Governors

The Governing body at The Federation of Rawcliffe Schools is made up of a voluntary, committed, and enthusiastic group of people from different backgrounds and with different experience to share. They come to Federation Governing Body meetings and visit our schools regularly. Together they monitor the quality of education, ensure the Federation is acting effectively to safeguard our children, monitor the spending of the school budget and offer their support, advice and expertise. While the day to day running of the school is the responsibility of the Executive Head Teacher, the Governors act as a critical friend to ensure and support the Federation to runs effectively.

Governor Biographies - Who are we?

Susan Craik - Chair of Governors

I am Susan Craik, Chair of Governors at the Rawcliffe Federation. I joined the governing body in early 2022 in a parent governor role. I joined to help support the school that my child attends. I work full-time as a civil servant for the Cabinet Office working in the Government Grants Management Function. Prior to joining the Civil Service I worked as a careers advisor in numerous settings around Yorkshire. I feel that my career helps support me with my role as a governor. I am used to working with policies and challenging decisions. I hope I can make a useful contribution to the Federation and it’s important to me that I’m engaged in my community. I am very interested in the Federation's sports programmes and I enjoy spending time in both schools - such as spending the day looking at the Hull FC coaching and the general physical education offer which I am always impressed with when I attend. I am a rugby union coach for Goole RUFC and coach the local All Stars cricket programme. Whenever I get a morning to myself, I can be found with my Labrador walking or running.

Sam Bate-Vice Chair of Governors

I am Sam Bate, I became a governor back in 2022.

I have two young children one of whom has special educational needs. Both my children have the privilege of attending Rawcliffe Bridge school. Some of my roles as governor within the Rawcliffe Federation Governing Board include safeguarding, being on the finance committee and Health and Safety Governor.

In my professional career I work as an engineering team manager at a national civil and drainage firm. I hope to use my professional experiences as an engineer and in Health and Safety to continue to maintain and improve the schools high standards.

In my personal time I run a local football club and help to run a local village hall.

I enjoy working with the rest of the governing body and the rewards and challenges this role brings.

Craig Elder- Executive Headteacher

Paul Wainwright- Co-opted Governor

I’m Paul Wainwright. I joined as a Co-opted Governor in early 2024 to do my bit in helping make Rawcliffe Bridge and Rawcliffe Primary great places for children to learn and develop their creativity.

I have two grown up sons. When they were at primary school, I realised that a great start in school life made all the difference, and provided a sound grounding for when they went to senior school and beyond. I want to ensure the same opportunities are afforded to all children. I will be visiting both schools as much as I can and engaging with everyone. It’s important to me to see that everyone is enjoying their time at school.

I moved to East Yorkshire over twenty years ago and work full-time as Head of Service for the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner. I’m particularly interested in scrutiny, governance, policy, strategic planning, finance, and people. Hopefully I can use some of these skills in the school environment and also learn more about education.

Outside of work, I love to spend my spare time travelling around Europe.

Kate Facey -

My name is Kate and I would like to introduce myself as a new governor of Rawcliffe Federation. I decided to become a governor to use my experience, skills and knowledge to support the team that made my son feel so welcome when we moved to the area towards the end of KS1. I have a background of working in education for the last 20 years and feel I can use this experience to support the federation in achieve their vision to benefit the children, parents, staff and community.
Personally, I am usually found standing at the side of a cricket or football pitch or following satnav to said venue! Exercise is my go-to for "me time" alongside spending time with friends and family.
I feel privileged to work with the governing body here at Rawcliffe and embrace the opportunities this role will bring.

Hannah Gowthorpe - Co-opted Governor

Nathan Hunter - Staff Governor

I am Nathan Hunter, a staff governor. I joined the governing body in 2022 wanting to further help and support the work of the Federation I work in. I have worked at Rawcliffe Primary school since 2019 and during that time have taught in both Key Stage 1 and 2. I am passionate about our 2 schools inspiring and supporting one another - and in my role as Science and Maths Lead Teachers, I have enjoyed, and seen the benefits of this collaborative working.

As a staff governor, I feel that my experience in the classroom and time spent with the children help me when working with the Governing Board, and evaluating the impact of our action. I am able to bring the staff perspective, for example, when looking at new policies or discussing the development work undertaken and impact on our schools’ progress. Currently, I am developing my expertise as a governor in our early years provision and have learnt a lot, and enjoyed, my monitoring visits to the nursery and early years settings.

In my spare time, I am an avid gardener and can often be found at weekends and during holidays growing pumpkins and removing weeds - both from my allotment, and the schools' raised beds!

