School Governors

As an academy, the Academy Council of Heatherwood School has delegated powers from the Nexus Multi Academy Trust Board of Directors, which are outlined in the Trust’s Scheme of Delegation.

Scheme of Delegation

The Chief Executive Officer and Officers of the Trust act as advisors to the Academy Council and attend most meetings

Membership

Heatherwood School Local Governing Body was constituted on 1^st November 2019 and in September 22 became our Academy Council and the following structure of governance is now in place:

The total membership shall be not less than 7 and not more than 12.

The membership shall comprise:

the Chair who is elected by the Trust Board of Directors;
the Headteacher;
no fewer than 2 elected Parent Governors;
two elected Members of Staff, one Teaching, one Non-Teaching;
the remaining Governors are appointed by the Academy Council. Governors can be Parents or Members of Staff but the number of Staff Governors (inc Headteacher) must not exceed one-third of the total number of Governors.

How are Governors chosen?

There are different categories of Governors: Parent Governors, Staff Governors and Governors.

Parent Governors are elected by current parents when a vacancy becomes available. Staff Governors, are representatives of the teaching or support staff and are elected by the eligible staff when a vacancy becomes available. All Governors are appointed by the Academy Council. They are selected to provide skills and experience which Governors feel are required.

The Chair of the Academy Council is appointed by the Nexus Multi Academy Trust Board of Directors.

All Governors initially serve for a period of four years. At the end of the four years, they can stand for re-election or be re-appointed. Governors are free to resign before the end of their four-year term if they so wish.

Members of Heatherwood School Governing Body

Gary Bullock	Chair	Interest & Attendance data
Lyndsey Proctor	Headteacher	Interest & Attendance data
Suzanne Fulwood	Staff Governor
Kathryn Coates	Support Staff Governor
Marc Bratcher	Governor	Interest & Attendance data
Melanie Pidgeon	Vice Chair	Interest & Attendance data

Governor's Interests are reviewed at every meeting. All individual Governor's Information with regard to interests & attendance can be found within the Individual Governor's Profiles.

Approved minutes of the Academy Council can be accessed at the bottom of this page.

Frequency

The Academy Council meets at least once a half-term, with additional meetings being arranged as required.

Meet the Governors:

Gary Bullock - Chair, Parent Governor

My name is Gary Bullock - I am currently the Chair of Governor’s at Heatherwood School.

One of my three sons attended Heatherwood School for over 12 years. I previously worked within the steel industry for over 20 years, in which time I had many roles starting at the bottom and progressing to manufacturing Manager for a site of over 300 employees. In my later years of working in the industry I was in a group role responsible for continuous improvement across the business, this took me to places around the world, and I gained lots of experience working with a diverse cross section of people.

I believe my experience in the steel industry and raising a child with complex needs allows me to bring a vast array of knowledge and expertise to the role of Chair of Governors, being supportive and challenging and also bring a parental perspective to the school where appropriate.

Melanie Pidgeon - Vice Chair

My name is Melanie Pidgeon I have worked in the health setting since qualifying as a nurse over 30 years ago. Most recently I worked for Public Health England as a Programme Manager which required me to work alongside local authorities, the NHS and voluntary sector. I have a niece for whom I am the legal guardian at Heatherwood School and am excited to have recently joined as a Parent Governor.

I feel I am able to represent the views and needs of parents and carers as well as understanding the functions that the school must fulfil.

Suzanne Fulwood - Staff Governor

Information to follow

Lyndsey Proctor - Headteacher

I have been a teacher for nearly 25 years, and I have been involved in school leadership for 15 years. I began my journey at Heatherwood School at Easter 2024. I feel privileged to be part of such an incredible school; I feel so welcomed by staff, families and our young people. Heatherwood puts its pupils at the heart of everything that we do, and we work alongside Nexus Trust to make sure that we are all the best that we can be. I strongly believe that our young people are in the very best place to experience their highly personalised learning journey.

Marc Bratcher - Governor

Information coming soon

Kathryn Coates - Support Staff Governor

Information to follow

How can I contact the School Governors?

To contact the Chair of our Academy Council, please email clerkingservices@nexusmat.org

You can also contact Clerking Services about any aspect of school governance at this address clerkingservices@nexusmat.org

Past Governors:

Lisa Suter	Change of Role within Nexus - Dec 24
Fiona Kirkham	Resigned - 05 December 24
Patricia Burbanks	Retired - 31 August 24
Daryl Bennett	Resigned - 30 April 24	Interest & Attendance Data
Kayleigh Smith	Resigned - 30 April 24	Interest & Attendance Data
Bridget Coy	Resigned - 31 August 23	Interests & Attendance Data
Anne-Marie O'Dell	Resigned - 31 August 22
Karen Latimer	Resigned - March 22

Academy Council Minutes

Below are copies of the Academy Council minutes. Reports on the agendas for any of these meetings are available to the public for public inspection. If any member of the public would like to request a copy of any of the reports from a meeting agenda, please submit a request in writing, specifying which reports are being requested, to foi@nexusmat.org

Please note that published minutes will include the previous academic year and the current academic year for records management purposes. Should you wish to see minutes from previous years, we will happily provide these to you and would ask that you follow the FOI process as stated above.

USEFUL INFORMATION

Further useful governance information can be found on the Nexus Trust website. Please click here to locate documents such as the Governance Handbook, Glossary of Terms and the Scheme of Delegation.