Our Governors

Dear Parents, Carers, Families and Friends,

On behalf of all the Governors of Burbage Primary, we would like to take this opportunity to welcome you to our wonderful school. Our children are encouraged to learn, develop, create and grow in a secure and caring setting.

At Burbage Primary School, we want our pupils to grow up as happy, kind, and compassionate young members of the community. We want our school to be a place where pupils can develop resilience and independence in a supportive environment. We want to foster individuality and instil a love of learning that lasts a lifetime. We want all of our children, regardless of their background, ability, or need, to have self-confidence and aspirations. We also want families, the school, and the community as a whole to work together effectively; we are all committed to working together to achieve this vision for our school.

Our pupils are happy and enjoy attending school. We are extremely proud of the curriculum and clubs that our teachers provide. Our staff are exceptionally dedicated and provide a high standard of education. Pupils are encouraged to try their best and to succeed. They are also encouraged to develop into responsible, caring young people that display good manners and behaviour.

We hope you enjoy exploring our website and learning more about our wonderful school. Please feel free to contact the office if you would like a visit to see our school in action and our busy pupils at work.

Finally, to conclude, all our staff and Governors are very approachable to all, encouraging children and parents to be actively involved in ensuring that our school is a success. Please feel free to get in touch.

Yours sincerely,

Burbage Governors

Governor Details 2025-2026

At Burbage Primary School, we have a team of Governors who work as volunteers to support the school. Their role is to develop a vision and strategy for the school; oversee financial performance and make sure that money is well spent; hold the Headteacher to account for the educational performance of the school and to engage with young people, staff, parents and the wider school community to understand their views.

Governors are expected to attend 6 Local Governing Team (LGT) meetings each year for approximately 2 hours per meeting. During these meetings, Governors look at a wide range of information to monitor how well the school is performing. Detailed reports including ones on safeguarding, data and finance are discussed at these meetings, as well as a more general headteacher’s report.

Governor Support

To support the work that goes on, Governors are encouraged to participate in school visits at least twice a year for approximately an hour. Governors observe what is happening in school, look at the school environment and talk to pupils about their school.

New Governors

If an individual is interested in being a member of our LGT they should meet with the Chair and Headteacher and discuss what they could bring to the team. Following the recruitment process they would then be invited to attend the LGT meeting where they would be appointed. Governors are appointed for a 4-year term of office. Once appointed, Governors receive an induction and appropriate training for the role.

Our Local Governing Team

We are proud to have a committed team that is made up of individuals with a range of backgrounds and experience.

For more information, please contact the Governance Professional, Emma Moore at emoore@burbage.derbyshire.sch.uk.

Role	Name	Appointed by/ Elected by	Term of office	Business interests	Relationships with other governors/ staff	Responsibility
Role	Name	Appointed by/ Elected by	Term of office	Business interests	Relationships with other governors/ staff	Responsibility
Chair of Governors/ (co-opted)	Janet McMurdo	Governing body	19/11/25-18/11/29	None to declare	None to declare	Chair of governors and SEND link governor
Co-Vice-chair of Governors (parent)	Sarah Melchionno	Governing body	17/1/24-16/1/28	None to declare	None to declare	Vice-chair of governors and chair of Pay and Performance committee
Co-Vice-chair of Governors (parent)	Jade Grindey	Governing body	15/5/24-14/5/28	None to declare	None to declare	Vice-chair of governors and Personal Development link governor
Headteacher	Anthony Tierney	N/A	N/A	None to declare	None to declare
Staff Governor (Teaching)	Alice Martin	Staff	10/5/23- 9/5/27	None to declare	None to declare
Staff Governor (Non-teaching)	vacancy			None to declare	None to declare
Parent Governor	Luci Fairbrother	Governing body	9/10/24-8/10/28	None to declare	None to declare
Co-opted Governor	Karen Chetwood	Governing body	9/10/24-8/10/28	None to declare	None to declare	Safeguarding link governor
Co-opted Governor	Edmund Lumsden	Governing body	9/10/24-8/10/28	None to declare	None to declare
Co-opted Governor	Peter Swann	Governing body	1/10/25-30/9/29	None to declare	None to declare	Finance and operations link governor
Co-opted Governor	Catherine Oliver	Governing body	11/10/23-10/10/27	None to declare	None to declare
Co-opted Governor	Nari Bailey	Governing body	9/10/24-8/10/28	None to declare	None to declare	Quality of Education/Standards link governor

Governor vacancies: non-teaching staff governor.

Historic (Governors stepped down in the last 12 months): John Akrigg (resignation 23/7/25)

What the governing board does, and how we work

Schools governors work to plan the strategic direction of the school, oversee budgets, and support and challenge the headteacher. As part of the governing board, governors play a vital role in helping schools run efficiently and effectively to give children the best education possible.

What do school governors do?

School governors have three core functions:

1. Planning the strategic direction of the school

2. Overseeing financial performance of the school and ensuring money is well spent

3. Holding the headteacher or school leadership to account

The governor role is strategic rather than operational. Governors don’t get involved with the day to day running of a school, instead supporting and challenging the leadership team to drive school improvement.

How do we work?

School governors are volunteers. Being a school governor is a responsibility, but offers people a chance to see first-hand the impact you can make in improving education for children in your community. Each governor takes on a 'link role' which involves them coming onto site for school visits to then reporting back into the wider board.

Our board follows a circle model, which means that all governors attend full board meetings every month to hear updates from the headteacher and discuss strategic priorities. The governing body must appoint a chair and vice-chair. Other specific appointments can be made for individual governors to lead on in certain aspects of the school (eg Health & Safety, Safeguarding, Inclusion). There is a Sub-committee at Burbage Primary school for Pay and Performance.

Attendance Figures

Attendance Figures 23-24

governor attendance 2023 2024 .pdf

How to contact governors

Many of our governors are around school at the start and end of the school day. If you wish to speak to governors, please contact the school office and we will be happy to put you in touch.

Telephone: 01298 22278

Email: enquiries@burbage.derbyshire.sch.uk

Alternatively, Emma Moore, our clerk to governors may be contacted via: emoore@burbage.derbyshire.sch.uk