Meet our Governors
Mrs Jane Connor - Chair of Governors
I was born and brought up near Leeds in a Christian home, was educated in Christian schools, and have very fond memories of all my schools, but particularly my first, in the village hall attached to the Church for which my father was a Church warden and a Patron.
I have lived in or near Bishop Thornton since 1988. I joined the Board of Governors of the School as a co-opted Governor in February 2017.
The skills I bring to the team were gained through my career as an in-house lawyer for companies operating in competitive conditions. Providing a wide range of legal support and working with multi-skilled teams and services, gave me experience of building relationships, customer focus, commercial awareness, finding practical solutions, and being able to focus on detail without losing the bigger picture.
It has been very special to be part of the team which moved the school to its new premises in Burnt Yates in 2019. These offer spacious and inspiring facilities for our children, present and future.
I am honoured to be part of a team of Governors and Staff who are dedicated to providing great education to the children in our locality.
Mr Mark Reeves - Vice Chair of Governors
Originally from Cheshire, I grew up in a small village environment not dissimilar to Burnt Yates, where the school and church were central to the community. Part of my role as Governor will be to help maintain and promote the important connection between the Admiral Long School and St Andrews Church.
The majority of my professional life has been spent working in the private sector, employed by companies supplying into the health care and hospitality markets. During my career, I have covered many disciplines including warehousing, business unit management, ISO9000 auditing and sales. I became Director of a Harrogate based business in 2014, which prompted my move to the area from Northamptonshire.
I live with my partner Ira in Burnt Yates, where we regularly attend St Andrews Church. We also visit the churches at Bishop Thornton, Ripley and South Stainley. Leisure interests include cycling, swimming, gardening and motorsport.
I am proud to have the opportunity to work alongside such a committed and experienced team of governors and hope to use the experience I have gained to help Admiral Long School to continue providing quality, community focussed education.
Mrs Fiona Roberts
I was born in Germany and spent my primary years both there, attending a large international school, and in the south of England at a small C of E school. I was also fortunate to spend a few months in Singapore at another international school before we finally settled back in the UK and I joined the local grammar school where I completed my education, then headed off to Vancouver with my family when they emigrated.
Not surprisingly, having had the privilege of growing up as part of so many wonderful school communities, I decided to become a teacher! I have a degree in Psychology and German and a PGCE in Primary education and have been teaching for over 20 years, initially in West Yorkshire, and moving to North Yorkshire in 2013.
When not at school, I enjoy spending time at the coast with my family, playing tennis, walking, learning (albeit badly!) to play the ukulele and I am one of the leaders of the local Beaver Scout Colony, which I absolutely love.
I joined the Governing Body in October 2019 as a parent governor. I have been on the governing body of 3 different schools as a teacher governor for the majority of my career which I hope will serve me well as I work to support Admiral Long in the provision of high quality education for the community. We have one son who has attended the school since he started in reception in 2015 and has since gone on to Ripon Grammar.
Mrs Katie Ward
I have worked as a teacher in Class 1 at Admiral Long (Bishop Thornton) for 14 years. I love the family feel of the school and the close relationships that develop between the staff and children here. It is a school like no other!
I am a teacher governor in school and have held this role for several years. I enjoy providing a link between the governors and the children and having the opportunity to talk about and show what is happening in our classrooms every day.
My time outside of school involves being a busy Mum to two sporty boys, a member of a choir and a thriving book group. I try to pass on my passion for singing and books to the children as I feel they are both wonderfully creative and life enhancing hobbies.
I hope in my role as teacher governor that I can help put faces and stories to data and continue to support links between governors, children, parents and staff within the school.
Mrs Karen Heath
I was born in Lancashire but spent much of my childhood in different parts of Africa. I recently returned to Kenya working for a Christian based charity helping local people to support themselves through various enterprises. I enjoy travelling as it provides an insight into different cultures. However, to be near my family I have now put my roots firmly down in Yorkshire. I love living in the beautiful Yorkshire Dales where I spend much of my free time walking with the dog and riding my horse.
In my professional life I was a headteacher of two large primary schools in Essex and Suffolk, both had nurseries; the early years is a particular interest of mine. I was also a an OFSTED inspector from 2010 until the pandemic. I have inspected schools in East Anglia and here in Yorkshire, including inner city schools and small rural ones such as Admiral Long. This experience has been invaluable in helping me understand the challenges and value of a range of different schools and I hope I can bring some of that knowledge to my governor role at Admiral Long.
