I would like to welcome you and your family to our school. Ducklington Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School is a unique and special place within our community where we nurture children from their first experience of education on their journey to become lifelong learners.

 

I have been involved with the school for five years and have watched it grow and develop into the wonderful school that it is today.  I have been chair of governors since September 2021.  With our rapidly changing environment I am confident that we can play our part in preparing our children for their future to be responsible, creative, well-educated adults with a strong Christian ethos.

 

I would also like to say thank you to ALL our staff for their hard work and input into supporting the pupils in any way they can. It is their continued dedication that makes our school a welcoming and a happy learning environment for the children.

 

The remit of the Governing Body:

 

  • Setting the school’s vision, ethos and strategic direction;
  • Holding the headteacher to account for the educational performance of the school and its pupils; and
  • Overseeing the financial performance of the school and making sure its money is well spent

 

We have structured our Committees to reflect this overall remit. These committees report as and when it’s appropriate to the full governing board who meet six times each year.

 

Main Committees

Performance and Standards: Russell Leigh (RL), Jennifer Pratley (JP), Angela Williams (AW), Alison Spencer-Schoeman (AS)

Chair- Alison Spencer-Schoeman

 

Resources: Russell Leigh (RL), Doreen Rose (DR), Richard Border (RB) and Jo Druce-Harding (JDH)

Chair- Jo Druce-Harding

 

Subsidiary Committees

The governing board is made up of the various stakeholders that the school serves; parents, foundation governors (elected by the church), local authority representatives, staff and members of the local community.  Governors work strategically and do not work at an operational level.  This means that the head teacher has overall responsibility for the everyday management and organisation of the school.

Each governor takes a lead in a specific area, working with staff to monitor the impact of their work. Here are our areas of responsibility:

 

Governor Leads – this is currently under review 

Chair of Governors: DR
Vice-Chair: JDH
Health and Safety: DR
Safeguarding: DR
Mathematics: KK
Inclusion/SEND/Pupil Premium: AS
RE/SMSC: JP
DT RBa
Phonics, Reading, SPaG and Writing: KK
Science: RB
The Arts AW
Most Able: JDH
Whistleblowing: DR
Data Protection: RBa

 

There is a link to the National Governance Association website, which includes a wide range of information about national perspectives and initiatives. There is usually a governor or two at school events so do come and introduce yourselves.

If there are any further questions do email at the address below.

Doreen Rose

Chair of Governors

cog@ducklington.oxon.sch.uk

 

Chair of Governors- Doreen Rose (co-opted governor)

I’m married to Ian and have two grown up daughters. Ian and I moved to Ducklington in 2014. I work for a disability charity. I was a governor of a secondary school for over twenty years before we moved and I hope to be able to bring some of that experience to Ducklington School.
Co-opted governor- Richard Border

My wife and I retired to Ducklington nearly twelve years ago. We have three children and eight grandchildren and so are still passionately interested in education that gives maximum opportunities and support for all children. I have spent over forty years in education as teacher, headteacher, school’s advisor and inspector and so hope that I can play the role of critical friend to ensure the best possible outcomes for the children of Ducklington.

I wish to support the community that I live in and to that end I have been a Parish Councillor and School Governor for a number of years.
  Parent governor- Samantha Wright 
Parent governor- Vacancy

 
Parent governor- Vacancy

 
  Foundation governor- Angela Williams

I am a retired Primary School teacher. I have three children and four grandchildren, the youngest being five years old.
My hobbies are various and mainly include art, poetry, gardening and walking.
My faith is important to me and l attend St. Bartholomew’s Church.
It is a privilege to be a member of the Governing body of Ducklington Primary School.
  Foundation governor- Alison Spencer-Schoeman

I am a retired primary school teacher and SENDCo with over twenty years’ experience.

After retirement from teaching, I worked for four years in the Special Educational Needs team at local authority level. I have also been both a parent governor and staff governor over the years.

I have therefore a great deal of experience in education and am keen to use that to support my local school. As a practising Christian I was delighted to be invited to join the governing body of Ducklington Church of England Primary School and look forward to strengthening the links between church and school. Although we have lived in Ducklington for less than a year, my husband and I have been made most welcome here and look forward to further involvement in village life.
Foundation governor- Jennifer Pratley

Having moved into the village in June 2018, I was very keen to get involved in the community, and so I attended St Bartholomew’s church and found myself being embraced by opportunity. I have since become a bell ringer, have joined the village WI and was invited to become a governor of Ducklington Primary School. My own experience of teaching, and of being a pastoral leader at Cokethorpe School since 1999, stands me in good stead for understanding how schools strive for excellence and how educational opportunities help develop our youngsters on every level.
I have many interests which keep my mind and soul active and engaged – running, walking, gardening, reading, needlework –  along with spending quality time with my three daughters and the growing tribe of grandchildren that I’m blessed with.
Vice-chair & Co-opted Governor- Jo Druce-Harding

I recently moved to the village with my husband (and cat and dog too!) and wanted to get more involved in the community. So when I saw the vacancy for the school governor I jumped at the chance! I was just about to start maternity leave before my son was born and was keen to do something like this whilst I was off work.
I am a qualified accountant and work as a Finance Business Partner at a local housing association. Although my school experience is limited at the moment my accounting knowledge will help me serve on the Resources Committee.
Education is such an important part of our lives, and I’m very proud to be a governor of Ducklington school, and do what I can to help support the teachers and pupils.
  Local authority governor- Vacancy

 
Headteacher governor- Russell Leigh

I am very proud and privileged to be the Headteacher of this wonderful school and to work with our governors. Together we strive to make the school the very best it can be and to provide a broad and exciting curriculum for the children in our care.

 

 

 
Staff governor- vacancy