Governance
Welcome to Oldbury School Governors. Together with the Headteacher we work together to provide the best education possible for all our children. We meet 6 times each academic year.
Dates for meetings this academic year (2025-2026):
- Monday 13th October 2025
- Monday 24th November 2025
- Monday 2nd February 2026
- Monday 30th March 2026
- Monday 18th May 2026
- Monday 6th July 2026
All FGB meetings are held at 5.00pm in the school
Our Chair of Governors is Richard Hayden.
Our Vice Chair of Governors is Steve Jenkins.
Our Safeguarding Governor is Richard Hayden – if you need to get in touch with Richard regarding safeguarding, please send an email to the school office (office@oldburyschool.org.uk) with the subject line stating ‘FAO Safeguarding Governor’.
All other enquiries will be dealt with by our Chair of Governors. All enquiries can be submitted via email (office@oldburyschool.org.uk) and these will be passed on to a member of the governing board for them to review and action where needed.
Governing Board Members:
Richard Hayden
Co-opted governor
Chair of Governors
Responsible for Safeguarding
I have lived in Oldbury for the last 20 years and my son attended Oldbury School some years ago. I have recently retired from a commercial sales role, and I am now involved in several village organisations.
I have been involved with the Governing body for over 15 years, and I am now the Vice-Chair of Governors. I feel the school plays an important role in our vibrant local community and I see my role as supporting the staff and governors to ensure we combine this sense of a unique village community alongside an excellent education for our pupils.
Anna Snelling
Staff governor
Steve Jenkins
Co-opted governor
Vice Chair of Governors
Chair of Finance Committee
I was invited to join the board of Governors in 2023 to provide financial oversight. Although born and raised in the area, I have spent most of the last forty years overseas, returning to the UK at the end of 2020 and moving to Oldbury in 2021. I am married with two adult daughters.
Rebecca Hodge
Parent governor
I’ve recently had the privilege of joining the Oldbury on Severn Primary School as a new parent governor. Since my daughter started attending the school, I have been deeply impressed by its nurturing atmosphere and holistic approach to children’s education and growth. As a mental health nurse, I have dedicated most of my career to working in services for children and young people. My passion lies in ensuring every child has the opportunity to thrive, which inspired me to take on the role of parent governor.
Amanda Flanagan
Executive Headteacher
Rev. Helen Hill
Foundation ex-officio governor
It was a pleasure to be welcomed into Oldbury school shortly after I joined the church ministry team at St Arilda’s in May 2025. It immediately struck me as a warm, creative and caring environment.
My adult daughters were raised in Thornbury: we all used to enjoy visiting Oldbury. Now, as a grandmother of five children (three of whom are still in primary schools), I’m often reminded of the important role of school in the development and nurture of children.
I have enjoyed leading collective worship during my first 6 months as an associate priest here. I feel privileged now, as a Foundation Governor, appointed in November 2025, to be able to further develop my links with the school. My specific role is to support the staff in maintaining its distinctive Christian ethos.
Laura Day
Local Authority Governor
I was asked to join the School Governors in 2023 having only moved to the village 4 years ago. I very soon discovered how important and how integral the role the school is to the village and surrounding area. I have recently retired as a Financial Director of a long established building company so have now been able to give my time as necessary to assist in a governors role within the school. I have two grandchildren who attend the school and have enjoyed seeing them thrive and enjoy Oldbury on Severn school and village.
Jon Dyke
Parent governor
Responsible for Health and Safety
I’m a parent of current and ex pupils, and an ex pupil myself. Now I have the opportunity to support the school as a Parent Governor, and provide a voice for parents and carers on the Governing Body. As a local resident of Oldbury I’m keen to ensure the connection with the village is maintained and promoted.
Marrie Kingscott
Parent governor
I’m a parent of two children currently attending Oldbury on Severn School and feel proud to be part of this vibrant school community. I work full-time as a software engineer and bring a practical, problem-solving mindset to the governing body. Outside of work, I volunteer at the local rugby club, where I enjoy supporting grassroots sport and community involvement. I’m passionate about helping the school continue to thrive and ensuring every child has the opportunity to succeed.
