The Chair of The Board can be contacted at chair@windermereschool.co.uk or c/o Chair of Governors, Windermere School, Patterdale Road, Windermere, LA23 1NW

 

The Board of Governors

The Board of Governors is a corporate body and its responsibilities include:

· Determining the aims and overall conduct of the school.

· Setting the strategy, working alongside the Head and senior staff.

· Setting and reviewing the policies, plans and procedures which are designed to ensure the best possible education for present and future pupils. This is done in conjunction with the senior leadership.

 

Governors have a duty to ensure:

· Best practice is followed in appointing and managing staff.

· Safeguarding procedures are properly observed.

· Child protection is a priority matter.

· School finances are properly controlled.

· The School is compliant with legislation, regulations and with the guidance of the Charity Commission.

· That the Head and senior staff are held to account for delivery of the strategic aims.

 

Committees

The Board committees that meet regularly with staff members and also receive reports from the Head and Head of Elleray. Committees meet to consider:

· Education.

· Safeguarding, Equality and Inclusion.

· Health, Safety and Staff Wellbeing.

· Finance and General Purposes.

· Marketing and Admissions and Development.

· Nominations for new members.

The Board also has standing agenda items to consider any complaints.

 

Board Members

 

Peter Hogan, Chair – Peter has been a school leader and teacher in state and independent, charitable and for-profit sectors in the UK and Asia. He has 25 years’ experience in leading organisational development in very different, dynamic, competitive environments and has also set up a Prep school.

Outside his school responsibilities Peter has served as education advisor to The London Stock Exchange, The Financial Times and the Ministry of Education in Thailand. He has written textbooks on economics, business studies, technology in schools, writes on educational matters in the UK and overseas and has been a keynote speaker to school governors at the CBI and Institute of Directors. Abroad he has lectured to Heads and teachers in Poland, Russia the Caucasus and Asia about leadership and safeguarding. His education projects have included creating an online tuition college, an anti-bullying app, an online bank for schools and stock market resources used by 100,00 pupils annually.

A graduate of Liverpool, Leeds and The Open University Peter was also elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. His wife’s family moved to the village of Bolton in the early 1990s and this has been a point of stability and a second home during his career. He returned to the UK in 2020 and has taken on a number of new education projects including being Interim Executive Head of Windermere School in 2021.

 

Jonathan Brewster, Safeguarding, Equality and Inclusion – The Reverend Canon Jonathan Brewster trained for the ministry at Trinity College, Bristol. He studied for an MA at Kings College, London. He served his curacy at St John the Evangelist, Great Horton, in the Bradford Diocese from 1994 to 1998. From 1998 to 2003 he was Chaplain to the University of Westminster.

Since 2003 he has served as Vicar of Christ Church with St John and St Saviour, Highbury in the Diocese of London as well as being Area Dean of Islington since 2014. In 2017 he moved to St Paul’s Cathedral where he served as Canon Treasurer. In 2021 Jonathan moved to an interim role overseeing six rural parishes in the Cartmel Peninsula.

Jonathan is married to Sarah. They have two adult and two younger children (at Windermere School). He taught in South India, was on the UK Board of Trustees for the Oasis Charitable Trust. In his spare time he enjoys playing and listening to Jazz music, reading and walking the dog

 

Leo Houlding, Adventure –  

 

Michael Hunter, Finance and General Purposes – Mike is a qualified accountant (CIMA) by profession (he was CFO at AT&T), and has spent the last 35 years as a Management Consultant, holding senior leadership positions for several of the largest global consulting firms: PA Consulting Group, Tata Consulting Services (TCS), and Cognizant, and is now CEO of his own Business and IT consulting firm. He brings a wealth of experience working with multi-billion-dollar companies to SME’s globally having lived in Belgium, the US, and now back in England.

Mike lives locally and two of his children (Jonathan and Zoe) attended Windermere School on their return from the US several years ago. His wife, Nicky, was Chair of the Friends for just over 2 years.

Mike is passionate about getting the right balance between academia and sport for students, having balanced his own International athletics career with education when he was younger.

 

Chris Kenny, Health, Safety and Staff Wellbeing – Chris Kenny has been a parent governor who specifically provides oversight on Risk and Compliance since 2021.

Chris’s career has been primarily in the Energy Sector where he has held a range of Senior Executive Leadership roles. Having undertaken a number of roles with Global scope and having lived in Oman, Netherlands, Texas (USA) and Alaska (USA) he brings a broad set of international experience.

