Governors

The Governors in any school carry a great responsibility in ensuring that their school is run properly. They challenge and support the Headteacher in making the major decisions affecting the school and its students. The Governors do not manage the school on a day-to-basis, but focus on strategic and policy matters. We try not to get drawn into operational issues and concentrate on the big picture.

At The Avon Valley School, the Governors share the Head and Senior Leaders’ ethos of always putting the student first. Our decisions will always be based on what is best for our students. We take a long term view and make decisions about the future development of the school.

Governors are volunteers. We give up our free time, and sometimes work time, to fulfil our duties. It is not a role to be taken up lightly. At Avon Valley, we are fortunate to have an excellent board of governors who bring their valuable skills and knowledge to their role. We meet every half term to discuss the matters of the day and make decisions when required. Our decisions focus on ensuring that the Headteacher has the resources needed to give all our students the best opportunity to thrive, and to realise their potential during their time at Avon Valley. Resources alone are not enough. We also challenge and support the quality of teaching throughout the school. We are kept busy!

It is an honour to be the Chair of Governors at The Avon Valley School. The commitment of time and occasionally feeling daunted by responsibility, is far out-weighed by the satisfaction of seeing our students rewarded for their efforts within school, leaving with the skills and qualifications that they need to make their chosen onward journey in life.

Current Governor Details

CH = Chair, VC = Vice Chair, FGB = Full Governing Body, P&S = Performance & Standards Committee, RM = Resource Management Committee, SEN = Special Educational Needs, LAC = Looked After Children, H&S = Health & Safety, HT = Head Teacher

**Term of office for governors is 4 years. See Office Ends column for specific end dates.**

Governor Types

Partnership	Partnership Governor - appointed by FGB - nominated by parents and community
Co-opted	Co-opted Governor - appointed by FGB
Staff	Staff Governor - elected by staff at the school
LA	Local Authority Appointed Governor - recommended by Warwickshire County Council
Parent	Parent Governor - elected by parents at the school

Governor Name	Type	Responsibilities	Staff Connections	Office started	Office Ends	Other School Governor Posts	Business Interests
Blake Francis	Headteacher			01/09/23	n/a
Jon Patton	Staff Governor			01/11/21	31/10/26
Brian John Cheney	Co-opted Governor	Headteacher Appraisal, Pay Committee		19/01/15	17/01/27
Belinda Leslie	Co-opted Governor			28/02/22	27/02/26
Christian Mba	Parent Governor			15/03/22	14/03/26
Sarah Pick	Parent Governor			15/03/22	14/03/26
Natasha Evans	Co-opted Governor			15/04/24	14/04/28
Janet Ruth Gilbert	Co-opted Governor, Chair of Governors			18/01/23	17/01/27	Rugby High School
Andrew Mark Jones	Vice-Chair of Governors, Partnership Governor	Health & Safety		17/09/13	17/09/25		Warwickshire College Employee
David Mark Pearson	Associate Member, Deputy Headteacher			19/01/15	17/01/27
Darren Andrew Thomas Walden	Associate Member, Deputy Headteacher			19/01/15	17/01/27
Tina Raffell	Co-opted Governor			15/04/24	14/04/28
Sarina Mitchell	Co-opted Governor			30/01/23	29/01/27
Sukhraj Barhey	Co-opted Governor			13/05/24	12/05/28
Karen Elizabeth Powell	Local Authority Governor	Headteacher Appraisal		18/01/23	17/01/27		Kokoro Y11 Employability Programme

Term of office for governors is 4 years. See Office Ends column for specific end dates.

Historic Members

Name	Removal Reason	Removal notes	Governor Type	First Appointed	From	To	Leaving Date
Mrs Patricia Chamberlain	Resigned		Co-opted governor	19/01/2015	18/01/2019	17/02/2023	20/09/2021
Mrs Lisa Walker	Resigned		Co-opted governor	14/03/2014	26/02/2018	25/02/2022	14/09/2021
Mr Ian Goldthorp	Resigned		Staff governor	06/12/2019	06/12/2019	05/12/2023	29/11/2021
Miss Samantha Carney	Resigned		Parent governor	02/12/2019	02/12/2019	01/12/2023	04/01/2022
Dr Christian Von Wagner	Resigned		Parent governor	06/12/2019	06/12/2019	05/12/2023	28/02/2022
Mr Neil James Owen	Term ended		Partnership governor	16/07/2018	16/07/2018	30/09/2022	30/09/2022
Mr Andrew Gabbitas	Term ended		Partnership governor		16/07/2018	15/07/2022	15/07/2022
Miss Alison Davies	Retired		Headteacher	29/08/2014	01/09/2019	31/08/2023	31/08/2023
Mrs Theresa Silver-Vallance	Resigned		Co-opted governor	28/02/2022	28/02/2022	28/02/2026	15/01/2024