Every school has a Governing Body which is responsible for the strategic direction and oversight of the school. 

The three core functions of the Governing Body are:

1. Setting the vision, ethos and strategic direction of the school
2. Holding the Headteacher to account for the educational performance of the school and its pupils
3. Overseeing the financial performance of the school and making sure its money is well spent

The Governing Body comprises twelve governors and is led by Kate Phillips, Chair of Governors and Philip Wood, Vice Chair of Governors.

The Clerk to the Governors is Helen Barber and any correspondence to the governors should be marked for her attention and handed to the School Office.

FOUNDATION GOVERNORS

As a Voluntary Aided school, Lady Boswell’s has seven Foundation Governors who, along with the responsibilities that all twelve governors share, have an additional responsibility for ensuring that the Christian foundation of the school is sustained and developed.

Kate Phillips

Chair of Governors

appointed by the Bishop of Rochester
Kate was appointed as a Governor in 2015 and became Chair of Governors in 2016.   Over the years she has developed and implemented many initiatives at school.  Kate’s professional career has spanned Corporate and Investment Banking and she is currently a Managing Director of an Investment Bank.  She is married with four children, all of whom have all attended Lady Boswell’s.

Emma Watson

appointed by the Rochester Diocesan Board of Education 

Emma grew up in Sevenoaks and returned a few years ago following a period overseas.  Her professional background is in strategic management consultancy and she is currently providing assistance to several not-for-profit organisations.  Emma worships and serves at St Nicholas Church.  She is married and has three children of secondary school and university age.

 
Cindy von Kaufmann

appointed by St Nicholas Parochial Church Council

Cindy has been a  member of  and served at St Nicholas Church since coming to Sevenoaks over 20 years ago. She is married with four children, all of whom attended Lady Boswell's School.  Cindy began her career teaching geography at Sevenoaks School and is currently at Walthamstow Hall Senior School where she has additional responsibilities as a co-curriculum coordinator and pastoral leader.

Andrew Carpenter

appointed by Rochester Diocesan Board of Education

Andrew’s long association with the school started in 1995 when the eldest of his now adult sons started in Reception. He previously served as a governor for 11 years and is a current trustee of the Lady Margaret Boswell's Church of England Educational Charity. Retirement from his long career in professional indemnity insurance is on the horizon.  Andrew and his wife are longstanding members of St Nicholas, having met and subsequently married there many years ago.

John Moulton

appointed by St Nicholas Parochial Church Council

John lives close to Lady Boswell's and both his daughters attended the school. Now retired from a career in the energy industry, predominantly in the trading of crude oil and natural gas, John has been a member of the congregation at St Nicholas Church for twenty-five years.

Hannah Blake

appointed by Archdeacon of Tonbridge

Hannah joined the St Nicholas staff team at the end of January 2018, and serves as a Women's and Children's Minister. Prior to this, she received a Bachelor of Primary Education from the University of Wollongong in Australia in 2010, and taught as a primary school teacher for four years. She then received a Bachelor of Theology from Moore College, Australia, in 2017.

NON-FOUNDATION GOVERNORS

Local Authority Governor

Philip Wood

Vice Chair of Governors

appointed by the Local Education Authority
Philip has been a Governor since 1990 when his two now adult children attended the school and was originally a St Nicholas Church appointee.  He is now retired following a long and varied business career.  He has also served on the Board of an international education charity and until recently was a trustee of Anthem Multi-Academy Trust.

Co-Headteachers

Hannah Pullen

ex officio, Co-Headteacher

Hannah joined the School as Co-Headteacher in September 2022 with seventeen years teaching experience, twelve of which were in senior leadership at an Outstanding school.  Hannah has been qualified as a SENCO since 2012 and attained her NPQH in 2023.  She has gained specialist accreditations in child and mental health and is a specialist in inclusion and diversity.

Sharon Saunders

ex officio, Co-Headteacher
Sharon joined Lady Boswell's in January 2010 as Headteacher.  Prior to this, she had been teaching for over 20 years across all age ranges and was a Deputy Headteacher for nine years at a local primary school where she completed her National Professional Qualification for Headship (NPQH).  She is married and has four grown up children

Parent Governors

Two Parent Governors are elected by parents

Rachel Hillary

Rachel grew up in Sevenoaks and has been a member and served at St Nicholas Church since returning to the area in 2015. Whilst currently on a career break to focus on her family, Rachel’s background is in marketing within financial services. She has one child at Lady Boswell’s and another due to join in 2024. 

