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Governors
Welcome to our Governors’ section.
Please find below details of how our Governing body is structured, including the names, categories, responsibilities and terms of appointment for each Governor.
Meet our Local Governing Body
Our current Governors' terms of office:
Name | Type of Governor | Length of Term | Start Date | Expiry Date | Specific Roles |
| Mrs Claire Bolt | Staff | 4 Years | 17/02/2024 | 16/02/2028 | |
| Mrs Sandi Buttrey | Business and Community | 2 Years | 20/06/2021 | 19/06/2025 | Safeguarding |
| Dr Zoe Doye | Community | 4 Years | 29/09/2022 | 28/09/2026 | Chair |
| Ms Katharine Hurd | Ex-officio - Headteacher | n/a | 01/01/2017 | on leaving | Headteacher |
| Ms Clare Knight | Foundation | 4 Years | 10/10/2022 | 09/10/2026 | |
| Mrs Barbara Lang | Parent | 2 Years | 01/09/2021 | 30/09/2023 | |
Mr Charles Shaw Mr Michael Watson | Clerk Parent | n/a 2 Years | 01/09/2021 20/06/2021 | on leaving 19/06/2025 | Clerk
|
All governors are appointed by DCAT Trustees.
Zoe Doye, Chair
Hello, my name is Zoe Doye, and I am Chair of governors at All Saints. I become a governor in November 2014 when my daughter was in Year 3, and, with a brief interruption, have been Chair of governors since September 2015.
I am a Senior Lecturer at the Open University and amongst other roles, I am Module Chair of a large Level 1 entry module. As Module Chair, my attention and concern is constantly focused on how students are faring in their studies, which means, among other things, scrutiny of student progression and retention (overall and according to specific demographics), working with different teams to instigate interventions to support groups of students, overseeing teaching delivery and – perhaps most importantly! – making sure that all students, whatever their educational background and study aspirations, have an exciting and fulfilled learning experience. This background, I feel, I can bring to my role as a governor.
I have immense enthusiasm and regard for All Saints: walking around the school, I always get a sense of focused learning, of children and staff working together, and of everyone being valued and supported. It is a school that I feel absolutely delighted to work with and support.
Katharine Hurd, Headteacher
My name is Katharine Hurd and as Head teacher of All Saints CE Junior Academy I have been a member
of the governing body for the last 4 years. Born on Canvey Island in Essex, I have an affinity with areas of challenge and energy and believe strongly that all children can achieve.
I have been a teacher for over 30 years and have worked in a range of settings from rural West Wales to Tower Hamlets in London. I moved to St Leonards with my family over 15 years ago to be near the sea. I have been a school leader and sometime educational consultant since before my children were born (23 years ago). I am a mother of 2 and assess whether I am happy with what I see in a classroom based on whether I would be happy if my own children were in the class. I have a passion for teaching and learning and am constantly looking at ways that teachers and children can be supported to make learning more effective, meaningful and engaging.
My aim as the leader of the school is to support every child to make the best possible progress and to be as actively involved in their learning as they can. I have the pleasure of leading a team of committed staff who work tirelessly to make the school the caring, calm and happy place it is.
Outside of school I love animals and have always had pets. I spend most of my weekends watching my son playing football or Brighton and Hove Albion from the North stand. I also enjoy seeing my daughter ride, walking the dog, decorating and gardening. I have a VW camper van and enjoy spending time on the road (but only if its sunny).
Sandi Buttrey
Hello, my name is Sandi Buttrey and I am a co-opted member of All Saints Governing Body. I joined the Governing body in January 2019. I live locally and my son attended All Saints many years ago, and children of my friends and neighbours attend currently.
I have a background in social work and was the school safeguarding officer for East Sussex Children Services for two years working with schools across the county. This strengthened my interest in the role of schools in not only providing for a child’s education but also to safeguard and support children both in school and in the community. Since taking an early retirement I have continued to work with schools as an independent safeguarding consultant and trainer and I bring these knowledge and skills to my role as link governor for Safeguarding.
