Governance

Welcome to our Governance page, where you can find out about the Academy Committee of Ashton Vale Primary School.

This page will provide further information on Academy Committee information including: membership; who to contact; Governors' declarations of interest and roles & responsibilities.  We hope you find this helpful. 

For information on becoming a Governor and details of any Governor vacancies, please look at the vacancies section at the bottom of this page. 

Ashton Vale Primary School’s Governors sit on an Academy Committee (AC), whose purpose is to support and advise the Principal and Excalibur Academies Trust’s Board of Trustees in delivering effective welfare, behaviour and extra-curricular provision. In every aspect of its work, ACs look through the lens of the child, asking: “What is it like to attend this school?”, whilst being mindful to avoid adding to the Principal’s workload. 

ACs help shape a school’s vision, build links with local community, provide specialist volunteer skills/knowledge and give vital input to statutory processes (for example complaints, exclusions and recruitment). 

The responsibility of monitoring and improving educational outcomes lies with the Trust’s professional Academy Improvement Team.  

Responsibilities

To fulfil these functions, the Academy Committee has the following responsibilities:

Þ Culture, vision and ethos

Þ Personal development and staff and pupil welfare

Þ Behaviour and Attendance

Þ Extra-Curricular provision

Þ Safeguarding

Þ Engagement and promotion within local community

Þ Staffing, behaviour and complaints panels

Þ Senior management recruitment/performance management

Governor Roles

The Academy Committee must appoint Governors to the following roles: Health & Safety Governor, Safeguarding Governor & SEND Governor. Depending on the school’s size, additional roles should also be assigned; examples include Education Performance Governor, Pupil Premium & Inclusion Governor and Finance Governor.

Scheme of Delegation

Excalibur Academies Trust Scheme of Delegation October 2024.pdf

Safeguarding & Training

Excalibur maintains a strong safeguarding culture and ethos, with all Governors applying for an enhanced DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) check, in addition to undertaking mandatory safeguarding and cyber-security training. It is the responsibility of the nominated Safeguarding Governor to ensure this is adhered to and the Trust monitors compliance. Supplementary training to support Governors in their role is also available.

All Governors and Trustees must agree to be bound by the Excalibur Academies Trust Code of Conduct, with annual compulsory recommitment and declaration of business interests.

Academy Committee

• Mr Graham Diles
  Chair and Community Governor
  Mr Graham Diles

  I first came to Bristol from London as a student and, like many Bristol students, loved the city so much that I stayed. I have taught in secondary schools in and around Bristol for all of my career, finally retiring as deputy head of a central Bristol school at the end of 2019. I continued in education consultancy for a number of years after that.

  I am married and live on the harbourside and have two grown-up children, both living in Bedminster. My daughter is a primary school deputy head and my son computer models flood risk - a growing (if water-logged) field!

  My main interests outside of education are competitive ballroom and Latin American dancing (this is how I met my wife) and social football.

• Mr Brad Arthur
  Principal
  Mr Brad Arthur

  Mr Arthur joined Ashton Vale Primary in September 2020 and is a member of the Academy Committee by virtue of office in his role as Principal.

• Mrs Kathy Clarke
  Community Governor
  Mrs Kathy Clarke

  I have been on the Governing Body for over 6 years. My children attended Ashton Vale Primary. I have one child at Ashton Park School. I have a finance background and am very happy to be a Community Governor as I want to contribute to the future of the school. I previously served as Chair of the Committee.

• Miss Megan Warwick
  Staff Local Governor
  Miss Megan Warwick

  Megan joined the Local Governing Board as a Staff Local Governor on 16 September 2022. She is a member of the KS2 teaching staff.

• Mrs Kat Sanders-Smith
  Parent Local Governor
  Mrs Kat Sanders-Smith

  My name is Kat Sanders-Smith, I'm a mum to two children. I'm a people-person and I've been told I'm thought of as friendly and approachable.

  I have previously worked as Vice Secretary on the Parent Management Committee at Ashton Vale Pre-school. Â The Parent Governor role is a wonderful chance to build-on my experience and I am delighted to have a role where I can give something back to the school community.

