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MEET OUR GOVERNING BOARD

 

The Governing board is the regulative body for our school. Comprised of teachers, parents, ex-parents and also members of the local community; our Governors meet regularly to discuss and review all aspects of school life.

When electing governors, we try to find determined and driven individuals from varied backgrounds; this way we can objectively assess points that may arise during meetings – finding the most practicable solutions and following the best course of action to benefit our children and enable them to reach their fullest potential. If you’d like to know more about the role of Governance in schools, and want to find information about a specific school – please visit the GIAS webpage on the Government website:

get-information-schools.service.gov.uk

All of our Governors understand their roles & responsibilities, they’re able to articulate our school’s vision & values; which they had a key role in writing, and stand firmly behind the school’s ethos – “Bringing out the best in each other, as we blossom and grow”.

Chair of Governors & LA Governor

christine.mitchell-brown@cherrytreeschool.co.uk

Christine is a resident in Lymm and has been a governor at Cherry Tree for more than eight years. She cares passionately about supporting Cherry Tree and helping to improve the children’s educational attainment by being able to work as part of the wider team on the Governing Board.

Her experience working in the IT sector for major US and European blue chip companies means she brings a strong business and commercial perspective to the work of the Governing Board. She is particularly focused on ensuring the school utilises resources to add the greatest value to the school and will go the extra mile to ensure school needs are met fully within challenging budget constraints.

In her personal time, Christine loves keeping fit, cooking, cracking crosswords, reading and travelling.

Vice Chair / Co-opted Governor

Jo has been a governor at Cherry Tree for seven years, initially as a parent governor and now as a co-opted governor since her children progressed to Lymm High School.

She was drawn to the role through a desire to learn more about how the school operated and to play a key part in its continued success. Today, Jo continues to be driven by seeing pupils thrive in such a wonderful environment. As a former business analyst and European Marketing Manager she brings commercial acumen and great financial rigour to the work of the Governing Board.

As well as being a cricket coach and manager, Jo enjoys outdoor sports and cooking – she’s a well-known member of the Lymm Pudding Club.

Head Teacher

cherrytree_primary_head@warrington.gov.uk

Helen has been the Head Teacher at Cherry Tree since 2012. Her teaching career began in Moss Side, Manchester where she taught Year 1 and Year 2 children before moving to Cherry Tree. The opportunity to become the Head Teacher at the school was a further exciting progression for Helen from her role as Deputy Head.

Being a member of the Governing Board is a given as a Head Teacher but prior to her appointment, Helen served as a teacher governor at Cherry Tree School – taking the time she has served on the Governing Board to over ten years.

Helen’s commitment to the school is evident in everything that she does. She is passionate about ensuring that all of the children have an exciting, relevant and fun education. Her leadership and inclusive style is of immense value to the Governing Board, which looks first and foremost at the needs of the children. Her depth of knowledge and attention to detail is essential to the way the Board monitors and reviews the work of the previous year and plans ahead to develop our school further. It’s a partnership with the common aim of making Cherry Tree School the very best that it can be.

Staff Governor

Mr Adams is our current foundation stage teacher, he is a father of two and married to Mrs Adams; who also works at Cherry Tree as a teaching assistant. Phil has been a much loved asset of Cherry Tree since he started in 1999; As school’s SENCO lead, he is responsible for co-ordinating additional support for pupils with special educational needs and liaise with their parents, teachers and other professionals who are involved with them – A challenging, yet rewarding role.

Over his tenure at Cherry Tree Mr Adams has taught every single year group, from Class F all the way to Class 6! He loves to get involved in school productions and will never shy away from a karaoke opportunity!

In his spare time Mr Adams is an avid Liverpool supporter and music lover, he also coaches Cromwell junior football club, under 10s and under 18s as well as playing in a 5 a side football league himself.

Co-opted Governor

As a resident of Lymm, Claire is passionate about education and is delighted to be volunteering in the local community in her role as co-opted governor.

Claire brings over ten years of communications experience, and uses it to great effect in supporting the work of the Governing Board and in particular to the development of the Cherry Tree area of the website. Like all of her fellow governors, Claire is committed to maintaining Cherry Tree as an outstanding school.

Claire most recently worked as a press office manager at Merseyside Police, having previously worked at the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority and Ofqual, the examinations watchdog.

