Trustees – Governors – Ascend Learning Trust

Noremarsh Junior School joined Ascend Learning Trust in October 2018. The Trust exists to ensure that the staff, children and parents from each Academy are able to benefit from Excellence in Education across the Trust.

The Trust was set up as a Multi Academy Trust in May 2017. In establishing Ascend Learning Trust, the trust committed to offering strategic leadership and management expertise to facilitate collaboration, commitment leading to high levels of school improvement opportunities to each Academy within the trust.

Ascend Learning Trust

Ascend Learning Trust has strategic responsibility which include achieving high level educational performance in all of its Academies, owning all assets, employing all staff and receiving all funding from Education Funding Agency to allocate budgets to each Academy in Ascend Learning Trust, whilst providing effective and efficient corporate services which offer value for money.

Ascend Learning Trust operates through a governance structure, which includes Ascend Learning Trust Board of Trustees, supported by a Finance Committee, Standards Committee and Academy Attainment Committee identified below. Each committee has its own Terms of Reference. Academy Local Governing Bodies feed into the governance structure.

View Ascend Learning Trust Documents

Noremarsh Junior School Local Governing Body

At Noremarsh we have a Local Governing Body (LGB) that meets six times per year.

Our LGB is a committee. When we meet, we monitor, evaluate and review the Noremarsh Improvement Plan, ensuring clear links from the self-evaluation process. The Local Governing Body exists to provide a platform of governance designed to enhance the monitoring and improvements in education and pupil attainment at local level whilst delivering the three core principles of:

clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction in line with Ascend Learning Trust policy,
holding the Noremarsh Headteacher to account for the performance and attainment of its children,
overseeing the Academy’s delegated financial budget.

We report the needs of our school regularly through reporting to Ascend Learning Trust in line with the operational Scheme of Delegation. The LGB seeks to support Ascend Learning Trust in wide curriculum collaborations and sharing good practice, which underpins the ways of working and terms of reference for the LGB.

The Governing Body is made up of representatives of the Staff, Parents/Carers and the Community. They are volunteers and have various legal responsibilities and duties. The role of governor is largely a thinking and questioning role and ideas from outside education can be useful. The day-to-day decisions about the running of the school are the role of the Headteacher, supported by the staff of Noremarsh.

Composition of LGB

Members of the Full Governing Body

The Chair of governors is Mr. Ben Angell. To contact the Chair of Governors please email the clerk to the governors, Clair Wannell, on cwannell@njs.ascendlearningtrust.org.uk.

Other members are:

Karen Beard

Alex Hill

Jordan Rogers

Dawn Blackler

School Governors are similar to a company’s board of directors. Their role is mainly in providing strategic direction by establishing a vision and setting the ambitions of the school, ensuring there is an environment where all (children and staff) can succeed and for the general monitoring of school progress and performance.

Until recently, the school was under Local Authority control and always had a Full Governing Body (FGB). However, in October 2018 we joined the Royal Wootton Bassett Academy Trust (now Ascend Learning Trust) and are no longer responsible to the Local Authority.

Now as part of the Ascend Learning Trust the scope of our direct governance responsibility has changed and we have therefore established a new group called a Local Governing Body (LGB) to help with school specific ambitions and the integration and alignment processes with the Trust.

We believe that as part of the Trust our pupils will experience a smoother transition as they move through our school and onto secondary education. Wherever appropriate, our vision, values, ethos, culture and strategies will be modified to mirror those of the Academy but without losing our own identify as a vibrant Junior School central to the wider community.

Commitment of Local Governors

Local Governors are asked to:

prepare for and make an active contribution at meetings of the LGB.
champion the Academy in the local community.
familiarise themselves with the Academy’s policies.
visit the Academy both during school hours (with prior arrangement with the Head teacher) and for evening events to get to know the Academy and to be visible to the Academy community; and attend training sessions for Local Governors, where possible.

There are many opportunities for governors to support school activities to develop understanding of the students and staff’s experience of teaching and learning, and of pastoral care. It is recognised that, as volunteers, governors cannot necessarily attend school activities during usual working hours, but relevant events are not limited to those hours.

Meet Our Governors

Jordan Rogers

Parent Governor

Alex Hill

Ben Angell

Chair of Governors

Karen Beard

School Representative

Dawn Blackler

If you would like to make contact with any of our governors, please email the clerk, Clair Wannell, via cwannell@njs.ascendlearningtrust.org.uk