Governance is the process by which any organisation or group organises in order to be able to make decisions. In schools, this includes the governing body, who are responsible for scrutiny of decisions made in school and for driving improvement, and the processes and policies which allows the school to work effectively and appropriately.
As a member school within a multi-academy trust, responsibility for the governance of The Mease Spencer Academy ultimately derives to the Board of Trustees appointed to the Spencer Academies Trust. In common with all Spencer schools, The Mease Spencer Academy has a Local Governing Body (LGB), which is technically defined as a committee of the Trust Board.
The powers defining the legal relationship between The Mease Spencer Academy and The Spencer Academies Trust, together with the delegation of general powers within the trust, are set out in a document called the Scheme of Delegation.
The role of the governing board at The Mease
The Mease Spencer Academy shares a governing board with Hilton Primary School. The governing board is well established and experienced, well placed for supporting our new school and very familiar with the local area.
The governors are responsible for working with both schools to ensure that it delivers a good quality education. Together with the headteachers, who are responsible for day-to-day management, they set the school’s aims and policies.
The 3 key roles of a governing board are:
- To ensure clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction
- To hold the headteacher to account for the educational performance of the schools and its pupils, and the performance management of staff
- To oversee the financial performance of the school and make sure its money is well spent
Structure of the governing board
The work of the governing board is carried out through regular school visits (both in class and to meet members of the school teams), full governing board meetings and committee meetings. The committees are:
- Standards & Teaching committee, chaired by Nick Campion (Hilton Primary School only)
- Finance & Premises committee, chaired by Peter Williams (Hilton Primary School only)
- Standards, Finances & Premises committee, chaired by Terry Irvine (The Mease only)
- Safeguarding committee, chaired by Dawn Bentley (shared committee with Hilton Primary School)
- Pay committee, chaired by Julie Somers (shared committee with Hilton Primary School)
Governors, from time to time, are also involved in Working Groups to look at particular issues related to the development of the schools.
Please find below details of how our Governing body is structured, including the names, categories, responsibilities and terms of appointment for each Governor.
| Name | Category | Date of appointment | Duration | Committees | Other roles |
| Dawn Bentley | Community | 1st Oct 2018 | 4 years | Safeguarding (chair) | Y5 link
Physical & Emotional fitness link |
| Laura Briggs | Parent (The Mease) | 24th Sept 2019 | 2 years | Standards, Finance & Premises | |
| Nick Campion | Community (co-vice chair) | 1st Oct 2018 | 4 years | Standards (chair) | Sports Premium
Languages link Strategy group |
| Tricia Edwards | Associate | n/a | n/a | Safeguarding | |
| Bob Gallear | Community (chair) | 1st Oct 2018 | 4 years | Standards
Finance & Premises Pay (chair) |
Maths link
Strategy group STEM |
| Julia Hart | Principal (The Mease) | n/a | n/a | Standards, Finance & Premises
Safeguarding |
Strategy group |
| Joe Handy | Staff | Standards | |||
| Terry Irvine | Community | 24th Sept 2019 | 2 years | Standards, Finance & Premises | |
| Kevan Lomas | Headteacher (HPS) | n/a | n/a | Standards
Finance & Premises |
Strategy group |
| Amy Plenderleith | Community | 1st Oct 2018 | 4 years | Standards
Pay Standards, Finance and Premises |
Y1 link
Pupil premium link |
| Anna Selby | Parent (HPS) | 15th Nov 2016 | 4 years | Finance & Premises | Y3 link
H & S |
| Julie Somers | Parent (HPS)
(Chair) |
15th Nov 2016 | 4 years | Standards
Pay Standards, Finance & Premises |
N/YR link Strategy group
Pupil premium STEM |
| Emma Watson | Community | 1st Oct 2018 | 4 years | Finance & Premises | Y2 link
H & S |
| Shelley White | Associate | n/a | n/a | Standards | |
| Peter Williams | Community
(co vice-chair) |
1st Oct 2018 | 4 years | Finance & Premises (chair) | Y4 link
Strategy group |