Governance Overview

We have been part of the NEAT Academy Trust family of schools since 1 April 2017.

The level of governance in NEAT include:

  • Members
  • Non-executive directors/trustees
  • Local governing committees

Our NEAT Board and Committee role overview shows the relationships between the different levels of governance.

Constitution

Our local governing committee has:

  • Two parent members (elected by parents of pupils at the school)
  • One staff member (elected by staff of the school)
  • Headteacher member (ex-officio)
  • One trust member who is Principal Officiating Minister of the Parish of Christ Church, Walker (ex-officio)
  • One trust member who is appointed by the Trust, nominated by the Parochial Church Council of Christ Church, Walker and approved by Newcastle Diocesan Board of Education
  • One trust member who is appointed by the Trust, nominated by the Parochial Church Council  of St Anthony of Egypt and approved by Newcastle Diocesan Education Board
  • Four members appointed by the Trust, approved by Newcastle Diocesan Education Board
  • One co-opted member approved by the Local Governing Committee

    The terms of office of all members are four years, except:

    • Any co-opted members where the term of office is one year
    • Ex-officio appointments which are based on the person holding a particular office and continue as long as the person remains in post.

    Local Governing Committee Members

    Lucy Balmer

    Trust Member

    Appointed by NEAT Trust Board: 13.07.17

    Re-appointed: 13.07.20 and 13.07.24

    Term of office ends: 12.07.28 

    Declared interests: None

    Dawn Tracey Day

    Headteacher (Job-share)

    Ex-officio position based on role as Headteacher from 01.09.17

    Declared interests: Employee – NEAT Academy Trust

    Rachael Gibson

    Staff Member

    Elected by staff of Central Walker C of E Primary School staff: 02.12.22

    Term of office ends: 01.12.26 

    Declared interests: Employee – NEAT Academy Trust since 01.04.17

    Sarah Goldsmith

    Trust Member

    Appointed by NEAT Trust Board: 02.11.21

    Term of office ends: 01.11.25 

    Declared interests: Employee – NEAT Academy Trust, Benfield School since 11.02.21

    Faye Kerr

    Headteacher (Job-share)

    Ex-officio position based on role as Headteacher from 01.09.17

    Declared interests: Employee NEAT Academy Trust

    Sandra Carol Larmour

    Trust Member (LGC Co-Vice Chair)

    Appointed by NEAT Trust Board: 06.09.17

    Re-appointed: 06.09.20 and 06.09.24

    Term of office ends: 05.09.28 

    Declared interests: Employee – Emmanuel College since 04.06.19

    Claire Elizabeth Leith

    Trust Member (LGC Chair)

    Appointed by NEAT Trust Board: 13.07.17

    Re-appointed: 13.07.20 and 13.07.24

    Term of office ends: 12.07.28 

    Declared interests: Employee – The Jesmond Trust since December 2015

    Rev Philip James Anthony Medley

    Trust Member

    Ex-officio position based on role as Principal Officiating Minister of the Parish of Christ Church, Walker from 26.11.19

    Declared interests: Trustee/ Chair – St Michaels Centre Partnership, Byker since 02.01.22; LGC Member – Tyneview Primary School since 13.12.2019; Trustee – Renew NE since 01.12.19; Trustee – Mission Initiative North East since 01.11.15

    You can hear more about Phil’s experiences as a Local Governing Committee member on our YouTube channel.

    Emma Ormston

    Parent Member

    Elected by parents of Central Walker C of E Primary School: 23.11.23

    Term of office ends: 22.11.27

    Declared interests: None

    Kelly Sherriffs

    Parent Member

    Elected by parents of Central Walker C of E Primary School: 01.04.17

    Re-elected: 01.10.19

    Re-elected: 23.11.23

    Term of office ends: 22.11.27

    Declared interests: Employee – The Works since July 2022

    You can hear more about Kelly’s experiences as a Local Governing Committee member on our YouTube channel.

    Stuart Walker

    Trust Member (LGC Co-Vice Chair)

    Appointed as a co-opted member: 01.12.19

    Re-appointed by NEAT Trust Board as the nominee of the Parochial Church Council of St Anthony’s Walker: 12.10.21

    Term of office ends: 11.10.25

    Declared interests: Governor – Washingwell Primary School since 12.11.18

    Former LGC Members in the last 12 months

    Rev Andrew John Elder

    Trust Member

    Appointed by NEAT Trust Board as the PCC nominee from Christ Church, Walker: 13.07.20

    Term of office ended: 12.07.24

    Declared interests: None

    Local Governing Committee Meetings

    The Scheme of Delegation of Governance sets out the roles and responsibilities of each school’s local governing committee and the decisions that the NEAT Board of Directors has delegated to it.

    Meetings

    The local governing committee usually meets four times each year: once in the Autumn and Spring Terms and twice in the Summer Term.

    Attendance Register

    The attendance of local governors at meetings in 2023-24 is available below: