Governors
Our Governors
Charnwood College is governed by an Academy Scrutiny Committee.
Our governors are:
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Alastair O'ConorPrincipal
Alastair O'Conor
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Jane SpencerTrust Senior Link
Jane Spencer
Jane was appointed a Trust Senior Link on 5 February 2019. She is employed at the Trust, based in the Head Office which is located on the Charnwood College campus. She lives in Loughborough and her son is in Year 3 at a local primary school. She is keen to ensure Charnwood College offers an outstanding all-round school experience for all pupils and their families in the town. Jane strongly believes that a broad education when pupils are of school-age is really important. This gives pupils opportunities to experience and explore a range of subjects, so they can discover their particular interests and strengths, and therefore build confidence as well as capability. She also recognises the value of extra-curricular enrichment opportunities in this. As well as being the Trust Senior Link Governor, Jane also has a focus on safeguarding. She is an accountant for her job which means she brings experience of risk management and interpreting data to spot potential areas where improvement effort should be focussed. Outside of work, Jane enjoys exercise when she gets the chance. She loves a walk in the outdoors and occasionally some jogging or a family bike ride. Her husband and son share an interest in history so they also visit a lot of castles and museums at weekends.
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Matthew FrostParent Governor (Chair)
Matthew Frost
Matthew was appointed a Parent Governor on 9 March 2018. Matthew wanted to join the ASC, because whilst considering which school to send his son to, it was clear Charnwood College was a school with huge ambition and potential for its students. Matthew wanted to support the academy in reaching its potential for the benefit of the local community. Matthew was elected Chair by his fellow governors in May 2019. Under the enthusiastic and dedicated new school leadership team (working with DRET and the committed staff), the College has made significant progress, and Matthew has been privileged to help play a part in this ongoing journey. Matthew is a Chartered Civil Engineer. He is also a Director of Undergraduate Studies and a Senior Lecturer in the School of Architecture Building and Civil Engineering at Loughborough University, where he is also a Warden for a Hall of Residence (responsible for the welfare of over 300 students). Matthew's main research interests are in the field of transport infrastructure. He has also worked in the construction industry on a wide range of civil engineering projects. Matthew's son and daughter both currently attend Charnwood College. He enjoys walking and boating. Matthew is also involved in a number of local community groups and an active member of the professional engineering institutions.
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Steven CorbettDRET Appointed Governor (Vice Chair)
Steven Corbett
Steven was appointed on to the ASC on 15 June 2016, and is currently serving his second term of office as a DRET Appointed Governor. He used to attend the College when he took his GCSE's and A Levels and wanted to help once his daughters started to attend the college. Steven is a marketing professional in a private company and see things slightly differently to other governors. He tries to bring on board marketing thoughts to help either solve issues or to help leaders think about matters from different perspectives. Steven's interests include Music, Leicester City and he's been known to brew a beer or two.
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Dave FoordDRET Appointed Governor
Dave Foord
Dave was appointed a DRET Appointed Governor on 7 June 2020. He joined the ASC because he wanted to put something back into the school where his children attended. Dave is the link Governor for Pupil Premium and SEN. He is also the Owner and Director of an educational training and consultancy company, that specialises in online learning, blended learning, and effective use of Virtual Learning Environments (VLEs). Dave is formerly a teacher/lecturer and has experience of working at Senior Manger Level within a University. He has worked freelance since 2006 working with a wide variety of different education providers nationally and internationally. His interests and passions include Cricket, Mountaineering, Running and Cycling.
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Guy ShearerDRET Appointed Governor
Guy Shearer
Guy was appointed a DRET Appointed Governor on 23 October 2020. Guy was a teacher and then headteacher in the UK and overseas for many years. He has also led on curriculum design for the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust. Guy has worked as Head of ICT and Data for the David Ross Education Trust and is now a civil servant at the Department for Education. During his teaching career Guy taught Computing at Burleigh Community College.
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Claire JaggerDRET Appointed Governor
Claire Jagger
Claire was appointed a DRET Appointed Governor on the ASC on 16 December 2020. She has always been passionate about education, development and careers having worked at Loughborough University for over 17 years in the Careers and Organisational Development teams. Claire wanted to be able to support local children to get the best start at life and bring her experience in Higher Education to the role of Link Governor for Careers and Development. She also attended Charnwood College when she was younger and her father taught there for over three decades so it is a school she feels proud of. Claire is a Learning and Development Projects Lead at Loughborough University and has experience of training, development, coaching and mentoring. She also worked within the careers department so has experience of Career Development and Recruitment. Claire also delivers training on a range of topics, including Leadership, Management, Managing Change, Difficult Conversations and coaching. She is an accredited mediator and am qualified to administer psychometric testing. She is passionate about language and is acting co-Chair of the inaugural Women's Network at Loughborough University. She is an avid reader, obsessive jigsaw completer (18,000 pieces is my largest) writer, feminist and baker!
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Stuart ThompsonDRET Appointed Governor
Stuart Thompson
Stuart was appointed a DRET Appointed Governor on 10 June 2021. He has enjoyed being a Governor previously but had to pause whilst his children were younger. Having settled in Loughborough Stuart was keen to help and support Charnwood College on their exciting journey moving forward, as well as further his own learning. Stuart is a Senior Deputy Head at a local Independent Secondary School and has worked in three different schools and has been a senior leader for over ten years. Stuart is also a school inspector within the sector. He continues to teach and enjoy music both as a performer and composer and divides any spare time either on the touchline supporting his eldest in his new football team or as a frustrated golfer.