In her spare time Claire, enjoys volunteering in the community, spending time with her family, and outdoor pursuits particularly snowboarding.

Parent Governor

Appointed September 2022. Richard and his wife Chan have been residents of Lymm for 13 years and have 2 children at Cherry Tree. As a chartered engineer and owner of an electrical power consultancy; Richard is used to having to make strategic decisions for improvement and growth, whilst working on major power engineering projects.

In his spare time Richard enjoys family outings and holidays, he is a keen runner & cyclist, he also likes to pretend he’s still good at football.

Richard has previously been a committee member for Cherry Blossom Preschool and Warrington SANDS charity.

We believe his background and skillset will make him an excellent member of our governing board.

Co-opted Governor

Louise is a resident in Lymm and has been a co-opted governor at Cherry Tree since 2013. She is very passionate about helping the school to maintain its status as an outstanding school. She also supports the creation of a learning environment that encourages achievement and raises standards whilst at the same time supports the happiness and social wellbeing of the children.

Having worked with teams in a highly regulated industry and for clients, through her own business, in the public and private sector, Louise brings skills and insight in strategic planning and implementation, business management and her core competency of marketing and communications.

In her leisure time Louise enjoys time with her friends, family and the church she’s been associated with since childhood in Padgate.

Co-opted Governor

Vivienne is a resident in Lymm and was appointed as a co-opted governor at Cherry Tree in 2018. She has had a longstanding association with Cherry Tree since 2001, serving for twelve years as School Association Treasurer and subsequently as auditor. She is committed to maintaining the very high standards at Cherry Tree.

Vivienne is a Chartered Accountant and worked for twenty eight years in the finance industry before starting her own wellbeing business. She brings a wealth of finance experience and her passion for wellbeing to the board and is very much looking forward to supporting Cherry Tree in both these areas during her term of office.
In her leisure time Vivienne enjoys voluntary work, dancing and time with her friends and family.

Co-opted Governor

Victoria is passionate about helping within the local community with over 10 years volunteering at various levels through Girl Guiding including a role as district commissioner for lymm Girl Guiding. She is passionate about creating a safe happy and inclusive environment where children are able to blossom and develop as individuals and has seen first hand the positive effects that cherry tree primary school has on children as an ex pupil herself.

Victoria has a ba honns in surface pattern design and over 7 years experience within the design industry focusing on interior furnishings. In her spare time when she’s not busy with her 4 young children she enjoys getting outdoors growing a variety of plant life walking and challenging herself with new activities.

Co-opted Governor

Appointed in October 2020. Linda has been a resident of Lymm since 2016.
She is an active member of the local community through Lymm Jubilee WI and
Lymm Runners.

After thirty six years as a primary school teacher Linda took early retirement in 2019 and is looking forward to being part of a school community again in a different role. She is already getting to know some of the parents through the
Cherry Tree running club.

In her spare time, Linda enjoys yoga, gardening and spending time with her grandson.

Co-opted Governor

Colette has been volunteering at Cherry Tree since January 2022.  She has a passion for maths and enjoys sharing this passion with the greater depth maths groups in school.

After graduating with a maths degree, she worked in the financial sector as an actuary, giving advice on the running of company pension schemes.  Following a break to bring up her 2 children she helped set up and manage a local grant-giving charity.  During this time, she became a governor at her local primary school and also volunteered as Chairperson at her local Pre-School, a role which she continues to hold.  She hopes that she can use this financial, governorship, charity and Early Years’ experience for the benefit of Cherry Tree School as she takes on the role of a co-opted governor.

In her spare time Colette enjoys dancing – both tap and Scottish Country – and she is an avid fan of the theatre, particularly musicals. She is also a keen gardener and loves experimenting with growing produce in her greenhouse.

Parent Governor

Anna is a resident in Lymm, has been a co-opted governor at Cherry Tree since 2017, and most recently, became our latest parent governor. She is passionate about Cherry Tree and, in her role as governor, seeks to support the happy and nurturing environment at the school. She believes this is a hugely important factor in helping the children to achieve their social and learning potential. Equally, it is essential in enabling them to foster positive relationships with each other and staff members.

Anna’s experience in the legal field as a barrister practising in family law means that she brings legal expertise, analytical skills plus an eye for detail and compliance to the Governing Board.

In her spare time, Anna enjoys spending time with family and friends and travelling.