In the short time I have been governor at the school I have found staff to be child focussed and to actively welcome the involvement of parents with the school and also very importantly to be open to the ongoing development, support and scrutiny provided by the governing body.
Mandy Hinxman
My name is Mandy Hinxman, I am the staff member of the All Saints Governing Body. I have recently joined the Governing body in January 2022.
I live locally and have worked at All Saints for about 7 years. Part of my role is Subject leader of Geography, previously I was subject lead for PSHE.
Within my role, I lead our partnership with Edest, in Sierra Leone. Since joining All Saints, I have become involved in leading our School council and more recently our Eco and International pupil council. I have enjoyed my time here and love the ethos of child centred learning and being part of a great team.
Clare Knight
Hello, my name is Clare Knight and I am a …. Governor of All Saints Governing Body. I was appointed in November 2022.
My background is in health care and I have worked with children, young people and their families for many years, either directly as a nurse and health visitor or indirectly whilst managing children’s community health services across Surrey. I am passionate about supporting families and helping children to reach their goals and fulfil their ambitions. I have gained a wide range of knowledge and experience through my work which I hope will be helpful to me and to the governing body over the next few years.
I moved to Hastings in 2019 and now live just around the corner from the school. I am enjoying my semi-retirement and also work part-time as a Health Visitor along the coast in Hailsham. I’m a trustee of a local counselling organisation and am becoming more involved in the life of the church in the Old Town Parish. I continue to be a scout leader in Surrey. I love walking on the hill with my dog and am slowly becoming braver at having a swim in the sea, even in November….
Although I have worked closely with schools and education leaders in the past, the role of governor is a new one for me and already I’m learning lots about the curriculum and life of the school. I look forward to the challenges ahead and to being able to support the pupils and staff in the development of the school.
Barbara Lang
My name is Barbara Lang and I am a Parent Governor at All Saints. I joined the Governing Body in September 2021. My eldest who is now at secondary school attended All Saints and my youngest started in September 2021.
I have worked for East Sussex County Council for over 20 years working with children and young people. I hope to be able to draw on the skills and knowledge that I have acquired over this time, to support the governing body and school to be able to achieve positive outcomes for all the children at All Saints.
I am still learning about the role but in the short time I have been a parent governor I have enjoyed learning more about the school and have gained more of an appreciation of the complexities of school life. What I have been struck by since joining is the aspiration that the school have for every pupil, the commitment of the staff team and a drive to constantly improve and progress the school.
Charles Shaw
Hello, my name is Charles Shaw and I am the Part-time Governance Officer for four of the DCAT Primary schools in Hastings, including All Saints. I also perform a similar role for several local non-DCAT schools.
Prior to moving into school governance, I was Human Resources Director and Company Secretary for a national charity for 13 years, and before this I gained extensive HR experience in engineering, manufacturing and the third and voluntary sectors at both a local and international level. The knowledge, skills and experience I acquired from these roles have given me a good understanding of the types of processes and procedures that help me advise and support all the schools’ Local Governing Bodies (LGB). Several years ago I was also Chair of Governors of a local primary school.
My main governance role is to work with the Head Teacher, the LGB Chair and Governors to ensure that governor meetings are scheduled, that an agenda is drawn up that reflects the school and DCAT’s priorities and legal requirements, that it is minuted and actions are followed up. I also maintain a governance database to ensure that training, and legal responsibilities are recorded.
Aside from my governance work I am a Ceremonies Registrar for East Sussex CC, meaning I conduct wedding ceremonies, civil partnerships and other major life events. I have lived in Hastings for nearly 40 years and am married with two grown up sons and a very pampered dog!
Michael Watson
My name is Michael Watson. I’ve been a parent governor since June 2017 although my children now both attend Hastings Academy and I’m a parent governor there, too.
I work for the National Health Service, helping to improve mental health services all over the country. I also chair the board of a charity which provides therapeutic housing to people with severe mental illnesses.
I work from home some of the time and I try to take an active role in school life. I’m keen to use the experience of governance, performance management, scrutiny and mental health provision to support our school.
| Governor Attendance 2021-2022 | |||||||
| Y = Attended, N = Apologies Accepted, X = Not a Governor at this time | |||||||
| Local Governing Body | Local Governing Body | Local Governing Body | Local Governing Body | Local Governing Body | |||
| Governor | Governor Type | 11 Oct 2021 | 15 Nov 2021 | 17 Jan 2022 | 14 Mar 2022 | 09 May 2022 | |
| Sandi Buttrey | Community governor | Y | N | Y | Y | Y | |
| Zoe Doye | Community governor | Y | Y | X | X | Y | |
| Lee Forster-Kirkham | Community governor | Y | Y | N | Y | N | |
| Mandy Hinxman | Staff (Teaching) Governor | X | X | Y | N | Y | |
| Katharine Hurd | Headteacher | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | |
| Barbara Lang | Parent governor | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | |
| Michael Watson | Parent governor | Y | N | Y | Y | Y | |
Local Governing Body Meeting Minutes
Local Governing Body meeting minutes are available on request via the school office.
Other Information about the Governing Body:
Register of Business and Pecuniary Interests
The Roles and Responsibilities of the Governing Body
The three main functions of the governing body include:
1. Ensuring clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction of the academy;
2. Holding the headteacher to account for the educational performance of the academy and its pupils, and the performance management of staff;
3. Overseeing the financial performance of the academy and making sure its money is well spent.
With all of the three items above, the role of the Governing Body is to constructively challenge the senior leadership of the academy (that is, to be a “critical friend”). The Governing Body is not meant to get involved in the day-to-day running of the academy.
What does the Governing Body actually do?
The Governing Body meets once every term for a full meeting. Standard items that are discussed at these meetings include: data on how the children as a whole are progressing, academy finance, academy policy updates, safeguarding and SIAMS (the Statutory Inspection of Anglican schools). A termly headteacher’s report is also circulated, which updates governors on various matters to do with the academy.
Once a year, the Governing Body scrutinises the academy’s Self-Evaluation Form (which is the academy’s evaluation of how it is doing against previous judgements made by OFSTED), and also the School Development Plan, which is the yearly action plan that follows on from the Self-Evaluation Form.
As well as these termly meetings, governors regularly visit the academy to focus on a particular element of academy life. For instance, a recent visit focused on lesson planning, and looked at the role of both subject leads and class teachers in the detailed and comprehensive planning that takes place for every lesson. A write-up of these visits are then circulated to other governors, so that the Governing Body can build up a collective picture of the academy.
The lead governor for safeguarding meets termly with senior leaders and SENCO to ensure that the academy is up keeping its safeguarding responsibilities. Likewise, the lead governor for Health and Safety meets with the business manager and site caretaker to conduct a termly health and safety walk.
The relationship between the Local Governing Body and the Diocese of Chichester Academy Trust (DCAT)
The Diocese of Chichester Academy Trust is what is called a Multi Academy Trust. This means that it has under its stewardship more than one academy. In the case of DCAT, in Hastings and St. Leonards it also has Christchurch CE Primary & Nursery Academy, St Leonards CEP, and St Paul’s CE Academy. Under a Scheme of delegation, the differing roles and responsibilities of governance are delegated between the MAT and the Local Governing Boards.
How to contact the Governing Body
If you want to contact the Governing Body directly, you can leave a message at the school office and the Chair of Governors, Zoe Doye, will get back to you. Alternatively, you can email the Clerk to Governors, Charles Shaw: cshaw@dcat.academy
Information about the Diocese of Chichester Academy Trust (DCAT) Members and the Board of Trustees, and the Academy Trust's annual accounts and financial reports can be found by clicking on the link to the DCAT website: https://dcat.academy/statutory-documentation/statutory-documents/
Information about DCAT's structure and remit of the members, board of trustees, its committees and local governing bodies can be read here.
DCAT's funding agreement, current memorandum of association and articles of association can be read here.
Financial statements, including annual accounts and reporting and the number of employees (and payees with off-payroll arrangements) whose gross annual salary and benefits exceed £100k, in £10k bandings, can be read here.
DCAT holds a register of interest for the accounting officer.