Who are the governors?
Who are the Governors?
The local governing body is made up of the Headteacher and people from various different groups who have an interest in the success of the school, including parents, staff and the local community. The governors welcome a range of viewpoints and make decisions together about a variety of issues. Between them, governors have a wide breadth of skills and experience to enable the governing body collectively to support and challenge the school leadership. As vacancies arise specific skills are targeted to fill gaps in the governing body. As a result, key professional skills are represented from law, accountancy, architecture to educational skills.
There are three types of Governor, Community (appointed by the trust), Parents (elected by the parent/carer body) and Staff (elected by the staff body).
Joint Chair of Governors: Sarah McHugh & Paul Stockdale
Headteacher: Jon Gray
Clerk to Governors: Jenny Dyer
Parent Governors (Voted for by Parents)
Phillip Evans (30/4/2018 to 29/4/2022)
Danielle Ballantine-Drake (14/12/20 to 13/12/2024)
Camilla Ip (4/5/2020 to 3/5/2024)
Leila Whitworth (14/12/2020 to 13/12/2024)
Community Governors (Appointed by River Learning Trust)
Sarah McHugh (25/9/17 to 24/9/2022)
Barnaby Perkins (7/9/2020 to 6/9/2024)
Chris Phillips (2/3/2020 to 1/3/2024)
Sarah Pugh (2/3/2020 to 1/3/2024)
Paul Stockdale (21/9/2019 to 20/9/2023)
Evin Abrishami (01/03/2022 to 28.02.2026)
Staff Governors (Appointed by Staff)
Vacancy
Sara Zumbuhl (Support Staff Governor) (12/7/2021 to 11/7/2025
Governors who have stepped down in the last 12 months
Natalia Trendler (Teaching Staff Governor) (13/7/2020 to 18/10/2021)
Nick Dolan (Support Staff Governor) (13/7/2020 to 12/7/2021)
Sourovi De (Community) (13/3/19 to 20/4/2021)
Samantha Birket (Community) (4/4/20 to 6/9/20)
Ray Weston (Parent Governor) (16/11/20 to 6/9/20)
Introducing the Governors
Paul Stockdale (Co-Chair of Governors & Community Governor)
My name is Paul Stockdale. I am a Community Governor and one of the Co-Chairs of the Local Governing Board. I originally joined the Larkrise Governing Body in 2015 as a co-opted governor with specific responsibility for finance and chaired the Resources Committee before becoming Co-Chair of Governors in September 2017. I am a Chartered Accountant and work as Chief Financial Officer at an Oxford-based biotech company. My three children attend the school.
Sarah McHugh (Co-Chair of Governors & Community Governor)
My name is Sarah McHugh and I am a co-opted Governor and Co-Chair of Governors.
I am a secondary school teacher and Deputy Head with specific responsibilities for Teaching and Learning, Curriculum and Assessment.
I have two children at the school and my aim is to support Larkrise in ensuring that all the pupils, including the most vulnerable, achieve and succeed because of the excellent teaching they receive.
Phillip Evans (Vice-Chair of Governors, Chair of Resources Committee & Parent Governor)
My name is Philip Evans. I am a Parent Governor and Chair of the Resources Sub Committee. I originally joined the Larkrise Governing Body 7 years ago as a parent governor. During my time on the governing body, I have been the link governor for Early Years, Finance and Health and Safety. In 2019 I assumed the role of Vice-Chair of Governors and Chair of the Resources. I am a Project Manager for an engineering/technology company based in Oxfordshire. My first child attended the school before moving on to secondary school in 2019, and my second child currently attends the school.
Sarah Pugh (Chair of Impact Committee & Community Governor)
My name is Sarah Pugh and I am a Community Governor at Larkrise Primary School. I have been a teacher since 1986 and have now become an advisory teacher working for the Local Authority. I have always enjoyed working with our Oxfordshire children and families. Being a Governor is another way of supporting the education of our children, together with their teachers and support staff. We have two grown-up children and a very active Labrador!
Barney Perkins (Community Governor)
I served as a parent governor from 2016 - 2020, having had 2 children at the school (the second due to move to secondary in 2022). Since September 2020 I have been a community governor. I have been the lead governor for safeguarding since 2017.
I work for Oxfordshire County Council, within the Virtual School For Children We Care For and Care Leavers, supporting 16-25 year old young people in education, employment and training.
Danielle Ballantine-Drake (Parent Governor)
My name is Danielle Ballantine-Drake. I am a parent governor with two children at Larkrise. My link role is EYFS and I am on the Impact Committee. In my working life, I am the Head of Early Years & Voice at a music hub, which involves a combination of managing a team of music teachers and also teaching music to children from birth to 7yrs.
Camilla Ip (Parent Governor)
Since mid-2020, I have been a Parent Governor with specific responsibility for Communications and Public Relations, and the Friends of Larkrise. I have one child at the school and work in biomedical research at the University.
Chris Phillips (Community Governor)
My name is Chris Phillips. I am a Community Governor appointed in March 2020. I am a former primary headteacher and educational consultant. I am delighted to have the opportunity to be involved at this exciting time for the school.
Leila Whitworth (Parent Governor)
Leila is a parent governor and has one child at Larkrise in Robin Reception class. Her professional role is Head of Research Strategy and Funding at the University of Oxford. In this senior leadership position, she manages a team responsible for strategy, planning, financial management and research assessment. She is also a writer and has a particular interest in good communication.
