Our Governing Body
Welcome to the CSPA Governors page. Here, you will find information regarding the composition of the governing body, a description of what we do, our strategic vision for CSPA, how we organise our duties and a little bit about who we each are.
If you would like to contact the governing body, please send an email to :
chairofgovernors@cspacademy.org.uk
Governor Recruitment
From the Chair of Governors
Our school is run on a day-to-day basis by the Headteacher and staff. Its work is overseen by a team of school governors who join with the school to set its vision and ethos, ensure financial best practice and hold the Headteacher to account for the schools’ performance.
We currently have two governor vacancies and are looking to recruit people who will join us in being passionate about ensuring that this school provides the best possible education to every child who comes. The role is fun, worthwhile, stimulating and sometimes stretching. On average a governor can expect to devote 1 – 2 hours a week to governance, mostly from home on email. We have five, in-person, governing body meetings a year, starting at 6 p.m. on a weeknight and lasting approximately two hours each. In addition, each governor serves on a sub-committee (finance, HR and operations, curriculum and ethos) for a similar number of meetings each year at times agreed by committee members. Each governor also oversees one or more curriculum or functional areas.
Governors bring a range of skillsets, but the most important are common sense, a willingness to learn, the ability to work in a team and a desire to constantly improve educational outcomes for our children. Training is given. The typical term of office is four years. Our school is a Church of England Academy and all governors are expected to align with our core values outlined in our school tag line: We are a COMMUNITY that is SUPPORTIVE, PREPARED and together we ACHIEVE life in all its fullness. Jesus said: I am come that you might have life to the full. Governors are volunteers: we are not paid but may claim reasonable expenses for items such as child care etc.
If you, or someone you know, would be interested in discussing these roles further please email me, Jim King, Chair of Governors, at j-king@cspacademy.org.uk with a phone number and best times to contact you. I will be delighted to chat without obligation and, if you are interested, invite you to attend a governing body meeting as an observer to see whether or not you would like to join.
Thank you and best wishes,
Jim King
The governing body
The governing body comprises the headteacher, two elected staff governors, two elected parent governors and nine or more member appointed governors. The governing body can also co-opt up to two governors, who are non-voting. A CSPA governor's term is for a maximum of 4 years. (More information regarding CSPA’s members can be found in the document “Structure of the governing body and register of interests” at the bottom of this page.)
The current composition of the governing body can be found in the table below.
| Mrs Nicola Alburg | Acting Headteacher and Governor by virtue of office |
| Mrs Alice Clare | Staff Governor |
Mrs Hayley Harrison | Headteacher and Governor by virtue of office |
| Miss Paige Gordge | Staff Governor |
Mr Kellam Greenwood | Member appointed Governor |
Revd Jim King (Chair of Governors) | Member Appointed Governor |
| Professor Tom Kitching | Member Appointed Governor |
| Mr Jeremy Owen | Parent Governor |
Mrs Jessica Redman (Vice Chair of Governors) | Member appointed Governor |
| Mr Jasvinder Sahota | Parent Governor |
| Mr James Simmons | Member appointed Governor |
| Mr Ian Lowe | Clerk to the Governing Body |
What do we do?
Governing bodies have three core functions: these are to ensure clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction for the school, to hold the headteacher to account for pupil outcomes and quality of teaching and learning, and to ensure financial probity.
Clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction |
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Holding the headteacher to account |
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Financial probity |
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Governing bodies set the aims and objectives for the school and set the policies and targets for achieving those aims and objectives. They monitor and evaluate the progress the school is making and act as a source of challenge and support to the headteacher. Duties include, for example:
- Appointing the headteacher and senior leaders, performance reviewing the headteacher including making decisions about pay;
- Overseeing the management of budgets and decisions as to how money is spent;
- Engaging with pupils, staff, parents and the school community;
- Sitting on panels and making decisions about things like pupil exclusions and staff disciplinary;
- Addressing a range of education issues within the school including disadvantaged pupils, pupils with special needs, staff workload and teacher recruitment and;
- Looking at data and evidence to ask questions and have challenging conversations about the school.
Our strategic vision for CSPA
The governing body has a strategic vision for CSPA which we review each year. In line with this vision and in response to both government and school level factors, we set ourselves medium term strategic priorities which guide our work. A document describing the governing body’s strategic vision can be found here.
How do we organise ourselves to carry out our duties?
There are four Full Governing Body (FGB) meetings per year; one in each term with two in the Autumn term. The FGB is supported by an external Governance Professional. The FGB delegates some work to committees and working parties. There are four committees: Administration, Curriculum & Ethos, Finance and Audit & Risk. Each committee meets six times per year; twice a term, with the exception of the Audit & Risk committee, which meets four times per year. In addition, working parties are formed when necessary to carry out specific projects such as Premise Development and Admissions. Further, the FGB delegates some responsibilities to individual governors such as Safeguarding, SEND, Health & Safety and Equalities.
All governors are members of at least one committee. Governors also commit to undertaking induction training as well as ongoing training to support their delegated roles. All governors undertake a monitoring role, which is carried out through focussed school visits and meetings with different members of staff across the school year.
To review the current composition of committees and working parties, please refer to the committee grid below.
A little bit about each governor
Here you can read a short biography of each of the governors.