Rachel Knight - Associate Governor

I'm Rachel Knight and I am the Executive Deputy Head, Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator and Designated Safeguarding Lead at The Federation of Rawcliffe Bridge and Rawcliffe Primary School. Being a teacher is something that I always wanted to do from a very young age and is something that I still take great pride in, I joined Rawcliffe Bridge in 2008 and have seen the school go through many changes, including Federating with Rawcliffe in 2018. Before becoming Deputy across both schools, I taught Years 4, 5 and 6 and even though I was always adamant I would never become non classroom based, I now enjoy being able to dip in and out of different classes across both schools, covering PPA and management time allowing me the privilege of getting to know all pupils and staff. I feel privileged to be part of such a caring community of school staff who do their best to help children thrive. I feel that supporting the work of the governing body is an important part of my role as part of the Federation Leadership Team. In my spare time I enjoy swimming, reading and enjoy attending shows with friends and family.

Rachel Backhouse- Parent Governor

My name is Rachel Backhouse, I joined the governors, as a parent governor here at The Federation of Rawcliffe Schools in 2024. I am delighted to have the opportunity to become a governor and to hopefully use my workplace skill set and life experience to assist the school where my daughter attends.

I have a varied background in administration, financial and management roles. Ranging from marketing and design to financial accounts. I am currently employed within a charity as the operations and administration manager – it is a very busy and varied role.

In my personal life, you will often find me pottering in the garden or out and about walking in the local countryside.

Lucy Khan-

My background is in Law Enforcement, having served with Humberside Police for over 30 years, specialising in investigating crimes against children and vulnerable people. I have worked closely with schools and the local authority to ensure that children can live and thrive in a safe environment. I look forward to sharing my skills and experience to work alongside the schools safeguarding team.

What exactly do our Federation governors do?

Governors meet at least twice every term – once in a full Governing Body Meeting, and again in a committee meeting. These are sometimes face to face, or can be via video meetings on Teams, or a hybrid combination of both! Governors prepare for meetings by reading shared reports on how our schools are performing. They then work in strategic partnership with Federation leaders to support and challenge them on how they are meeting the aims of development plans. They help ensure that policies are in place to support the safe and smooth running of our schools.

Governors are also involved with recruitment of new staff and take part in training that helps them with their roles and responsibilities. Whenever they can, they attend Federation events and times of celebration – and are an important part of the Federation family. Parents and carers are encouraged to share feedback and ask questions of our Governors, that can then be brought back to meetings for discussion.

Are you interesting in becoming a Federation Governor?

Becoming a Federation governor gives you the opportunity to support our local schools and gain valuable skills and experience. Federation governors are volunteers who help to manage our schools. They have responsibility for:

deciding on the Federation’s strategy
making sure that our schools funds are spent in the best interests of pupils
supporting and challenging Federation leaders and making sure they're doing a good job

You do not have to be a parent to be a Federation governor. Schools welcome people with diverse backgrounds, occupations and life experiences.

What experience you'll gain

Federation governors perform a similar role to people who sit on company boards. Gaining experience at this level will give you valuable skills and experience. You'll make decisions about our schools:

strategic direction
staffing structure and policies
performance
finances

Once you're a governor, you could also take part in training to become a chair of a governing committee or board.

Types of governor

All governors perform the same role but there are different types depending on how they get the position. In local authority schools there are:

co-opted governors – appointed by a school or Federation governing board and anyone with an interest in education can apply
parent governors – a parent of a child at any of the Federation school who is elected by other parents
staff (Federation) governors – a member of staff elected by their colleagues
local authority governors – often an elected member of a local political party.

How can I become a Federation Governor?

Being a Federation governor can be a challenging and rewarding experience.

Do you have skills that could be useful as a governor or just an interest in improving pupils' education?

You can become a governor by:

being elected by parents as a parent governor, if your child attends the school
being elected by the teaching or non-teaching staff, if you are a member of the teaching or non-teaching staff
being appointed by the local education authority
being appointed by the church or charitable trust
or by being co-opted (appointed) by the the other governors.

The Federation will organise elections and tell parents and staff about them, but you can always ask our schools whether there are vacancies now that need to be filled.

What happens next?

Whichever route you take to finding a suitable vacancy, the Federation has its own recruitment process for volunteers that includes completing an application form, meeting with the Chair of Governors, visiting the schools or even observing a governing board meeting. These are an opportunity for the Federation to ensure you are right for their governing board and for you to decide that Federation Governing Body is right for you, helping both to make an informed decision.

You will need to complete a declaration of interests for to declare any conflicts of interest you will have including conflicts of loyalty and financial interests – this information must be published by the Federation.

You can also complete and submit a local authority school governor application form.

If you feel that this is the role for you, then please contact us.

Rawcliffe Bridge Primary School, Bridge Lane, Rawcliffe Bridge, Goole, DN14 8NH

Rawcliffe Primary School, Ridding Lane, Rawcliffe, Goole, DN14 8RG

Email: office@therawcliffeschools.co.uk

Governors' Support Team
East Riding of Yorkshire Council,
County Hall,
Beverley,
East Riding of Yorkshire,
HU17 9BA.

Email: governor.support@eastriding.gov.uk

Register of Governors Interests

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