Governors

Welcome to Laithes Primary Governor Section
The Laithes Primary LGB was created during the 2021-2022 academic year as it transitioned away from the IEB which was in place from the academy’s inception into the ECM Trust. This transition was possible because of the impressive and hard work by Mrs Fletcher, Emma Sanderson (Chair of IEB), the wider IEB and the school team on the ground daily, ensuring the school quickly moved from Requires Improvement to Good Overall and with Early Years graded Outstanding.

Laithes Primary is a warm and welcoming school in the heart of its community in the Athersley area of Barnsley. When you visit the academy, you will understand why these judgements where made!

The Local Governing Body of Laithes consists of people with a wealth of experience and backgrounds from the local area and community. They are tasked with being the ‘stewards’ of the academy as it builds on its GOOD judgment, aspiring for OUTSTANDING overall.

Our Governors are proud to work with Laithes and be part of the ECM Trust which is local to the area and understands the needs of its individual academies; providing focused support where it is needed. Our Scheme of Delegation along with other relevant information about our LGB and our Trust can be found below.

The role of the governing board is a strategic one, its key functions are to:

set the aims and objectives for the school
set the policies for achieving those aims and objectives
set the targets for achieving those aims and objectives
monitor and evaluate the progress the school is making towards achievement of its aims and objectives
be a source of challenge and support to the headteacher (a critical friend)

Chair of Laithes LGB: Mr Ian Hague-Brown

The Chair is responsible for:

Leading the governing body and ensuring its effectiveness, with support from the vice chair and the governance professional
Championing high standards of governance and continuous improvement
Setting and agreeing the governing body meeting agenda with support from the senior executive leader and the governance professional
Having honest conversations with governors, associate members and committee members who are not committed to or are ineffective in their role.

Chair of Trustees for ECM: Mr William Ward
CEO of ECM: Mrs Gerry Wilson

Governor Profiles:
Georgina Fletcher – Ex-Officio – Headteacher
Information about our Headteacher can be found in the staff section of the website.

Ian Hague-Brown – Trust Appointed (Chair of Governors)
I am delighted to be part of Laithes Primary Local Governing Body and support the school and its community on the journey ahead. I have over 13 years of experience in school governance including Chairing a single Primary, Federated Primary and an SEMH school. I work in education myself as a secondary school Curriculum Leader. As an educator myself, I understand the challenges pupils face in school and life. I very much want to help Laithes become the first-choice school for parents in the catchment area and ensure Laithes gives children the springboard they deserve to a bright and successful future.

Paul Barradell – Trust Appointed (Safeguarding and SEND Governor)
I am very proud to be a school governor at Laithes primary, the school is amazing with amazing facilities and amazing staff, the staff work very hard to ensure all pupils needs are always achieved. I am a full-time karate instructor and I work and teach children from 6 years of age to secondary school age; I am really looking forward to working with the school going forward.

Vacancy - Trust Appointed

Vanessa Pinhao - Parent Governor
I am very proud to be a Parent Governor at Laithes Primary School. I have two daughters attending this in Year 4. My girls love the school and all the staff. I work in the Food Industry at a Supervisory level. I am looking forward to work with the school going forward.

Sam Wogan – Trust Appointed
It gives me immense pride to serve this community in my first ever role as a Governor. It was some 31 years ago I started my journey in education as a 4-year-old at this very school. It is a privilege to be able to give something back to the place where it all started. I currently work as a Primary School Teacher in the Barnsley area and have 9 years’ experience in the role.

Vacancy – Parent Governor
Information to follow

Lucy Tucker – Staff Governor
Information about our Staff Governor can be found in the staff section of the website.

Contact Details:
SAFEGUARDING ISSUE: If you are contacting about a Safeguarding issue, please ensure you check out the dedicated page to safeguarding to ensure your query/concern goes to the most relevant person: http://www.laithesprimary.com/safeguarding.html

Chair of LGB:
Ian Hague-Brown
Email: [email protected]
Telephone: (01226) 281255 (Ask reception for a Call Back)

Clerk to the LGB:
Barnsley Governor Services
Email: [email protected]
Telephone: 01226 772620

Structure, Attendance and Business Interests:
Laithes Primary LGB follows the Scheme of Delegation as set out by the trust (and linked below). We operate with 2 main committees – Finance and Resources Committee and the Teaching and Standards Committee. Our meeting schedule runs with committees in the first half of the term and an LGB meeting in the second. The LGB and committees meeting 3x a year each.

Our scheduled meetings and attendance record for the current Academic Year can be found here: <Meetings 2025-26>

Our Attendance records for the 2023-2024 Academic Year can be found here: <Attendance 2024-25>

Our Business Interests are recorded, and these can be viewed here: <Business Interests>

Key Role Holders:
Chair of Governors: Ian Hague-Brown
Vice Chair of Governors: TBC
SEND Governor: Paul Barradell
Safeguarding Governor: Paul Barradell
Health and Safety / Mental Health Governor: TBC

Links:
ECM Academy Trust Website: https://www.ecmtrust.org
ECM Academy Trust Trustees / Governance: https://www.ecmtrust.org/members.html
ECM Academy Trust Scheme of Delegation: https://www.ecmtrust.org/sod.html
ECM Academy Articles of Association: https://www.ecmtrust.org/articles.html

Further to this, we also have a Pay Sub-Committee and other committees are called from the membership as and when they are required such as appeals etc.

Links:
ECM Trust Website: https://www.ecmtrust.org
ECM Trust Trustees / Governance: https://www.ecmtrust.org/members.html
ECM Trust Scheme of Delegation: https://www.ecmtrust.org/sod.html
ECM Articles of Association: https://www.ecmtrust.org/articles.html