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Jessica TickellParent Governor
Jessica Tickell
Jessica was elected by Parents to join the Academy Scrutiny Committee on 16 May 2019. Her daughter currently attends the academy. Jessica is passionate about living in Loughborough and wants it to be a great place for everyone to live, bring up their children and make a living, now and in the future. She feels that being a school governor is one way to make a real difference to the school lives of children in the town. Jessica is the link governor for Pupil Premium and SEND. She works in the cultural sector with particular experience in literacy and creative writing at secondary school level, which fits neatly with the work of the ASC.
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Nicole BarfieldStaff Governor
Nicole Barfield
Nicole was appointed a Staff Governor on 1 May 2019. She joined the ASC as she wanted to be part of the drive for change at Charnwood College. On the ASC, she is also Link governor for CPD. Nicole is a Teacher of Biology and Chemistry at Charnwood and Lead for Careers, RSE and Personal Development. Her interests include Reading and listening to History podcasts.
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Teresa ElkinClerk
Teresa Elkin
Teresa Elkin has been clerking academies within the Trust since 2014. As a former Chair of an Outstanding primary school and part of the governance teams at Northamptonshire County Council and the David Ross Education Trust, she decided to become an independent clerk to support governing bodies. Teresa also supports other maintained schools and academies in the county. Teresa's initial career was in advertising and marketing but a move into education, governance in particular ensured that she had a wide range of skills to bring to governing bodies. Teresa is an experienced governor and Chair, a governor trainer and mentor to individual governors and Chairs. Her passions and interests are the Theatre, literature and international travel.
Governor Assigned Responsibilities
SEND and Pupil Premium - Dave Foord and Jessica Tickell
Safeguarding - Jane Spencer and Guy Shearer
Curriculum, Teaching and Learning Outcomes - Matthew Frost, Steve Corbett and Stuart Thompson
Ethos and Leadership - Alastair O'Connor
Staff Development - Nicole Barfield
Careers and PDSHE - Claire Jagger
Sixth Form - Stuart Thompson
Contacting a Governor
To contact a governor, please contact the Trust Governance Team by emailing governorservices@dret.co.uk
Scheme of Delegation
Information about the David Ross Education Trust's scheme of delegation is available here.
Minutes of the Academy Scrutiny Committee
Should you wish to view a copy of the minutes of the ASC at this academy, please contact the Trust Governance Team, who will be able to provide you with an electronic or paper copy of the minutes.
Are you interested in becoming an academy governor?
We are looking for new governors to support our academies. Our governors work closely with their academies to support the Trust’s goal of broadening the horizons of young people through a world-class education, equipping our students with the skills and experiences to become their confident, academic best, no matter what.
If you have an interest in, and commitment to, improving education and would like to make a difference within your community, please register your interest in becoming a governor by completing our governor application form. If you have any questions about a governor’s role or responsibilities please contact us at governorservices@dret.co.uk
What skills, experience and commitment are required?
Governors attend six Academy Scrutiny Committee meetings a year (this may vary slightly depending on the academy) and are asked to support and enrich the academy in a range of other ways including:
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Undertaking school visits outside Academy Scrutiny Committee meetings.
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Taking on a ‘link’ governor role, liaising with academy staff and other governors on areas such as safeguarding, special educational needs and other academy priority areas.
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Sitting on panels related to the school, eg, appeals, complaints, exclusions.
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Participating in the Trust’s governor training and development programme.
We are looking for local people who would be committed to supporting the Trust’s goals. You need time, enthusiasm and a deep commitment to support these academies to be the best they can for their communities. A programme of induction, training and support is provided and expenses are covered. The Academy Scrutiny Committee role outline can be found here.
How does governance work at DRET?
At DRET, the Academy Scrutiny Committee provides support and challenge to the Principal in ensuring every child makes good or better progress and that the Academy is achieving targets and continually improving. To maximise the ability of the local governors to focus on this key area the Academy Scrutiny Committee is not required to set strategy or policy, manage financial resources, staff performance and pay, Health and Safety or many of the other areas traditionally associated with a maintained school governing body as these issues are dealt with at Trust level. This means that governors are able to concentrate on the things that really matter – pupil progress, school outcomes and aspiration.
The Academy Scrutiny Committee consists of a group of people who could be parents, community nominees, academy staff, Trust staff and Diocesan members. Each Academy Scrutiny Committee normally consists of 11-15 governors creating a balanced group of experience, skills and connections to support the academy in achieving exceptional performance.
In summary, the key responsibilities of the Academy Scrutiny Committee are:
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Understanding and promoting the Trust’s and the Academy’s vision and ethos.
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Scrutiny and challenge of achievement of targets, school improvement and pupil outcomes. Escalation of any concerns to the Trustees via the Executive.
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Supporting and facilitating parental and community engagement.
The difference between a DRET Academy Scrutiny Committees and a traditional school Governing Body -By comparison to a traditional school Governing Body:
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The Academy Scrutiny Committee’s role is not to “manage” the Academy. This is done through the Trust’s executive management structure (ie Principal, Regional Directors, Executive Management Team) and the Trust Board. Therefore, the Academy Scrutiny Committee is not required to take decisions on staff or financial matters affecting the Academy. As an Academy Scrutiny Committee Member you should have an understanding of strategic issues that impact on the Academy, and be updated on them regularly by the Principal, but you are not required to have direct responsibility for them. Instead the Academy Scrutiny Committee should be in a position to assess the impact of the Academy locally; how it is contributing to the local community, how it is relating to local families and how it understands local issues.
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As the Executive Management and Trust Board takes responsibility for setting educational standards, legal compliance and financial viability, the Academy Scrutiny Committee then has the time to scrutinise and challenge achievement of targets and school improvement, investigate the standards on the ground, to see how they are working, and explore how the Trust ethos is being understood and expressed in the way the Academy operates. As an Academy Scrutiny Committee member, your view as a parent, member of staff or as part of the community is vital in this discussion.
