WE CURRENTLY HAVE A VACANCY FOR A CO-OPTED GOVERNOR. IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO BE CONSIDERED OR SIMPLY WANT FURTHER INFORMATION ON THE ROLE THEN PLEASE CONTACT THE CLERK TO GOVERNORS VIA EMAIL - This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Governance at Granville Academy
The Granville Academy is an Academy within a multi-academy trust namely The de Ferrers Trust.
The de Ferrers Trust is a charitable company limited by guarantee and as such is required to comply with charity law and company law.
The Trust is one legal entity with one set of Articles of Association that governs each academy within the Trust. The Trust has a Master Funding Agreement with the Secretary of State and then each academy has a separate Supplementary Funding Agreement. All documents referred to throughout this page can be located below.
Our Governance Structure
The Members
The Trust consists of five members who are very similar to shareholders in a normal company. They are often considered as the custodians of the trust and act as a 'check and balance' on the performance of the multi-academy trust. The members have the power to appoint or remove trustees, amend the articles of association and, if necessary, wind up the multi-academy trust. To ensure robust accountability within our governance structure the members are independent of the trust board. The members will meet as often as is necessary to carry out their duties, but at least on an annual basis.
To see a list of the trust's members please click here.
The Trust Board
The Trust Board has strategic oversight and ultimate responsibility for all of the management decisions within the multi-academy trust. The board consists of up to 11 trustees, eight of whom are appointed by the members. The trustees are appointed purely on a skills basis. The board's key responsibilities are to ensure, through their governance structure and leaderships teams, that the multi-academy trust is making proper and effective use of public funds and for the quality of provision. The trust board will meet as often as is necessary to carry out their duties, but at least five times per year. The trust board has established three sub-committees to assist them, namely the Finance, Audit and Risk Committee, the Standards Committee and the Resources Committee. Each Committee operates with its own set of terms of reference which can be located at the bottom of this page. The Finance, Audit and Risk and the Standards sub-committees will meet as often as necessary, but at least three times per year. The Resources Committee will meet as often as necessary, but at least on an annual basis.
To meet the trustees please click here.
The Local Governing Body
A Local Governing Body (LGB) has been established for Granville Academy. The LGB carry out the Trust’s vision, policies and priorities and engage with the academy's key stakeholders (our students, parents, staff and members of the community). They play a support & challenge role and will seek assurances on behalf of the board in regard to academic performance and quality of care and provision for their academy. They are responsible for making decisions by way of the powers delegated to them by the trust board in accordance with the Terms of Reference and Scheme of Delegation (located at the bottom of this page).
The LGB has established one-sub-committee, namely the pay committee which seeks assurances on behalf of the trust board that the processes around pay progression for our teaching staff are fair and robust. The pay committee operates with its own set of terms of reference which can be located below.
Our Chair of Governors is Declan Royston-Webb and he can be contacted via the Clerk to Governors by emailing: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Our Clerk to the Local Governing Body is Rhiannon Mayne, who can be contacted by emailing: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Meet our Local Governing Body
Ex-Officio Governor
The Principal of our Academy also sits on our Local Governing Body as a governor. She is referred to as an ex-officio governor. This means that she will remain a governor for as long as she is employed in her role as Principal.
Michelle Oliphant - Principal
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Appointed: 1 September 2020 |
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Bio: TBC
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Board Appointed Governors
Governors who are board appointed are appointed by the trust board. Their term of office is 4 years. At Granville Academy the governance structure allows for four board appointed governors.
Declan Royston-Webb - Chair of Governors
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Appointed: 15 May 2018 Attendance for 2019/20: 4/4
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Bio: Having worked with children and young people for many years, I have developed an understanding of the fundamental role of high-quality education for all students. I am passionate about young people being afforded every opportunity to achieve their potential both academically and personally and it was this passion that led me to join Granville Academy as a governor in May 2018. I have a BA (Hons) degree in Childhood & Youth Studies and have experience working within Local Authority Children’s Services as well as continuing voluntary roles in strategic positions with two local children’s charities. As a child, I grew up within Swadlincote and whilst I have since moved out of the area, I still have links with the local community. I am pleased to have been appointed as a governor for Granville Academy and I am hopeful that I can bring additional useful skills and experience to the team.
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Kristopher Harvey
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Appointed: 19 March 2019
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Bio: I joined as a Trust Appointed Governor in March 2019 and was previously a Parent Governor at Woodville Infant school. I have lived in the area for the last 20 years. I’m a Chartered Engineer and work at Rolls-Royce in Derby. I have a son in year 10 and my daughter, having completed her GCSE's in 2019, is attending Derby College.
