Steven Finnemore – Chair of Governors & Safeguarding Governor – Many years ago, Steven worked for the Inner London Education Authority before his career took him in a different direction. After completing his degree, Steven worked in the computer industry before moving into telecoms where he completed his Masters in Business Management. Steven spent most of the rest of his career working for Orange based here in the UK and internationally.
After Steven retired, he wanted to support his local community, so he became a parish councillor and joined his local Citizen’s Advice as a trustee. Steven lives close to Bidwell Brook School and heard there was a need for governors so decided to apply and has been a Governor since 2020.
Steve Cleverly – Chair of CBT Committee – Steve has been a Governor at the Federation for over 7 years, holding the post of Chair of Governors for much of that time. Steve is Chair of the CBT (Core Business Team) Committee, who oversee issues such as Finance, Premises, and HR. Steve brings extensive experience to the Governing Body through his background in Teaching at secondary level, as a Senior Officer within Local Authorities, and 14 years as a Regional Officer at the NAHT.
Laura Boyce – Parent Governor – Laura’s daughter attends Bidwell Brook school and she volunteered for the vacancy when it was advertised in the newsletter. Laura applied to be a Governor as she felt would really like to give something back to the Federation and help in any small way she could. Laura has a little background knowledge in education which has helped her to understand the possibilities and challenges of school life. Laura has been a Governor since 2021.
Tom Bates – Staff Governor – Tom began working at Ellen Tinkham School in September 2011. During this time, he has developed and expanded the Rural Skills Department including the set-up, fundraising and ongoing development of all 3 sites, project management of various construction projects (including the Roundhouse and the Craft Lab at Hollow Lane, Outdoor Classroom at Bidwell Brook, and allotment design at Ellen Tinkham College).
Whilst the practical implementation of these projects has been a vital part of forming a successful programme, it has also been of utmost importance to keep the young people at the centre of all we do – expanding areas that interest, engage or motivate them, allowing them to lead their own learning and to create an environment in which incidental and experiential learning can take place.
Playing his part in the creation of a thriving centre for the learning of skills “has been an absolute privilege” [Tom’s words] and he can’t think of a more worthwhile cause to have spent the last 10+ years involved with. Tom has been a Governor since 2021.
The board believe it is important that we reflect the diversity of the communities we serve. Diverse boards promote inclusive school environments and provide diverse role models for staff and young people. We collect data on the diversity of the board, including age, ethnicity and gender and use this data to inform our recruitment and training needs and ensure there is always a diverse range of perspectives around the table to support robust decision making. We do not publish diversity data online as individual governors could be identified and we have a legal obligation to protect their personal data.
Biographies to follow for remaining Governors