Governance

All academies in England have a Governing Board which is responsible for overseeing many of the strategic decisions of the school. A key role is to act as a ‘critical friend’ to support, to challenge, and to ask questions.

The Governing Board works in close partnership with the Head teacher, staff and the parents. Whilst the Head teacher is responsible for the day to day running of the school, the governors are involved in issues such as staffing, curriculum, school buildings and finance. It ensures the school functions well and maintains the appropriate range of academic and social objectives.

Membership of the Governing Board includes parents, teaching and non-teaching staff and representatives from the local community. The Full Governing Board (FGB) meets once each term.

The Governing Board has a range of powers and duties laid down by various Education Acts. In the main, these responsibilities relate to:

Setting targets and promoting high standards of educational achievement
Setting the strategic framework within which the school operates
Management of the school’s budget
Ensuring that the curriculum for the school is broad and balanced.

Governors discharge the above responsibilities, together with many others, through a Governing Board meeting each term. A number of Governors also have responsibilities for specific areas within the school.

Governors adopt, review and monitor a range of policies that govern the operation of the school including Health and Safety, Behaviour, Curriculum and Performance Management.

Governing Board

The Governors are: Trustees of the Academy Trust, Governors of the School and Directors of the Company. Public Information about the Governors is published by Companies House and GIAS (Get Information About Schools).

To see individual links to governor profiles please see the attachments below.

Governing Body Members
Chair of Governors Safeguarding/Child Protection Governor	Mrs. Balevir Grant
Vice Chair of Governors	Ms. Trudy Travers
Headteacher/Accounting officer	Mr M. Shaw
Governor SEND	Mr. Olumuyiwa Olufunwa
Governor	Mr. Nigel Axtell-Kent
Governor	Ms. Sally Ryell
Governor	Ms. Helen Manwaring
Staff Governor	Mr. P. Gregory - Hunt
Clerk	Ms. Natalie Palmer

To Contact our Governing Board:

Chair of Governors

^{Chair of Governors: Mrs Bal Grant}

^{Please address all correspondence for the Chair of Governors to:}

^{Mrs Balevir Grant}

^{The Willows School Academy Trust}

^{Stipularis Drive}

^Hayes

^{UB4 9QB}

Governor Profiles

Mrs Balevir Grant

Area of Responsibility – Chair of Governors

Date of Appointment: 5 September 2016

Other information:

Bal was a parent of The Willows School Academy in 2016, her son has moved on to higher education but she has remained as a Governor.

Trudy Travers

Area of Responsibility – Vice Chair of Governors

Date of Appointment: 22 February 2017

Other information:

Trudy has a keen interest in special needs due to supporting her own son with needs. Very active in the special needs community supporting other parents in the Willows community.

Nigel Axtell-Kent

Area of Responsibility - Parent Governor

Date of Appointment: 1 November 2022

Other information:

Nigel is a parent Governor with his son currently attending the Willows in a Year 5 class. Nigel has enjoyed attending the PTA events and coffee mornings held at The Willows over the past few years.

Sally Ryell

Area of Responsibility - Parent Governor

Date of Appointment: 1 November 2023

Other information:

Sally is a parent Governor with her son currently attending the Willows in a Year 4 class. Sally has enjoyed attending coffee mornings and interacting with parents of The Willows community.

Paul Gregory-Hunt

Area of Responsibility - Staff Governor

Date of Appointment: 27 November 2013

Other information:

Paul has been the elected staff Governor since 2013 and has thoroughly enjoyed the responsibility.

Helen Manwaring

Area of Responsibility – Governor

Date of Appointment: 1 June 2023

Other information:

Helen was previously a senior leader of Swakeleys Girls High School. Currently enjoying working closely with The Willows to help develop its provision.

Olumuyiwa Olufunwa

Area of Responsibility – Governor

Date of Appointment: 28 January 2016

Other information:

Long term Willows Governor who splits his time between England and Scotland.

Natalie Palmer

Area of Responsibility – Clerk

Date of Appointment: 1 June 2023

Other information:

Previously worked at Swakeleys Girls High School. Currently working within the Admin team at The Willows.