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John Widdowson
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Appointed: 3 April 2020
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Bio: Having completed my education at the De Ferrers Academy in 2001, I started my career working in Sports Coaching and Community work. 19 years on and I now work at Burton Albion Community Trust which is the charity of Burton Albion Football Club, thoroughly enjoy my job and the amazing work this charity does. Joined the De Ferrers Trust as a trustee in 2019, I am also a trustee for the Central England Cooperative Trust. The role of a trustee is extremely rewarding. I enjoy being a link trustee for a variety of schools working across both East Staffordshire and South Derbyshire. As a father of two when not working and volunteering as a trustee I spend as much time as I can watching my daughter play football and dance. My son's passion for music and drama keeps us entertained there is never a dull moment. I am looking forward to being part of the Granville Academy LGB supporting the school to achieve all it can.
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Sophie Leadley
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Appointed: 3 April 2020
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Bio: TBC
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Parent Governors
Parent governors are elected by the parents/guardians of the students who attend Granville Academy. When a parent governors vacancy occurs, nominations are requested from all registered parents and guardians and an election takes place. Their term of office is four years. At Granville Academy the governance structure allows for two parent governors.
Peter Geering
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Appointed: 5 March 2018 |
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Bio: I have lived and worked in the local area for most of the last 30 years, initially for Bass / Molson Coors and for the last 9 years for Coca-Cola. I have a degree in Biochemistry and I am a qualified Brewer and through my career I have strong experience in business and financial management I have a son in year 8 at Granville and have a strong interest in helping the effective governance of the Academy both now and for the future. |
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Staff Governor
The staff governor by the staff based at Granville Academy. When a staff governor vacancy occurs, nominations are requested from all members of staff based at Granville Academy and an election takes place. Their term of office is four years. At Granville Academy the governance structure allows for one staff governor.
Sarah Hewart
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Appointed: 1 September 2017 Attendance for 2019/20: 4/4 |
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Bio: I have been part of Granville since January 2014, teaching Maths and overall responsibility for Numeracy. Within this time, I have become part of the extended Leadership Team which has allowed me to utilise my experience and skills from my previous school. I have experience of all aspects within student support and guidance, including behaviour, attendance and learning policies. I have worked in a school that was placed into Special Measures, and was part of the team that moved the school out of this category into “Good.” So I understand the pressures and challenges that categories place on a school, the students and staff as a whole. I was appointed to the Governing body at the end of June 2017, a role that I am proud to hold. I believe that being a part of a strong Governing body will support and challenge Granville to not only become the Academy of choice but to keep growing from strength to strength. |
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Co-opted Governors
At Granville Academy the governance structure allows for the local governors listed above to co-opt up to four further local governors to the local governing body in order to bring a specific skill set that will add value to the academy, making local governance even more efficient and effective. Co-opted governors have a term of office of four years.
Michelle Hurley
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Appointed: 11 October 2017 |
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Bio: Recently appointed (Sept 2017) Co-opted Governor for Granville Academy, I am very much looking forward to helping to steer and support the right decisions to ensure that the Academy provides a successful learning environment for all students. I care passionately about the future of our next generation and ensuring that they receive the best education and support from their schooling, and as a local parent of two children, one of primary age and one recently started at Granville, I also have a personal vested interest in the quality and performance of the Academy.
I work within professional services for a global accountancy firm and have experience of various senior business support roles, including: HR performance management and recruitment, administrative team management, headcount and finance budget control, MI analysis and manpower planning and deployment. I am confident that my skills and knowledge can be applied to my role as Governor, and in turn benefit the students and staff within the Academy. |
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Ashley Poxon
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Appointed: 14 May 2020 |
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Bio: I am a father of 4, and have lived in Swadlincote \ Woodville for my entire life. I attended Granville School 1990-1995 before going to Ashby Grammar Sixth Form to complete my A-Levels.After completing my A-Levels I went to work for an IT company, and I am now fortunate enough to be a Director at two IT Companies, which specialise in Microsoft Cloud Technologies. I also have a keen interest in property development, which has led me to form my own property company recently.
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Jeffrey Morris (resigned)
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Appointed: February 2020 Resigned: July 2020 |
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Malc Gee (resigned)
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Appointed: September 2017 Resigned: March 2020 |
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Kim Geering (resigned)
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Appointed: May 2019 Resigned: November 2019 |
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David Gaskin (resigned)
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Appointed: September 2017 Resigned: November 2019 |
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All documents mentioned can be found below.
To access the Annual Report and Financial Statements please click here.
Supplementary Funding Agreement
Terms of Reference for the LGB
Terms of Reference for the Finance, Audit and Risk Committee
Terms of Reference for the Resources Committee
Terms of Reference for the Standards Committee
Code of Conduct for Governance
Should you need to request these documents, you can do so from the Governance and Compliance Officer – This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.