GovernorsThe School Governors
The School Governors meet every half term (now called a term). They are guardians of our school and play an important part in our liaison with the Local Authority. They are free to visit the school regularly and talk to the staff and children. In addition there are a number of sub committees, which focus on specific areas. They are: Curriculum (Chair, Ann Suter) Finance and Staffing (Chair, Ben Crouch) Buildings, Health and Safety (Chair, Sarah Revans) Details of Governor's Term of Office and Committee responsibilities can be found below. 
Charlotte Harrison, Chair and Parent Governor
Serves on the Finance and Staffing Committee Elected by the Parents (4 year term from December 2017) Pecuniary Interests: None I've spent my career working in commercial and contract management in different industries, so when the school was looking for someone with commercial experience to join the governing body in January 2018 I volunteered to be a parent governor (I have two sons at the school). I studied physics at university and then spent ten years working for Rolls-Royce where I had the opportunity to participate in STEM education programmes with local schools, sparking my interest in education. Once I had children of my own I was keen to find a way to make a positive contribution to their school. It's therefore a privilege for me to be able to serve on the governing body of Lea & Garsdon school and contribute to the development of its strategy, particularly at this exciting time with the expansion of the school. 
Greville Earle, Parent Governor
Serves on the Buildings, Health and Safety Committee Elected by the Parents (4 year term from September 2016) Pecuniary Interests: None A professional aerospace design engineer by trade, I joined the governing body in Autumn of 2016.. It is an eye opener to appreciate how much activity goes on behind the scenes in both the running of a school, and in its oversight, and hopefully I will be able to bring some analytical skills to the latter. There are plenty of challenges to address but it is a pleasure to be able to help contribute to the development, integrity and success of the school, as part of a very able, willing and hard working team. Home is Malmesbury and when I am not being occupied by the other members of the family, I can often be found up the top of a hill, or above it in a glider. 
Sarah Revans, Parent Governor
Serves on the Buildings, Health and Safety Committee (Chair) Elected by the Parents (4 year term from January 2017) Pecuniary Interests: None I am a professional archaeologist and cultural heritage manager by training. I have two boys, both of whom are now at Malmesbury Secondary School. We moved to Malmesbury from Dubai and have family nearby in Chipping Sodbury and Brimscombe. I also have an educational qualification as a teaching assistant which, from a parental perspective has given me a much greater appreciation of the complexity of school life, the commitment of teaching staff and the contribution volunteers can make to a school. My children have been schooled in the UK and abroad in several different countries so I am familiar with our own education system and its application in some other countries. Wherever my children have been at school I have always tried to make a positive contribution to their school. I have a range of project management skills from working in consultancy that might be useful and the school find helpful. I am used to working as part of large diverse teams, working together to achieve agreed common goals and objectives. I care about improving our children’s educational attainment and environment and supporting the school and its staff to do so. By supporting the school I hope I can also make a positive contribution to the local community. 
Peter Bown, Foundation Governor
Serves on the Buildings, Health and Safety Committee Co-opted: Elected by the Governors (4 year term from January 2018) Pecuniary Interests: None I am a retired veterinary surgeon. I came to Malmesbury in 1968 and I bought my first house in Lea in 1974. As a former employer of a significant number of people varying from graduate status to basic GCSE I am aware of the importance of a good education. I am fully supportive of the stated school ethos and I look forward to supporting the Head and all the staff as they manage the proposed expansion of the school. 
Clive Nicholls, Co-opted Governor
Serves on the Buildings, Health and Safety and the Finance and Staffing Committees Maths Link Governor Foundation: Elected by the Governors (4 year term from February 2018) Pecuniary Interests: None I moved to Cleverton in 2010 since when all 3 of my grandchildren have attended the school. They have now left but I am still committed to helping the school provide an excellent education. I am a Chemical Engineer by training graduating from the University of Bath and have worked in the petrochemical and food industries. For the last 20 years I have worked for a major IT Consultancy during which time I had a diverse range of clients from Aerospace to Logistics companies, the Law Society to various Government departments. I retired in 2016. 
Amanda Fisk, Foundation Governor
Serves on the Curriculum Committee Elected by the Diocese (ex Officio) (4 year term from July 2016) Pecuniary Interests: None I live in Charlton and have a background in finance, currently employed as the Finance Manager of a local engineering consultancy. I have been appointed by the Diocese to oversee the school’s Christian character, however wanted to become a Governor in order to better understand how my children are being educated and the standards they are expected to achieve. My children attend one of the other local primary schools within the cluster, known as The Hobbes Alliance, so I also bring valuable experience of sharing practices from another neighbouring school. 
