Meet the Governors

At Barrowby CE England Primary School, our Governors support the headteacher to ensure that our school:

has a clear vision,
is managed well;
meets its statutory duties;
supports the development of all e.g. pupils, staff, parents, governors and other stakeholders;
has a quality of education that is of the highest standard.

Full Governing Body Structure
Our governing body is made up of 12 members as follows:
All governors have equal standing.
1 Ex Officio Governor (Ex)
3 Foundation Governors (F)
4 Co-opted Governors (C)
2 Parent Governors (P)
1 Staff Governor (S)
1 Local Authority Governor (LA)

Chair of Governors
Mr Steven Clark

Vice Chair
Mr Theo Banos

Ex Officio Governors
(Headteacher)
Mr Len Batey

Foundation Governors
(Appointed by Lincoln Diocese and representing Barrowby Church PCC)
Mrs Sarah Cooley 26.09.2021-25.09.2025
Sarah Tierney (Priest in charge) 14.9.22 -13.9.26

Local Authority Governors
(Nominated by the Local Authority)
Mr Theo Banos 21.9.21 – 20.9.25

Parent Governors
(Elected by parents)
Mrs Sarah Eite 08.03.22 – 07.03.26
Mrs Gabrielle Assenza 02.11.2023 - 01.11.2027

Staff Governors
(Elected by school staff)
Mr Sam Caton 02.03.21 – 01.03.25

Co-opted Governors
(Appointed by the Governing Body)
Mrs Ellie Atter 21.02.2021-20.02.2025
Mr Steven Clark 12.3.2022 – 11.3.2026

Clerk to the Governors
Mrs Denise Reed

To learn more about our Governing Body and its function, please click Schedule of Governance.

Governor Profiles

Please read on to finds out more about our school's Governors.

Sarah Cooley

I have been a Governor since 2009, first as a Parent Governor and now as a Co-opted Governor. I was appointed as Vice Chair in September 2013. and Chair of Governors in 2018. My elder daughter, Eleanor, was a pupil at Barrowby from 2006 - 2013 and my younger daughter, Elizabeth, was a pupil here from 2009-2016

Ellie Atter

I have been a governor since 2017 and both my children attended Barrowby School. My experience lies in education and am currently in my 16th year as a primary school teacher. I have knowledge of assessing and analysing data, ensuring that children are progressing well within their own personal education.

My current role requires me to teach physical education and therefore monitor the spending of the sports premium funding, maintaining value for money.

Theo Banos

I have been a governor since 2018 and all three of my children have attended Barrowby School.

I have lived in Grantham for 20 years and have been involved with many local projects through my role at Grantham Round Table and previously, being on the Board at Grantham Museum. I am a director at Duncan & Toplis, a local accountancy practice and I look to bring financial expertise to my role as Governor.

Sarah Eite

I joined the school family as a Parent Governor in 2022 after our son started at Barrowby School in September 2021. I have lived in Barrowby for 7 years whilst my husband has lived here for most of his life, attending the school himself many moons ago!

In my professional life I work as a HR Manager and I hope that my experience and knowledge within this area can benefit my role as a Governor.

Rev'd Sarah Tierney

I joined the school family, as a Governor in 2022. I am the Priest in Charge of All Saint’s Church in Barrowby. My work for the Church is very varied but one of my favourite roles is working with children. I used to be a Primary School teacher so I love being a Governor. I love spending time with my family, friends, gardening and visiting new places.

Main Duties and Responsibilities of School Governors.

School Governors come from a wide range of backgrounds. They are not expected to be experts in educational matters, as these are the responsibility of the headteacher and the teaching staff of the school.

The role of the School Governor and the Governing Body is to take a strategic overview of the issues relating to the school and to set a broad framework within which the headteacher can operate.

The work of the Governor is concerned with the general oversight of the conduct of the school, with the Headteacher responsible for the internal organisation and leadership and management.

The School Governor is expected to:

work as a member of the Governing Body for the best interests of the school;
attend the regular meetings and special meetings of the Governing Body;
serve on committees which deal with the Governing Body's legal obligations;
become familiar with general educational issues and developments;
take an interest in school activities;
promote the school within the local community; and
be able to commit time to the duties and responsibilities of a Governor.

From time to time, opportunities to stand as Parent Governors will be advertised to you.

All correspondence for the Governors should be addressed to:

The Clerk to the Governors,
c/o Barrowby Church of England Primary School,
Church Street,
Barrowby,
Grantham,
Lincolnshire.
NG32 1BX.

Governor Diversity

The governors believe it is important that boards reflect the diversity of the school communities they serve. Diverse boards promote inclusive school environments and provide diverse role models for staff and young people.

The governors continually collect data on the diversity of the board, including data on age, gender, and ethnicity. They use that data to inform their recruitment and training needs and ensure there is always a diverse range of perspectives around the table to support robust decision making.

Due to our relatively small governing board, we will not publish this diversity data online as individual governors could be identified and we have a legal obligation to protect their personal data.