The Governing Body

The Role of Governor

Within England there are over 300,000 School/Academy Governors who form the largest volunteer force in the country.

The roles of individual Governors, and subsequently members of a Governing Body, work collectively to perform a strategic role and carry out key functions such as:

• Discussing and setting the aims and objectives for the Academy
• Setting the required policies for achieving those aims and objectives
• Setting the required targets for achieving those aims and objectives
• Monitoring and evaluating the progress that the Academy is making towards it’s set aims and objectives.

Finally the role of role of the Academy Governor is to be a source of challenge and support to the Principal, i.e. a 'critical friend.'

As part of Venturers Trust, the Local Governing Body (LGB) operates under a Scheme of Delegation from the Board of Trustees. Two Governors act as representatives of the parent body, the staff are represented by one elected Staff Governor, with co-opted appointments being made by our sponsors based on skills and experience.

For more information about the role of Parent Governor, please click here:-

The Role of a Parent Governor

 

The Governors are committed to ensuring that children at the Academy achieve their potential and are well-equipped for life after school. We believe that every child can be successful, and as staff work hard to make sure this happens, we expect our students to do the same.

The Governors’ primary role is to support the Principal and staff; to work with the Academy Leadership Team to agree the short and long term strategy for the Academy; to assist in ensuring they have the necessary resources and review the progress of the Academy towards achieving its aim.

The Academy is a member of the Venturers Trust, a multi-academy trust. Ultimate responsibility for the Academy rests with the Board of Trustees of the of the Trust and governance details and scheme of delegation can be found on the Venturers Trust website but much of the work of the Trust Board is delegated to the Local Governing Body (the Governors of the Academy). The details of the membership of the Governing Body at Merchants' Academy are shown below and their biographical profiles can be viewed here.

The Chair of Governors (Robert Bourns), can be contacted in writing via the Academy office in a sealed envelope marked "Chair of Governors - Private and Confidential"

Name	Date of Appointment	Term of Office	Appointed as	Relevant Business and Pecuniary Interests	Meetings attended 2018/19
Colin Skellett	Nov 2016 (resigned May 2020)	4 Years	Chair of Merchants’ Academy Local Governing Body Sponsor Governor (SMV)	None	5/5
Robert Bourns	November 2017	4 Years	Chair of Merchants' Academy Local Governing Body (from May 2020) Sponsor Governor (SMV)	None	2/5
Laura Marshall	March 2016	4 Years	Sponsor Governor (SMV)	None	5/5
Gillian Worraker	Sept 2017	4 Years	Nominated SEND Governor        Co-opted Governor	None	5/5
Jonathan James	Nov 2017	4 Years	Nominated Pupil Premium Governor Sponsor Governor (UoB)	None	3/5
Liam Dowson	Jan 2018	4 Years	Nominated Attendance Governor        Co-opted Governor	None	5/5
Doug Jennings	Sept 2018	4 Years	Vice Chair of Merchants' Academy Local Governing Body Sponsor Governor (UoB)	None	5/5
Alex             Thompson	Dec 2018	4 Years	Nominated Safeguarding Governor Sponsor Governor (UoB)	None	3/3
Christopher Yapp	May 2019	4 years	Parent Governor	None	1/1
Penelope O'Connor	May 2019	4 years	Parent Governor	None	1/1
Levi    Hodge	April 2019	4 years	Staff Governor	None	2/2
Jessica   Phillips	April 2019	4 years	Staff Governor	None	1/2
Karl    Tucker	Oct 2019	4 years	Co-opted Governor	None	0/0
Steve Bullock	Oct 2019	4 years	Sponsor Governor (UoB)	None	0/0

 

Further information about Venturers Trust Governance can be found on the Venturers Trust website