Governors

Our school, like all the schools in the Trust, has a local governing body (LGB). There is a scheme of delegation, which details how the LGB should work. The LGB hold meetings during the year in which they help to support the school, its leadership and pupils whilst challenging to make sure that everyone achieves as much progress as they should.

Our school’s LGB is made up of 4 trust-appointed members, who are volunteers, two parents, two staff and the headteacher. They can invite other members of staff in to meetings to discuss current issues. You can find out about our governors here [See below]. They have to declare that they are working for the school in an open and honest way and so fill in a declarations of interests form [link available shortly].

The LGB also works alongside a regional board where region-wide issues are discussed. The Regional Board is made up of volunteers, just like an LGB, with head teachers and chairs of governors. There is also a team of regional officers, led by the Regional Director, Simon Wood. They provide support to the schools in finance, HR, estates and governance.

We have to share this information with you about our governors and governance:

REACh2 Trust website : reach2.org/

Our governors’ names and roles and responsibilities on the LGB – See table below

Governors at Pemberley aim to ensure that our children experience a secure, safe and stimulating environment providing the full breadth of the National Curriculum – with emphasis on English, mathematics, science and computing – where all are excited about learning and all learning activities encourage positive models of enquiry, reflection, innovation and challenge.

We nurture and support children of all abilities, helping each to achieve her/his potential in all aspects of learning and physical, social, emotional, moral and spiritual development. From this foundation we encourage staff to share success and equip children to become independent, creative thinkers and learners for life and to develop the resilience to face the challenges of an ever-changing world.

We recognise and value the diversity of our school family and the uniqueness of each of its members. We ensure excellence in teaching and learning through teamwork, support, collaboration and effective leadership.

We promote inclusion, creativity and enthusiasm. We promote British values – including tolerance, cooperation, trust and respect – within the school and the wider community.

The school has a long, rich history and we actively encourage community involvement wherever possible. We achieve the best we can for our children by using the strength of partnership working with parents and others.

Governors at Pemberley Academy keep our vision at the heart of all that we do, including setting the school’s policies and our School Development Plan.

Our Local Governing Body at Pemberley consists of a team of individuals who collectively help to oversee the strategic direction and management of our two schools.

Governing a school means giving much time, energy and enthusiasm in supporting our school and helping to shape the stimulating environment it is today.

REAch2 now has over 55 schools and is organised into 4 regions. Our school is part of the North Central region.

Aylesbury

Green Ridge Primary Academy

Essex

Chigwell Primary Academy; Dorothy Barley Junior Academy; Langtons Junior Academy; Pemberley Primary Academy; Purfleet Primary Academy; Water Lane Primary Academy

Hertfordshire:

Garden City Primary Academy; Wilshere-Dacre Junior Academy

London:

Chapel End Junior School; Concordia Primary Academy; Minerva Primary Academy; Summerside Primary Academy; Woodside Primary Academy

Reading:

Civitas Primary Academy; The Palmer Academy; Ranikhet Primary Academy

All our schools share the same governance structure and you can find information about the trust on the REAch2 website at www.reach2.org. The Governance page gives details of how the Trust is organised, including the Articles of Association, the Master Funding Agreement and all the documents which relate to how the Trust was founded and how it runs today. You can also find details of who our trustees are.

Sarah Rees

I am both delighted and proud to be the Chair of Governors for Pemberley Academy. I am extremely passionate about the school and it’s community, having previously worked there as the Executive Headteacher. I have been an active governor of my own schools and others in the local community for many years, and I look forward to supporting the school and community in this next chapter achieving even greater success for all of our children.

 Craig Segal

I am delighted to be joining the Local Governing Board of Pemberley Academy as a Parent Governor. My eldest son is currently a student in Pemberley’s reception class and I hope for my youngest son to join next year too. I have previously served as a School Governor at a local secondary school which helps me to bring direct and relevant experience to the role. I am also an experienced Chartered Accountant and serve as Chief Financial Officer and board member for a London-based financial services firm. I very much look forward to working with the Governing Board and Mr Coster to achieve the School’s goals and objectives.

Devangi Gole

I am gratified to be elected as the Parent Governor for Pemberley Academy and would like to express my gratitude for giving me this opportunity. I am the mother of two boys studying in years one and six of Pemberley Academy. I am amazed to experience the school’s growth and development which is reflected in the Ofsted Report. I am a well qualified Statistician and member of Royal Statistical Society. I am working as a Finance Consultant and Analyst in the city of London. I am a music teacher and proactive individual involved in many activities and as a result achieved a Gold Medal as a token of appreciation. I have worked for a charity organisation and was involved in Data Assessment projects. I have also worked for the NHS as a Clinical Coder (Summariser) and Medical Secretary. I believe my valuable skills and experience will be helpful for the school’s welfare. I am looking forward to contributing my time, energy and enthusiasm to accomplish Pemberley Academy’s aspirations.

Reverend Jokey Poyntz

I am currently (I started in May 2017) the C of E Team Vicar for St Mary’s Little Parndon (off Elizabeth Way right next door to the proposed new housing estate being built right now!) working with Martin Harris at St Paul’s in the Town Centre.

The other part of my role is as Deanery Missioner which is to do with connecting churches in Harlow with their communities amongst other things! At the moment my focus for this is on the South Harlow Covenant area – mainly around Staple Tye, but the wider area would also include Water Lane.

In my previous parish in Stanford-le-Hope (Thurrock) I worked with all 5 of the local primary schools doing assemblies and was instrumental in setting up an “Open the Book” team (https://www.biblesociety.org.uk/get-involved/open-the-book/) in 3 of them. I also trained as a mentor and did some mentoring and a lunchtime support group in the 2 secondary schools in the parish and also helped to set up Prayer Spaces.

Before I became a vicar I was a teacher in the English Department at St Mark’s School in Harlow teaching Years 7-13 for 10 years. Before that I worked in special needs there for a year as an LSA. I was also a Form Tutor and ran a Fair Trade Cafe with pupils in the school as a social enterprise.

Prior to that I was a parent governor at Churchgate Primary, and worked with the elderly in the Godsafe Almshouses in that area, as well as continuing to run another social enterprise which some of you may remember; the fair trade shop in Old Harlow (Traders Fair World Shop) which had previously been operating as the Traidcraft Shop in the Latton Bush Centre. For a while we also had a shop in Colchester and an outlet in Tye Green Community Centre!

Even though we moved away for a time due to my ex-husband’s work, I have either lived or worked (or both) in Harlow pretty much continuously since 1987, and my daughter (who was born here) and son-in-law live in Church Langley, so coming back to Harlow feels like coming home!

I am very much looking forward to getting involved with Pemberley (both as your local parish priest and as a governor) and Water Lane as a governor; and I hope to learn a lot myself, but also to be a critical friend, a listening ear, and an advocate.