Since leaving full-time employment in 2020 he has been providing consulting advice on Safety, Risk and Operations to major international clients in the resources sector. Educated originally as a Chemical Engineer at Loughborough University and spending time at MIT on an executive development program he is a Chartered Engineer and member of the Institute of Chemical Engineers.

 

Holly Nelson, Company Secretary – Holly is a former student of Windermere School having graduated in 2012; she therefore has a unique perspective of how the school runs from a pupil’s point of view and from someone having completed both GCSEs and the IB at the school.

Holly was the recipient of a sport scholarship throughout her time at Windermere and so has a particular focus on extra-curricular activities within the school. Amongst other areas, she is interested in the promotion of equality, diversity, and social mobility within the school.

She went on to become a criminal barrister based in the North-West, called to the bar by the Honourable Society of Gray’s Inn in 2017. She prosecutes and defends the full spectrum of serious crime daily. Holly considers the Lake District to be her home and outside of work enjoys walking on the fells with her dogs.

 

Paul Scott, Marketing and Admissions and Development – Paul has 36 years’ experience, working in both state and independent schools as a teacher, head of department, housemaster, Director of Sport and senior master. 2000 to 2014, Paul worked as a Marketing and Development Director and Foundation Director in the independent sector. As a Marketing Director he was responsible for increasing numbers on roll over a period of seven years by 52% and as Foundation Director increasing commercial income by 400% in four years.

In 2014 Paul formed his own consultancy company, specialising in the effective marketing and recruitment, optimisation of commercial opportunities, and income generation in schools. He also provided training and mentoring in all these areas.

Paul’s approach to consultancy was based on practical hands-on experience, innovative ideas and creative solutions. He believes, “to optimise vision you must inspire confidence, a belief through honest evaluation, and provision of a well-structured strategy with achievable goals.”

Becoming a Governor in 2021 has enabled Paul to continue to utilise his extensive experience to assist Windermere Schools’ future development.

 

Governing terms of reference

Trustees and governors must:

· Act with integrity, objectivity and honesty in the best interests of the school.

· Act within their powers and obligations.

· Be open about their decisions and actions.

· Be prepared to explain their decisions and actions to those with a legitimate interest in them.

However, the law recognises that the governing body may decide for certain matters to remain confidential, such as material containing the names of staff or pupils.

School governing bodies may do anything considered essential or advantageous to the conduct of the school, for the benefit of the pupils and the advancements of its objects and purpose, provided that all actions are within the law and in accordance with regulatory requirements. Actions will, however, be limited by the terms of the governing instrument or constitution of the school.

 

Responsibilities of the Chair

To provide leadership to the Governing Body and the School to ensure that the Governors fulfil their duties and responsibilities for the proper governance of the School.

This includes:

• Overall responsibility for guiding the governance of the School.

• Ensuring that the Governing Body, together with the Head, have agreed a clear vision, a strategic plan and supporting aims and objectives, both short and long term.

• Ensuring the highest possible standards of governance.

• Providing support for the Head, meeting regularly and listening as a ‘critical friend’.

• Being available to chair Governing Body meetings, attending some school events.

• Overseeing the processes for dealing with grievances, disciplinary proceedings and complaints, with particular sensitivity to safeguarding issues.

• Maintaining close links with chairs of committees and attending committees as appropriate.

The Chair acts within any guidelines set down by the full Governing Body and works constructively with the Head but avoids becoming involved in day-to-day management unless specifically directed by the Governing Body.

 

Governing Body affiliation and membership

 

The Association of Governing Bodies of Independent Schools (AGBIS)

· The Association supports and advises governing bodies of schools in the independent sector on all aspects of governance.

· The objectives of the Association are the advancement of education in independent schools and the promotion of good governance in such schools.

· The Association is empowered to give guidance to the governing bodies, and to consult with and speak for them on matters relating to the governance of independent schools.

Charity Commission

· The Charity Commission is the non-ministerial government department that regulates registered charities in England and Wales and maintains a Central Register of Charities. The Commission answers directly to the UK Parliament.

Department for Education (DfE)

· The Department for Education (DfE) is responsible for education, including early years, schools, higher and further education policy, apprenticeships and wider skills in England.

Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS)

· The DBS helps employers to make safer recruitment decisions and prevents unsuitable people from working with vulnerable groups, including children. It was established under the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 and replaced the Criminal Records Bureau and Independent Safeguarding Authority.

Schools Inspectorate (ISI)

· The Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI) is responsible for inspecting and monitoring the educational, boarding care and early years provision of association independent schools against standards set by the government and publishing reliable objective reports.

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