Governance
What does a school governor do?
Governors are responsible for overseeing the management side of a school: strategy, policy, budgeting and staffing. They enable their school to run as effectively as possible, working alongside senior leaders and supporting teachers to provide excellent education to children.
Being a school governor is a commitment to attending governing body meetings which consider issues such as setting the school vision, mitigating financial risk and scrutinising educational outcomes. They are also involved in the school community, acting as critical friends to the headteacher and senior leaders.
Andrew McGovern
Proprietor (Operational Director)
Andrew has lead adult Social Care for the local authority for over 10 years, before retraining as a chef and starting his own catering company. Andrew is passionate about providing opportunities for others and went on to tutor young people that found themselves on the periphery of education, engaging them back into learning through cooking and life skills.
Andrew is one of the founding directors of Community Ed C.I.C. an Intuitive Provision that opened in 2020. Community Ed was set up to provide person-centred learning for hard-to-reach young people that have large gaps away from education. Community Ed is a community interest company that’s committed to providing quality education to young people within the community, because we are a community interest company all funding directly supports the education of our students.
Karen
Chair of Governors
Safeguarding and Children in care
I am a qualified social worker and have worked in Children and Families social work for over 20 years, working within local authorities for 13 years with all my social work career being based with children and young people looked after. I left the local authority after being a team manager for several years. Upon leaving the local authority in 2013 I set up Beams Foster Care, a local fostering agency based in Gorleston, I am Co-Director and the Registered Manager. We provide local foster placements to Norfolk and Suffolk children.
I hold a Bachelor of Science degree; a diploma is Social Work and a diploma in Criminology. Since being a Registered Manager I have completed Level 5 management course.
My passion is to support children, young people, and their families to reach their potentials. Over the years I have worked to support several children and young people that have additional needs and hold a strong interest in ensuring children and young people with disabilities have the services and resources theyshould have to ensure they can achieve in all aspects of their lives.
In my personal life I am an adoptive parent, to a funny, engaging teenager. Prior to becoming a wife, stepparent, and parent, I spent my younger years travelling counties such as America, France, Australia, and New Zealand, mostly working as a children’s nanny.
As a School Governor I hope to bring my personal and professional experience to assist the school in reaching high aspirations and a commitment to the children and young people to help them achieve the best possible outcomes.
Daniel
School Governor
School Development Plan & Strategic Support
I have spent my working life within the voluntary, community and social enterprise sector. Engaging with local communities of interest my motivation is the development of long term and sustainable solutions which meet the needs of those with a lived experience. I am Chief Executive at Home-Start Norfolk and the VCSE Assembly place-based representative for Norwich, part of our Integrated Care System for Norfolk. I also run a VCSE management consultancy business, YourNorfolk Ltd.
Julie
School Governor
I currently work for Norfolk County Council and during my varied career I've worked for both the private, public and voluntary sector. I've enjoyed many roles including working for the community to develop and deliver services, working one to one with families and supporting individual young people.
I have a BSc Hons Degree in Psychosocial Studies, and as well as my full-time job, I'm a tutor for Adult Education. I've worked full time, been self-employed and unemployed, and I strongly believe that learning is the path to work you actually enjoy.
I know that learning can't be successful if it's a 'one size fits all' approach, and that early learning experiences greatly affect later life and ongoing life achievements. Many children don't enjoy education or learning, and anything we can do to change that should be a priority. By working with families and in communities to build a strong ideology of positive learning, achievement and growth, we help everyone, and I am happy to contribute to that in my day-to-day work and in my role as school governor.
Matthew
School Governor
Finance, GDPR & Health & Safety
Matthew is a tax and payroll specialist, having spent over 25 years in accountancy practice.
A qualified member of the Association of Tax Technicians (AAT), Matthew joined Lovewell Blake as an audit junior after completing his A levels. After studying accounting, he found an affinity with taxation, in particular personal and employment taxes, and passed the AAT exams before accepting a role in the payroll team.There, he advises clients across all manner of payroll issues, from workplace pensions to national insurance and Construction Industry Scheme reporting.
Outside work, Matthew is a keen football fan and loves a good book.
He brings a wealth of experience in accounting and finance to his role as a governor, which he hopes to use to the greater benefit of the school.
Samantha
School Governor
Curriculum
Samantha is currently the headteacher of All Saints Lessingham, a well established SEN school. She has over a decade of experience in the senior leadership and has built a strong SEND curriculum.
David
School Governor
Staff wellbeing and representative
Hi I am David
I work at Community-Ed Academy. This specialist SEMH school works with young people aged 11 to 16 and their families. We specifically look to support the students regarding their social and emotional well-being through different means. We believe it is essential for young people to have passion in their lives, and we try our best to develop and support this through activities and 1:1 support. We also aim to help parents and their wider families as we believe a systemic approach to our student’s engagement is the best way to get the most from them.
I am also the school therapist and have multiple clients within the school. This can be the students, staff, or family members. I am qualified as an integrative therapist and draw on different theories and ideas to support my clients. Until recently, I was a specialist bereavement therapist, volunteering at the James Paget Hospital, working with complicated grief and loss. The service has recently closed due to funding, but it was a role I enjoyed very much, and I was lucky enough to be able to offer my services there for around six years.
I am a firm believer in family support and that the best way to support a student in a school can sometimes be to support the parents. I enjoy attending home visits and speaking with families face-to-face to see how I can best help them.
I am currently studying for a Master’s in Time-limited Psychodynamic Approach and CBT. I have completed my first year, and I am now working on learning more about Cognitive Behavioural Therapy in my final year. I hope to integrate this into my therapeutic offer, and I am excited to see how this can support my clients better. I recognise the importance of academia but know that this learning style is not for everyone, and I am keen to help young people to learn in a way that better supports them.
The leadership team is crucial in running the school smoothly, shaping its values, making strategic decisions, and ensuring compliance with safeguarding policies.
At Community Ed Academy, we're fortunate to boast a diverse staff team. From highly qualified teachers and Teaching Assistants to non-teaching staff, all doing their part.