The Diocese of Chelmsford Vine Schools Trust (DCVST) is looking for Governors to join our dedicated and visionary Schools Governance Boards.
The Vine Schools Trust is a Multi Academy Trust (MAT) set up by the Diocese of Chelmsford. We are a family of Church of England primary schools located throughout Essex and Thurrock. Our vision is to serve our local communities by providing excellent education rooted in our Christian values. Learn more about the Trust, here.
As a Governor on your school Governance Board you will:
• Be an advocate of the Trust Board so that pupils and schools will flourish in a place where the Trust and School vision and values are translated into action
• Provide support and challenge to school leaders
• Know each school well through focused monitoring to gain assurance of school progress and policy in action which will inform decision making
The closing date for applications is Thursday 13th July 2023 at 12.00pm. Interviews will be conducted w/c 17th July 2023.
The Vine Schools Trust is a multi-academy trust and is the accountable body for all twenty three of its schools. Therefore, the overarching responsibility for the governance of the Trust and its schools lies with the Vine Board of Directors. They fulfil the three core functions of governance:
To enable the Directors to fulfil their responsibility eight regional Local Schools Board’s work on their behalf and undertake delegated local governance of between two and four schools. Community Boards in each school enable local support and provide information to enable good governance.
The key principle is that all three Boards together with Executive Leaders will provide an aspect of governance the other cannot as set out in this chart.
This model of governance is undertaken under delegated responsibility. For full details see below.
The Local Schools Governing Board’s main responsibility is to determine the aims and conduct of their school with a view to promoting high standards of educational achievement. Individual governors bring their own experience and expertise to the group, and the best governing bodies use and benefit from the skills of all their governors.
The governing body holds the school to account for the quality, standard and effectiveness of the teaching and learning. Through the governing body, the school is accountable to the local education authority, the parents of the pupils and to the wider community. In practice, the governing body works with the headteacher to determine how the school should develop to ensure continued improvement, and with the head and staff agrees plans, policies, targets and procedures that work towards that development.
The governing body are also responsible for ensuring that the school fulfils its legal obligations, for the provision of the curriculum, managing the school budget, staffing, the social care and development of the pupils, and other statutory requirements such as developing school policies, setting targets, managing performance and so on. The governing body is also responsible for evaluating the progress of the school, making sure that effective monitoring is taking place and making strategic decisions on the basis of this evaluation.
Governors are most useful to the school by being supportive yet challenging, neither blindly accepting nor entirely critical of the way the school functions. If the governing body gets the balance right it can both support the school and promote its improvement effectively.
We welcome the involvement of parents through feedback. Contact Mrs Karen Jones, Chair of Governors, of the Dengie Local Schools Governing Board via the School Office.
Karen Jones – Chair of Dengie Local Schools Governing Board – (Vine Schools Trust Appointed)
The Chair of the Dengie Local Schools Governing Board can be contacted via the school email address: [email protected].
Charlotte Little – (Vine Schools Trust Appointed)
Richard Hopkins – (Vine Schools Trust Appointed)
Jenny Kemp – (Ex-officio by virtue of office as Headteacher)
From September 2016, it is now a requirement that trustees and governing boards publish on their website a register of interests for each of their board members. They must declare any interest they have, or plans they, their spouse, partner or close family members might have, that are related to or might be construed as being related to the school, academy or trust and its budget.
These include (but are not limited to):
| Name | Role | Appointed By | Date of Appointment | Business Declaration | Additional Information | Family Declaration |
| Karen Jones | Chair of LSB | Trust | 01/09/2023 | The Diocese of Chelmsford Vine Schools Trust – Employee | Headteacher at Great Clacton CofE Primary School | NONE |
| Charlotte Little | TIB Member – SEND | Trust | 01/09/2023 | The Diocese of Chelmsford Vine School Trust – Director, Chair of LSB, Chair of LSB, Local Governor The Appleton School – Governor ESGA – Executive Committee Member | Vice Chair Southeast Hub Tendring Hub TIB – Latchingdon and Tillingham Chair | NONE |
| Richard Hopkins | TIB Member – Church Distinctiveness | Trust | 01/09/2023 | The Diocese of Chelmsford Vine Schools Trust – Employee | Schools Advisor | NONE |
| Jenny Kemp | Governor | Ex-officio by virtue of office as Headteacher | 01/01/2021 | The Diocese of Chelmsford Vine Schools Trust – Employee | Headteacher at Latchingdon CofE Primary School | NONE |
| Governors that have left in last 12 months | Date of Termination | |||||
| Julie Taylor | Chair of Governors | Trust | 31/8/2023 | Diocese of Chelmsford Vine Schools Trust – Employee St Edwards CofE Academy – Chair of LGB | Trust Governance Lead | NONE |
| Misha Roughley | Vice Chair of LSB | Trust | 31/8/2023 | NONE | NONE | NONE |
| Matthew Portal | Governor | Trust | 31/8/2023 | NONE | NONE | NONE |
| Peter Begley | Governor | Trust | 31/8/2023 | Hackblock Educational Charity – Trustee | NONE | NONE |
| Lyndsey Wood | Governor | Ex-officio by virtue of office as Headteacher | 31/8/2023 | The Diocese of Chelmsford Vine School’s Trust – Employee | Headteacher at St Cedd’s CofE Primary School – Bradwell | NONE |
| Xanthe Glynn | Governor | Ex-officio by virtue of office as Headteacher | 31/8/2023 | The Diocese of Chelmsford Vine School’s Trust – Employee | Headteacher at St Nicholas CofE Primary School – Tillingham | NONE |
| Name | Role | 18/10/22 | 5/12/22 | 23/1/23 | 13/3/23 | 22/5/23 | 3/7/23 |
| Julie Taylor | Chair of Governors | Attended | Attended | Attended | Attended | Attended | Attended |
| Candida Burrell | Governor (Resigned) | Attended | |||||
| Misha Roughley | Governor | Attended | Attended | Apologies | Attended | Attended | Apologies |
| Matthew Portal | Governor | Attended | Attended | Attended | Apologies | Apologies | Attended |
| Peter Bagley | Governor | Attended | No Apologies Sent | Attended | No Apologies Sent | Attended | Attended |
| Jennifer Kemp | Headteacher at Latchingdon CofE Primary School | Attended | Attended | Apologies | Attended | Attended | |
| Lyndsey Wood | Headteacher at St Cedd’s CofE Primary School | Attended | Attended | Attended | Apologies | Attended | Attended |
| Xanthe Glynn | Headteacher of St Nicholas CofE Primary School | Attended | Attended | Attended | Attended | Apologies | |
| Gemma Singleton | Observer – Finance Partner | Attended | Attended | Attended | Attended | Attended | Apologies |
| Jackie Ridding | Clerk | Attended | N/A | N/A | Attended | ||
| Emma Wigmore | Observer – CEO | Attended | N/A | N/A | N/A | ||
| George Athanasiou | Observer – Teaching & Learning | Attended | Attended | N/A | |||
| Victoria Peacock | Deputy Headteacher of Latchingdon CofE Primary School | Attended | N/A |