Kinvara Rogers
Kinvara has been a parent at Lady Boswell’s since it first became 2-form entry in 2013, with 1 of her children still at the school. She combines parenting with her work for a strategy consulting firm, and outside of this most enjoys cooking for friends or walking in the Kent countryside with her family.

Staff Governor

The staff governor is elected by the school staff.

Rebecca Freeman

Rebecca joined the Lady Boswell's staff team in September 2016. Prior to this, she completed her undergraduate degree at the University of Bath and her PGCE with QTS at Canterbury Christ Church University. She is an Assistant Headteacher responsible for the English, humanities and arts curricula, and has taught in both Year 3 and Year 6 at Lady Boswell's. In 2018, she was awarded 'Lead STEM Educator' status and 'STEM CPD Associate Facilitator' status. Rebecca plays, coaches and umpires netball, plays cricket and the flute, and is a keen artist.

OPERATING MODEL

Full Governing Body

The full Governing Body meets six times each academic year.  Governor business includes matters such as considering reports and recommendations, making decisions, overseeing the Christian ethos of the school, approving the annual budget, making appointments and dismissals, Headteacher appraisal, Senior Leadership Team performance, adherence to school policies, tracking progress against the School Improvement Plan.

Whilst the Governing Body as a whole remains responsible for the governance function, there are four distinct areas of work delegated by them to four committees: Steering & Strategy, Curriculum & Learning, Finance & Resources and Admissions.

Steering & Strategy Committee (Chair: Kate Phillips)

The Steering & Strategy Committee works closely with the Senior Leadership Team of the school to develop strategy leading to school improvement. The team evaluates the three year strategic plan and the proposed three year budget plan; reviews the vision and values of the school and ensures that these are shared with all stakeholders; takes an active role in School Self Evaluation, monitoring success in all areas and identifying areas requiring improvement; reviews the School Improvement Plan identifying monitoring opportunities for the Governing Body; reviews regularly how the school is regarded by pupils and parents; ensures that the school has in place all statutory policies and keeps these under review on a regular basis and approves policies on review; ensures that the school does not discriminate against pupils, job applicants or staff on the basis of race, religion, gender, age, disability or sexual orientation; ensures that the school has a Complaints Procedure for Parents and that parents know how to raise concerns and make a complaint and ensures that the Governing Body complies with all legal requirements placed upon them.

Curriculum & Learning Committee (Chair: Emma Watson)

The Curriculum & LearningCommittee focuses on the delivery and monitoring of the annual School Improvement Plan with regards to the curriculum and reports to the Governing Body. These reports will in turn inform strategy. The team monitors the Curriculum Policy and progress against the School Improvement Plan targets; reviews pupil performance data; reviews and monitors Special Educational Needs and Disability policy and practice; monitors personal development and behaviour, and reviews engagement with parents on matters relating to the curriculum.

Finance & Resources Committee (Chair: Andrew Carpenter)

The Finance & Resources Committee monitors the school finance and premises. It maintains an up-to-date ‘balanced’ three year budget plan; monitors the budget; evaluates virements; analyses tenders, contracts and insurances; benchmarks the school financial performance against similar schools and reports to the Governing Body; evaluates proposed expenditure; ensures that the school is working within the guidance of the Schools Financial Value Standard and Assurance (SFVS) recommendations; ensures that all spending provides ‘value for money’ in terms of raising standards in education; monitors and evaluates the management of the Voluntary Fund and receives the audited accounts; and monitors Health & Safety policy and other issues relating to premises management .

Admissions Committee (Chair: Kate Phillips)

The Admissions Committee applies the admissions rules as agreed by the Governing Body and advises the Local Authority of the ranked list; reviews the Governing Body’s admissions rules and make any recommendations for change to the whole Governing Body; ensures that the consultation process is carried out in accordance with guidance contained in Paragraphs A8 – A14 of the School Admissions Code of Practice; supports the Governing Body / the Chair of Governors in making the case for refusing an application for admission to an Independent Appeals Panel; considers any applications for admission after the normal point of entry that may be refused; publishes the school’s Admissions Arrangements; appeals (in specific situations where the Admissions Team considers it appropriate to do so) against Local Authority directions to admit pupils.

Governor Register of Business Interests November 2023

Governing Body Information as at June 2023