Our Governors
Welcome from the Chair of Governors
Dear pupils, parents and friends of Rushton School,
I am proud to be chair of Governors at Rushton CE First School. We are a small village school at the centre of our community, but welcome pupils and their parents from a range of backgrounds and faiths from the surrounding areas who want to take advantage of being part of a small, friendly, happy Church of England school which was judged Outstanding by OFSTED in each of our last two inspections (most recently in 2014).
Our School motto is 'Let your light shine' Matthew 5:16, something that everyone associated with the school can relate to and that visitors and friends quickly recognise to be true.
As a Governing Body we review our school aims regularly with the staff and believe these to be representative of what we strive for.
At Rushton we believe that learning should be fun, purposeful and challenging. Through our curriculum we aim to equip each child with the skills they need for lifelong learning. We aim to develop confident children, who are proud of their achievements. We will always celebrate success.
As a Church of England School we aim to foster a Christian ethos and develop positive relationships with our local church, the village and wider community. We have introduced a popular set of values for the children. These are Respect, Empathy, Aspiration, Courage and Happiness. Children are rewarded for demonstrating these values.
We believe that every child matters. Through positive attitudes and partnerships we endeavour to develop the whole child, meeting individual needs in a safe and secure environment where differences are celebrated.
We believe that good teamwork and positive partnerships – with individual children, the whole class, our colleagues, governors, parents and the wider community will lead to effective teaching, high standards and successful learning.
We have a full quorum of Governors on our Local Governing Body from all walks of life including parents from families who have had generations of children at our school and from those who have more recently moved here for the quality of life that rural living brings.
The Governing body is very lively and does what good Governing bodies should do; namely setting strategy and purpose, providing fiscal and procedural oversight as well as support and challenge to the Head teacher and staff. We have link Governors for each of the curriculum subjects as well as for pupils with Special Needs and those who are receiving Pupil Premium. These Link governors meet the staff lead for these areas regularly and report back to the Governing body where we celebrate success as well as resolve any issues.
In 2019 we converted to become an Academy and, like several other Primary and First schools in Staffordshire Moorlands, we joined The Talentum Learning Trust (TTLT) – a multi-academy trust based locally in Leek. This decision was made after considerable thought, consultation and investigation of several options. We believe that the local focus of TTLT which can look after children from nursery to leaving school with A-levels provides our children with the most seamless structure possible, and is efficient for us in running the school.
Our school takes pupils from reception age to the end of Year 4 when they will normally move to a local middle school. We also run a nursery with free places (30 hours a week) for children who have turned 3 years of age – this class is run with the Reception class so as well as structured play and flexibility suitable for their age, children can get to understand what awaits them when they move to Reception.
Since 2016 we have included Forest School in our curriculum – we are lucky to live in a beautiful part of England and to have substantial school grounds – and so Forest School builds on our environment and the pupils love this way of learning – irrespective of the weather!
Physical fitness is part of our curriculum. We have a new “mile a day” all-weather track that the children use to improve their fitness. There are before school sport clubs and the children have the opportunity to represent Rushton in local inter-school events. We also offer other after school clubs and morning and afternoon childcare is possible, at a small cost, for those whose parents can’t necessarily collect at the end of the school day.
It’s a great little school. Everyone is happy and friendly and looks out for everyone else. The staff are dedicated and constantly strive to meet the needs of every child, and parents and children are fully engaged in all aspects of school life.
If you have any questions, comments or would like to meet with me I’d love to hear from you – please email me at jpears@ttlt.org.uk or leave a message in school for me.
Best wishes.
John Pears
Our governors come from a wide range of backgrounds, and all fully support the school using their wealth of experience and local knowledge.
Governors email: rps.governors@ttlt.org.uk
Scheme of Delegation
The governors meet twice termly to ensure the school’s values and ethos are adhered to thoroughly and to ensure we fully succeed in our aims.
| Governor Type | Name | Term Start | Term End | Link Governor Role |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Staff Governor | Ms Andrea Hughes | 01st April 2022 | 31st March 2026 | |
|
Parent Governor |
Mrs Amie Lovatt | 17th October 2023 | 18th October 2027 | Safeguarding |
| Headteacher | Mrs Sarah Cockersole | - | - | |
| Foundation Governors | Mrs Glenys Terry | 27th September 2021 | 26th September 2025 | SIAMS / Worship |
| Rev Will Drain | 28th November 2023 | 27th November 2027 | ||
| Co-opted Governors | Mrs Eileen Roberts | 15th June 2022 | 17th May 2025 | SEND |
| (Vice Chair) | Mr Nick Hughes | 23rd March 2022 | 22nd March 2026 | Online Safety / PHSE / Prevent / Assessment/Maths |
| (Chair of Governors) | Dr John Pears | 23rd March 2022 | 22nd March 2026 | Health & Safety / LAC / Pupil Premium/ English |
| Mrs Kate Davies | 26th April 2023 | 25th April 2027 | ||
|
Historical Governors |
||||
|
Parent Governor |
Mrs Alison Boote |
26th April 2024 |
4th September 2024 | |
| Co-opted Governors | Mrs Susan Strong | 19th October 2022 | 24th January 2023 | |
| Staff Governor | Miss Lesley Mellor | 18th April 2018 | 17th April 2022 | |
| Co-opted Governors | Ms Julie Goodfellow | 28th January 2019 | 21st September 2022 | |
| Co-opted Governors | Mrs Suzanne Harrison (prev Lovatt) | 18th November 2019 | 13th October 2022 |
Governors Meeting Attendance
This attendance register is updated following each LGB (Local Governing Board) meeting.