  All of my career experience has involved working with people from all sorts of different backgrounds; listening and effective communication has always been key to my varied roles and I have enjoyed that aspect.

  Ashton Vale is such a friendly and kind community, I am eager for the opportunity to be more involved with an important part of it.

• Ms Barbara Hunter
  Community Governor
  Ms Barbara Hunter

  Hello, my name is Barbara Hunter, and I am new to the school governor role. Having lived in the Bristol area for the past 18 years I was keen to give something back to the local community and therefore volunteered for this post. I feel passionately that every child deserves to have the best possible education as this enables development to the fullest potential.

  As an HR professional and long standing Civil Servant, I have worked in various roles across the private and public sector and have a range of skills and experience I can bring to the board.

  I value open and honest communication and will strive to provide insight and guidance and will support decision making, while challenging as appropriate, to drive the best outcomes for the school, the teachers and the children.

  Away from work I very much enjoy spending time outdoors, and love mountain and trail running, hiking and swimming.

• Mr Robert Williams
  Community Governor
  Mr Robert Williams

  As an experienced school leader, I have helped to raise standards in the quality of education at a range of secondary schools in London and Bristol. I am passionate about education and ensuring that there is equality of opportunity for all young people.

  I live locally with my family. Outside work, I spend a lot of time playing football with my football-obsessed sons, watching them play football, and taking them to watch City. When I get time to do anything else, I enjoy reading and exploring Bristol and the surrounding area.

  I am really looking forward to supporting the fantastic students, staff and community at Ashton Vale.

• Lloyd Burnell
  Community Governor
  Lloyd Burnell

  Until retiring, I was the Director of a major aerospace museum and learning centre in north Bristol, prior to which I spent twenty-five years in the marketing communication business.

  My family are from south Bristol and I have lived in the city for the majority of my adult life. I am married with two grown-up daughters.

  I strongly believe in the importance of giving young people equal opportunity and encouraging learning, especially at primary school level, in order to provide them with the best chances in life.

  Outside of other commitments, I enjoy keeping fit, running regularly, cooking and following football (although the knees don't allow me to play anymore).

• Mrs Sharon Bennett
  Clerk to Governors
  Mrs Sharon Bennett

  Hello, I'm the clerk to governors and have been supporting the governing body for ten years.
  For many years I worked at an executive board level, supporting the chairperson, CEO and directors, as well as involvement in company secretarial aspects, of a Bristol-based organisation.

  In 2021 I completed the NGA Leading Governance: Development for Clerks Programme.
  During the years my children were at preschool, I worked in a voluntary role as secretary of the parent management committee and subsequently was involved as a member of the PTA at Ashton Vale Primary School.
  Helping others, compassion, honesty and fairness are all important to me.
  I love learning new things and have a passion for the natural world.
  In my spare time I enjoy spending time with my family; I'm very lucky to have two lovely children who attended Ashton Vale Primary School and are now at sixth form and university.

Governors are always happy to talk with parents over any aspects of the school and will endeavour to meet you as soon as possible. If you have any suggestions that you wish to discuss with our Chair of Governors, please contact the school office to arrange a meeting: 

Tel: 0117 903 0383

Email: enquiries@ashtonvale.excalibur.org.uk or

Email the Chair direct: graham.diles@gov.excalibur.org.uk 

For parents - Parent View gives you the chance to tell Ofsted what you think about your child’s school, from the quality of teaching, to dealing with bullying and poor behaviour. The survey can be completed at any time. Just click on the icon.

Statutory Documents

• AVPS Governors Meeting Attendance 2023 24
• AVPS LGB Meetings Attendance 2022 23
• Declarations of Interest 2023 24 August 2024
• Declarations of Interest 2024 25 December 2024
• Local Academy Committee Membership for AVPS Website 2024 25 December 2024
• Local Academy Committee Membership for Website 2023 24 August 2024

Excalibur Academies Trust Governance Information

More information

Further information about the Excalibur’s Academy Committees can be found by visiting: https://www.excalibur.org.uk/governance/join-us/ or contacting the Trust’s Head of Governance Cathryn Poole: Cathryn.poole@excalibur.org.uk

Vacancies