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Governors

Mark van der Lande - Chair of Governors 

Dear Parents and Friends

At Great Waldingfield CEVC School, Governors, staff, parents and children work together in a happy, creative and high attaining environment.  We recognise each child as an individual: their happiness and fulfilment is our priority.

The whole school community is committed to providing learning opportunities of the highest standards based on a foundation of Christian values and practice. Our respectful culture promotes compassion, honesty, self-confidence and pride in our children.  Our Christian Values, which interweave so much with British Values, underpin the life of our school.

The children in our school achieve high standards across the curriculum. We are justifiably very proud of them and thank the parents for the encouragement and support they give their children. During the early years of primary education, academic, personal, social and creative skills are nurtured and developed.  In a good school, such as ours, parents take a great interest in their child’s learning and development; we welcome their interest and support.

The last two years have been very challenging for all in our community, including our school’s staff, parents and pupils.  As governors, we have been inspired and impressed by the dedication of the staff, the support of parents, and the enthusiasm and dedication of the pupils themselves to continue to make such strong progress during the pandemic.  We have seen this at first hand in our visits to the school. 

The Governing Body comprises some staff members, parents and members of the local community and is involved with our school at every level. This includes finance, safeguarding, and premises management. As Governors, we consider our most important role to be the safety, welfare and education of our pupils.

Our roles as Governors are to ensure that objectives are met and that future planning is visionary and realistic. We provide strategic direction for the improvement of the school; monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of the school; and hold the school to account for the standards achieved and the quality of education. We are here to support and encourage our Headteacher, her Senior Leadership Team and all school staff and to ensure that every one of our children has access to an enriched education and to all the opportunities that they deserve.  As governors of a Church of England school, we also have responsibilities for the appointment of staff and for the Christian ethos of the school.

Should you wish to contact me to discuss any matter further, I can be reached via admin@greatwaldingfield.suffolk.sch.uk   I look forward to meeting as many of you as possible throughout the school year.

Yours faithfully,

Mark van der Lande CBE

Chair of Governors


Please find below details of how our Governing body is structured, including the names, categories and responsibilities for each Governor.  We have also provided a Register of Governor Interests for your information.

If you would like to contact the governors, please do so by either telephoning or emailing the school.

Telephone: 01787 374055

Email : admin@greatwaldingfield.suffolk.sch.uk

Name
Category of Governor
Committee Membership

Sarah Baker

Headteacher

Education

Resources

Salaries

Rev Faith Marsden

Foundation

Education (Chair)

Salaries 

RE & Collective worship

Rev Ruth Ridge Foundation Education
Tina Balaam Staff Education
Vashti Davis Parent

Education

Safeguarding

Filtering & Monitoring

Mark Van de Lande

Chair of Governing Body

Co-Opted

Education

Resources

Link Governor

Pupil Premium

SEN

LAC

Renuka Baldwin

Co-Opted

Education

Paul Clover

Local Authority

Education

ECT

Rev James Ridge Associate with voting rights Resources (Chair)
Jerry Crawford Co-Opted

Resources

Health & Safety

PE

Sports Premium

Richard Stuart Parent

Resources

Education

 

Name

 

Category of

Governor

 

Appointed by

which body

Term of

Office

 Started  

Term of

Office Ends

Committee

Membership

Position of

Responsibility

All relevant

Business interests

Member of another

Governing Body

Any relation to Staff members?

 

Sarah Baker

Headteacher

 

By virtue of office

01/09/2023

 

Education,

Resources

Salaries

 

None

No

None

 

Rev Faith Marsden

Foundation

By virtue of 

office

01/03/2016

 

Education

 

RE & Collective Worship

HT Appraisal

Trustee New Life Church 

Trustee & Chair of Future Vision

No

None

Vashti Davis Parent LGB 08/02/2021 07/02/2025 Education

Safeguarding

Filtering & 

Monitoring

None No None

Mark van der Lande

Chair of Governing Body

Co-Opted

LGB

29/10/2020 28/10/2024

Education

Resources

Pupil Premium

Link Governor

LAC
HT Appraisal

 

No

No

Renuka Baldwin Co-Opted LGB 12/02/2021 11/02/2025 Education Teaching and Learning Chair of Great Waldingfield Parish Council  No No
Rev Ruth Ridge Foundation LGB 14/02/2022 13/02/2026 Education  

Volunteer 

Future Vision

Christian Schools Work

No

None

Rev James Ridge Associate with voting rights LGB 16/11/2021 15/11/225 Education   None No None
Tina Balaam Staff LGB 01/10/2023 01/10/2027 Education   Related to after school Gymnastics Coach No None
Paul Clover LA LGB 10/11/2023 09/11/2027 Education ECT      
Richard Stuart Parent LGB 20/02/2024 19/02/2028

Education

Resources

       
Jerry Crawford Co-Opted LGB 26/06/2023 25/06/2027 Resources

Health & Safety

PE

Sports Premium

None No None