Laura Horner
Co-opted Governor
Ruth Riddle
Foundation governor
Having worked in education for 18 years prior to moving to Oldbury, and being part of the congregation at St Arilda’s Church next door, volunteering as a Governor in our wonderful church school is something that came very naturally to me. As a Foundation Governor, I have a particular interest in developing the distinctive character and Christian ethos of the school. This role is greatly helped by my own Christian faith being central to my life, and I pray for our whole school community regularly.
Philippa Hodder
Parent governor
Responsible for Headteacher’s Professional Growth
Responsible for SEND
As a dedicated parent to two children, both of whom attend Oldbury School, and as an educator myself, I have a deep commitment to fostering an enriching educational environment that supports the children, staff and families alike. I have enjoyed being a Parent Governor for over four years; working tirelessly to assist the school, during a period of very exciting and rapid change. Having been a primary school teacher for nearly twenty years, I have extensive knowledge and experience of school leadership, teaching and learning, the curriculum, safeguarding and school finance, and I also have a profound interest in SEND. I am very much looking forward to continuing my role as Parent Governor and supporting future developments at Oldbury School.
Francesca Fudge
Clerk to Governors
A governing board consists of range of people from different backgrounds and is made up of different types of school governor. These are outlined below:
Co-opted
Co-opted governors are people who don’t necessarily have a connection to a school, religion, or local authority, but parents of former pupils can change from a parent governor to a co-opted governor. School staff are also eligible to become co-opted governors. Co-opted governors, in the opinion of the governing board, have the skills and experience required to contribute to the effective governance and success of the school. They are sometimes called community governors as they often (but not always) come from the community the school is in and know the needs of that community well. They will act in the best interests of the school and the wider community while on the governing body.
Foundation
Foundation governors are appointed to the governing boards of voluntary controlled and voluntary aided schools. This is to preserve the religious character of the school. There are foundation governors in every Church of England school.
Local Authority
Local authority governors are nominated by the local authority but appointed by the governing board of a school. Often the requirement is simply someone who lives or works within the local authority but this can differ.
Parent
Parent governors offer a perspective from the parent community to the board. Parent governors are voted in by the parents of that school community (although they can be appointed without an election if there are no other candidates or there are fewer candidates than there are positions). Parent governors have the same responsibilities as other types of school governor.
Staff
A staff governor is elected as a representative staff member on the board. Their role is to bring a staff perspective to discussions held by the governing board.
The headteacher of a school is automatically made a member of a school’s governing board.
Associate member
A governing board may appoint an associate member in the case where the board is in need of a particular skill or knowledge base. When a school has no governor vacancies but is in need of someone with specific skills, this may be a helpful option. Associate members have no voting rights on the full governing board. They may however vote at any committee of which they are a member.
(Adapted from https://governorsforschools.org.uk/become-a-school-governor/types-of-school-governor-and-governing-boards/)
In addition to termly FGB meetings there are a number of committee and priority groups who have additional meetings or spend time in the school to discuss a specified area of interest throughout the year.
The committee and priority groups of Oldbury are as follows, with members of each group given:
Finance committee:
- Steve Jenkins
- Amanda Flanagan
- Laura Horner
- Laura Day
- Philippa Hodder
- Nicola Hemming (in capacity as School Business Manager)
The finance committee’s work is focused on making budgetary decisions for the school, monitoring spending in different areas and discussing services provided by contractors to the school.
Teaching & Learning priority group:
- Amanda Flanagan
- Laura Day
- Laura Horner
- Marrie Kingscott
The teaching and learning priority group looks at the pedagogy (teaching methods) of the teaching staff and how this is used to enhance the learning experience within the classroom and what is done to support and motivate children in their learning.
Curriculum priority group:
- Laura Horner
- Richard Hayden
- Laura Day
- Anna Snelling
The curriculum priority group looks at how the learning that takes in place in school is designed to provide a rich, well rounded and ambitious curriculum for all children that gives them the skills and knowledge to succeed in life, and meets the statutory requirements as set out in the National Curriculum.
Foundation priority group:
- Rev. Joy Ludlow
- Rev. Helen Hill
- Ruth Riddle
The foundation priority group looks at the work done in school to support and deepen its religious character (its Christian Distinctiveness) and the teaching of RE across the school.
Reading and writing priority group:
- Philippa Hodder
- Jon Dyke
- Rebecca Hodge
The reading priority group looks at how reading is implemented and developed across the school, areas being focused on and areas for future development.
