Cavendish Avenue, Buxton, Derbyshire SK17 9AE

01298 22278

enquiries@burbage.derbyshire.sch.uk

Burbage Primary School

Our Governors

Dear Parents, Carers, Families and Friends

On behalf of all the Governors of Burbage Primary, we would like to take this opportunity to welcome you to our wonderful school. Our children are encouraged to learn, develop, create and grow in a secure and caring setting. 

At Burbage Primary School, we want our pupils to grow up as happy, kind, and compassionate young members of the community. We want our school to be a place where pupils can develop resilience and independence in a supportive environment. We want to foster individuality and instil a love of learning that lasts a lifetime. We want all of our children, regardless of their background, ability, or need, to have self-confidence and aspirations. We also want families, the school, and the community as a whole to work together effectively; we are all committed to working together to achieve this vision for our school.

Our pupils are happy and enjoy attending school. We are extremely proud of the curriculum and clubs that our teachers provide. Our staff are exceptionally dedicated and provide a high standard of education. Pupils are encouraged to try their best and to succeed. They are also encouraged to develop into responsible, caring young people that display good manners and behaviour.

We hope you enjoy exploring our website and learning more about our wonderful school. Please feel free to contact the office if you would like a visit to see our school in action and our busy pupils at work.

Finally, to conclude, all our staff and Governors are very approachable to all, encouraging children and parents to be actively involved in ensuring that our school is a success. Please feel free to get in touch.

Yours sincerely,

Burbage Governors

Meet our Governors (please click for biographies and appointment terms)

Burbage Governors (ID 1012)

  • John Akrigg
    Co-opted Governor
  • Alice Martin
    Staff Governor
  • Janet McMurdo
    Local Authority Governor
  • Catherine Oliver
    Co-opted Governor
  • Anthony Tierney
    Headteacher Governor
  • Emma Moore
    Clerk to Governors
  • Sarah Melchionno
    Parent Governor
  • Luci Fairbrother
    Parent Governor
  • Jade Grindey
    Parent Governor
  • Karen Chetwood
    Co-opted Governor
  • Edmund Lumsden
    Co-opted Governor
  • Nari Bailey
    Co-opted Governor

 

Governor Newsletter

 

/i/video/Gov_Dec_Movie_1_lower.mp4

 

What the governing board does, and how we work

Schools governors work to plan the strategic direction of the school, oversee budgets, and support and challenge the headteacher. As part of the governing board, governors play a vital role in helping schools run efficiently and effectively to give children the best education possible.

What do school governors do? 

School governors have three core functions:

1. Planning the strategic direction of the school
2. Overseeing financial performance of the school and ensuring money is well spent
3. Holding the headteacher or school leadership to account
The governor role is strategic rather than operational. Governors don’t get involved with the day to day running of a school, instead supporting and challenging the leadership team to drive school improvement.

How do we work

School governors are volunteers. Being a school governor is a responsibility, but offers people a chance to see first-hand the impact you can make in improving education for children in your community. Each governor takes on a 'link role' which involves them coming onto site for school visits to then reporting back into the wider board.

Our board follows a circle model, which means that all governors attend full board meetings every month to hear updates from the headteacher and discuss strategic priorities. The governing body must appoint a chair and vice-chair. Other specific appointments can be made for individual governors to lead on in certain aspects of the school (eg Health & Safety, Safeguarding, Inclusion). There is a Sub-committee at Burbage Primary school for Pay and Performance chaired by Lizzie Crisp and Helen Goodman.

Types of Governors 

Burbage has five types of governors on our board:

1. Parent governors: selected by election (or appointment if insufficient people stand for election) and drawn from parents and carers of children at the school
2. Staff governors: selected by election from teaching and support staff paid to work at the school
3. Local Authority governors: appointed by the Local authority
4. Co-opted governors: appointed by the governing body to represent community interests
5. Other categories of governors including foundation governors, partnership governors, sponsor governors and associated members
The Instrument of Government is the document that records the name of the school and the constitution of its governing body. It must be approved by the Local Authority and comply with statutory requirements and principles.

The Instrument of Government at Burbage Primary School consists of 1 Local Authority governor (current vacancy); 6 Co-opted governors; 1 Headteacher; 1 Staff governor; 2 Parent governors.

Link Roles 

Governors taken on 'link roles' which means they have an area of strategic importance they are responsible for. Governors fulfil their link roles by making visits to school, ensuring they are up to date with legislation and national trends, monitoring compliance and reporting back to the wider board through Visit Reports and at meetings. 

Anti-bullying and Previously/Currently Looked After Children Karen Chetwood
Curriculum Nari Bailey
Data Protection Officer/GDPR Alice Martin
English Edmund Lumsden
EYFS Jade Grindey
Finance John Akrigg
Health & Safety and Grounds/Buildings  John Akrigg
Inclusion Janet McMurdo
Maths Luci Fairbrother
Pupil Premium Luci Fairbrother
Safeguarding  Karen Chetwood
Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural Jade Grindey
Sports Provision 
Sarah Melchionno
Website Edmund Lumsden
Wellbeing Janet McMurdo

Governing Body Constitution

Constitution of Governing Bodies of Maintained Schools

Details of any relevant business and pecuniary interests held by Governors can be found here in the Register of Interests: There are currently no declared interests.

No governors currently have additional governing roles in other educational institutions.

Attendance Figures 

Attendance Figures 23-24

governor attendance 2023 2024 .pdf

 


How to contact governors

Many of our governors are around school at the start and end of the school day. If you wish to speak to governors, please contact the school office and we will be happy to put you in touch.

Telephone: 01298 22278

Email: enquiries@burbage.derbyshire.sch.uk

Alternatively, Emma Moore, our clerk to governors may be contacted via: emoore@burbage.derbyshire.sch.uk