate and their Academies work in collaboration with a single shared vision. The governance structure is designed to reflect the overall responsibility of the Board of Trustees, the (operational) leadership of the CEO supported by the School Improvement Team for education and the Operational Team; for the day to day running of the Academies by the Executive Head Teachers (EHT) and Head teachers coupled with the value of local experience and understanding of the LGBs in assessing the performance of our Academy and their interaction with the local community.

  Elevate has established 3 key layers of governance: 

  • Members
  • Trustees
  • Local Governors 

   

  Although Elevate’s Trustees are accountable for all of the Academies within the Trust, it highly values the work undertaken by local governors in supporting, and challenging, our Academies and senior leadership teams to deliver high quality and inclusive education.

   

  Elevate LGBs have a pivotal role in the overall framework of the Trust by having:

  • An in-depth knowledge and understanding of their Academies;
  • Sustaining uniqueness of their Academy whilst aligning with Elevate’s educational vision;
  • Forging and maintaining links with their community;
  • Providing the vital governance link between themselves and Trustees to enable the Trustees to carry out their responsibilities as leaders of the Trust.

  The different responsibilities overseen by Trustees and Local Governors are set out in the Scheme of Delegation, which is reviewed on an annual basis.

   

  Link to Scheme of Delegation

  Link to Articles of Association

   

 Chair of Governors: Barry Blake

 Contact: b.blake@meadowsideaccademy.org  or

Meadowside Academy, Halfpenny lane, Knaresborough, North Yorkshire, HG5 0SL

Mr S Crawford : Head Teacher

Helen Swann: Staff Governor

Having worked at Meadowside since 2011, Helen feels very privileged to have been part of such a dedicated team who work tirelessly to bring about changes for the benefit of all.  Helen previously worked as an SLE (Senior Leader in Education) for Elevate, where she worked to support other schools in the development of Outstanding practices in Key Stage 2 and in Mathematics. 

On securing the role of Assistant Head teacher, Helen has remained focused on in-school development as she leads on all Pastoral aspects of school, Pupil Premium and Disadvantaged, along with teaching full-time in Year 5. Helen is extremely proud to be able to lead her Meadowside family in her role as all stakeholders are nurtured in the development and growth of their curiosity, courage and kindness. 

Vacancy: Co-Opted Governor

Barry Blake: Co-Opted Governor and Chair of Governors

Barry, now retired, had a career in two parts. For the first part he was in sales and marketing - in construction, and then energy (coal, oil and gas). The second part was as a University Lecturer, lecturing in Marketing, Finance, Entrepreneurship and Creative Thinking. He was also Course Director for a distance learning online Master’s Degree with a cohort of students from around the world. 

When LMS (Local Management of Schools) was introduced, Barry was a parent governor for two years at Aspin Park School which was attended by his two daughters.

Barry has an HND in Business Studies, an MBA from the University of Leeds, the Diploma in Marketing, and a C&G Certificate in Further Education Teaching. He is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Marketing.

Barry strongly feels, “early years education” sets the foundation for lifelong behaviour and health, it helps children to get along with others and cope with daily stresses and challenges. As a Governor he hopes to contribute to these objectives, with the future of his own grandchildren very much in mind.

His interests include: jazz, drumming, golf, sailing, food science, walking the dog, volunteering for The Prince’s Trust and a charity called Dementia Forward.

Vacancy: Parent Governor

Debs Foley: Parent Governor and Vice Chair of Governors

As the mother of a child at Meadowside, Debs is passionate about creating opportunity for her and all the children in her community to receive excellent educational, pastoral and wrap around care. Debs hopes to be able to support the leadership at Meadowside to make sure school life gives children great memories, long lasting friendships, and the best chance of success as an adult, including a healthy mind-set. 

Professionally, Debs is a qualified secondary school Teacher with over 25 years’ experience, working for most of that time as senior leader in inner city schools in Leeds.  She now works as a Development for the Teach First, an organisation that strive to ensure every child leaves school with the skills and knowledge that they need to succeed in the world.  Debs works developing trainee and newly qualified teachers working in schools with high levels of deprivation across the north of England. 

It is Debs' hope that her educational knowledge, ability as a Teacher, passion for education combined with her desire for Meadowside to be a great Academy will enable her to make a significant contribution to the Academy as it embarks on its journey towards maintaining its outstanding grading. 

Clerk to the LGB: Dianne Mousley

Resignations: 

Sophie Smith 01.08.2022

Grant Woodvine 16.03.2022

Tessa Beaumont Co-opted 25.09.18 to 25.09.2022

Sam Turner Chair of Governors 22.01.2022

Keri Standen Co opted 29.09.2020

Dan Styles Associate Member 

Malcolm Gardiner Associate member - end of term of office

Jo Crouse Parent governor - end of term of office

John Hutchinson

Jean Carter

Governor Attendance: