Our Governors

The easiest way to understand the duties of the Governors is to think of them as a board of directors. It isn’t a perfect analogy but certainly it is the Governors’ responsibility to oversee the activities of the school, review policies, approve the budget, and support the leadership team. They are also accountable to parents and other partners for the performance of the school.

Governing Bodies have the following core functions:

• Ensuring clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction;

• Holding executive leaders to account for the educational performance of the school and its pupils, and the performance management of staff; and

• Overseeing the financial performance of the school and making sure its money is well spent.

The governing body at The Orchard ensure that there is clear focus on overall strategy; teaching and learning - including children's educational performance; the financial position and performance of the school; staffing; premises management and keeping the school safe; behaviour and safeguarding of children.

All governors have to complete regular safeguarding training and be up to date with latest guidance.

The governing body holds open meetings, which members of the school community are welcome to attend.

Meeting Dates:

Full Governing Body	27 November 2025	6 pm
	19 March 2026	6 pm
	9 July 2026	6 pm
Teaching & Learning Committee	5 November 2025	5 pm
	11 February 2026	5 pm
	24 June 2026	5 pm
Finance & Operations Committee	7 November 2025	8 am
	6 February 2026	8 am
	May date TBC	8 am

These meetings provide information about the work of the governors and the decisions being made for the school.   

Here are our governors:

 

Governors Gallery (ID 1092)

• Mrs S Adams
  Chair of Governors
  Mrs S Adams

• Mr B Blake
  Parent Governor
  Mr B Blake

• Mrs S Cary
  Headteacher
  Mrs S Cary

• Mrs K Donaldson
  Co-opted Governor & Vice Chair of Governors
  Mrs K Donaldson

• Mr J Elliott
  Staff Governor
  Mr J Elliott

• Mrs H Hill
  Foundation Governor
  Mrs H Hill

• Mr P Rawson
  Parent Governor
  Mr P Rawson

  ,

• Mr T Stevenson
  Foundation Governor
  Mr T Stevenson

• Mrs K Wells
  Parent Governor
  Mrs K Wells

• Ms Nicola Rogers
  Parent Governor
  Ms Nicola Rogers

The governors bring a mixture of skills and experience to the school and are all volunteers. You can read more about their specific roles in the links below. 

Governor Documents

Governor Interests

Full Governing Body Terms of Office and Attendance Record

Full Governing Body Terms of Reference

Full Governing Body Open Meeting Protocol