Mrs Zoe Ellis - Executive Headteacher
Appointed Ex-officio
The Governing Body
Admiral Long School is a maintained school and this means that it is funded and controlled by the Local Education Authority (LEA). The LEA funds the school, employs the staff and provides support services and controls the admissions process. The school is also designated as a Voluntary Controlled (VC) school by being a Church of England Primary School, and the Diocese of Leeds appoints two members as Foundation Governors who have links to the benefice and the vicar.
Admiral Long generally has 8 members of the Governing Body and they represent different parts of our school and wider community.
These are:
- Two Parent Governors
- One Local Authority Governor
- Two Foundation Governors, appointed by the Leeds Diocese
- One Co-opted Governor, appointed for their specific skills
- Two Staff Governors, one of whom is the Headteacher.
Key Areas
Governance reflects the following three key areas:
- Ensuring clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction of the school
- Holding the Executive Head Teacher to account for the educational performance of the organisation and its pupils, and the effective and efficient performance management of staff
- Overseeing the financial performance of the school and making sure its money is well spent.
The Governing Role
The Full Governing Body meet regularly, a minimum of 6 times a year, and the focus of these meetings is always endeavouring to ensure that children of all abilities receive the best education possible, in a safe and supportive environment. Their function is always to be mindful of the available resources in order to deliver best value for money, and this includes such things as oversight of the impact of pupil premium and other targeted funding streams. All school policies are agreed at these meetings.
Through careful monitoring governors act as a critical friend by asking searching questions, whilst respecting the position of the Headteacher as the professional leader of the school. The Governing Body employs a professional clerk to record their meetings as well as offer advice across the year, and their governor approved Minutes are published on this website. The Headteacher and the Governors work closely with the School Bursar, retained on a full-service contract by the school to provide profession advice regarding financial forecasting and precise, accurate presentation of all revenue and expenditure.
Particular governors are charged with being linked to key areas such as Safeguarding, Health & Safety and the all-important Christian faith that underpins the whole school structure and ethos. Thus, Governors are a familiar sight in and around the school, playing an active part, wherever circumstances allow, in order to be conversant with daily school life and for staff, pupils and parents alike to be reassured by the governing role within the school structure.
Business Interests
There are no interests declared by the current Governing Body.
Governing Body Members
Governor’s Name | Representation | Date of Appointment | Appointed By | Date Present Term Expires |
Mrs Zoe Ellis | Executive Headteacher | September 2023 | Ex Officio | N/A |
Mrs Jane Connor (Chair) | Co-opted Governor | February 2021 | Full Governing Body | January 2026 |
Mr Mark Reeves (Vice) | Finance Governor | November 2019 | Full Governing Body | November 2025 |
Mrs Fiona Roberts | Parent Governor | October 2023 | Elected | October 2027 |
Mrs Katie Ward | Staff Governor | October 2024 | Elected | September 2028 |
Mrs Karen Heath | LA Governor | June 2022 | LA | June 2026 |
Mr Chris Walker | Clerk to Governors | October 2022 | Full Governing Body | March 2026 |
Past Governors
Retired Governor’s Name | Representation | Date of Leaving Governor Body |
Mr Robert Stevens | Parent Governor | July 2024 |
Miss Victoria Kirkman | Headteacher | August 2023 |
Mrs Caroline Smith | Ex Chair of Governors | February 2022 |
Mrs Liz Bedford | Headteacher | August 2021 |
Dr Weem Whitaker | Foundation Governor | August 2021 |
Mrs Helen Workman | LA Governor | April 2022 |
Governing Body Minutes
2023/24
Insert content here
2022/23
July 2023 | May 2023 | March 2023 | January 2023 | November 2022 | September 2022 |
2021/22
July 2022 | April 2022 | March 2022 | January 2022 | November 2021 | September 2021 |
Governing Body Attendance
2021-2022 Academic Year
Number of meetings in the year: 6
Number of meetings in brackets = number possible to attend due to date of retirement
Name | Number of Meetings Attended |
Miss Victoria Kirkman | 6 |
Mrs Jane Connor | 6 |
Mr Mark Reeves | 4 |
Mrs Fiona Roberts | 5 |
Mr Robert Stevens | 6 |
Mrs Katie Ward | 4 |
Mrs Caroline Smith | 3 (3) |
Mrs Helen Workman | 3 (3) |