Jean Jones, Minor Local Authority Governor and Vice Chair
Serves on the Finance and Staffing Committee Safeguarding Governor Elected by the Governors (4 year term, from September 2016) Pecuniary Interests: None I moved to Lea in May 2007 and after a year volunteering at the school, I became a school governor in September 2013. I have grown up children and grandchildren and in my previous life as a police officer in Bristol, I had spent some time working as school liaison officer in a number of inner city schools. I enjoy being a small part of the hard working enthusiastic team at the school and have learnt a huge amount about our evolving education system. 
Ann Suter, Co-opted Governor
Serves on the Curriculum Committee (Chair) SEN Governor Elected by the Governors (3rd year term, from January 2020) Pecuniary Interests: None I have lived in Lea for more than 30 years and we brought up our 2 boys here. I became a governor at Lea & Garsdon after retiring from my job as SEN teacher in a primary school in Gloucestershire. I love being a part of the team and coming into school to help with various activities, including reading and Forest School. My particular role on the governors is chairing the Curriculum Committee and I am link governor for Special Needs and Pupil Premium. 
Ben Crouch, Co-opted Governor
Serves on the Finance and Staffing Committee (Chair) Elected by Governors (4 year term from September 2019) Pecuniary Interests: None I am a chartered accountant by trade and currently hold the position of chief financial officer at an eCommerce company in Gloucestershire. I trained at a big 4 accountancy firm before a short stint as a full-time rower moving to Lea with my wife and daughter in 2018. The arrival of our twins came shortly after and with all three children set to be at the school in the years ahead, I wanted to get involved to support the school leveraging my commercial and financial knowledge to support the school in its development. 
Kellie Chandler, Parent Governor
Serves on the Finance and Staffing Committee Elected by Parents (4 year term from September 2019) Pecuniary Interests: None I moved to Lea in September 2015 having lived for the previous 20 years in London. My background is in HR, having worked for large corporates and latterly, being the Head of HR at a law firm. I now run my own HR consultancy, mainly focused on local small and medium sized businesses. Our children previously went to a very big primary school in London where their year groups were larger than the whole of Lea and Garsdon school. Finding a school like we have here has been wonderful for the children and they have thrived in a smaller village school which offers so much more than what we had been expecting and has been a true added bonus to their childhoods. I have been actively involved in the PTA of the school for the past few years and look forward to combining that knowledge and my HR experience in helping the governors and school move forward in this exciting time of expansion. 
Peter Shewring, Head Teacher
Pecuniary Interests: None I live in Chippenham with my wife and two children where I have been since I moved from Bristol in 2001. My family keep me extremely busy when I am not in work and time spent with loved ones is central to my core values. Prior to becoming Headteacher at Lea and Garsdon, I was deputy head of a large primary school in Chippenham. During my ten years I was a governor and prior to that was a staff governor of a Junior school in Swindon. I am passionate about children’s learning and truly believe that every child deserves the opportunity to achieve. As a school we provide this opportunity through the quality of our academic provision but also through the pastoral support that we can offer. I am dedicated to, with the support of the governing body, maintaining the sense of community and strong values that are at the heart of our school. 
Rachel Humphries, Staff Governor
Serves on the Curriculum Committee Elected by the staff (4 year term, from September 2018) Pecuniary Interests: None After 5 years spent working in retail, I went back to university to retrain as a teacher and have spent over 20 years loving every minute of my chosen career. I joined Lea and Garsdon School in 2014 having taught in Calne, Offord D’Arcy in Cambridgeshire and Trowbridge. I have taught all KS2 year groups and I am currently teaching Year 3 in Beech class. Out of school, when I’m not spending time with my family, I spend as much time as I can at my allotment; for me, digging is the perfect way to relax and exercise simultaneously! I have brought my love of gardening and nature into school with the development of the vegetable patch and involvement in creating natural habitats for local wildlife. Governor Committee Structure
Finance and Staffing Committee: Ben Crouch (Chair) Kellie Chandler Charlotte Harrison Jean Jones Clive Nichols Peter Shewring Curriculum Committee: Ann Suter (Chair) Amanda Fisk Rachel Humphries Peter Shewring Buildings, Health and Safety Committee: Sarah Revans (Chair) Peter Bown Greville Earle Clive Nichols Peter Shewring
Please click here to open the latest edition of the Governance Handbook 2015.
Full Governor Meeting Minutes
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