Governors
ODBST Scheme of Delegation
The Local Governing Body of Curzon C of E Combined School
ODBST (Oxford Diocese Bucks Schools Trust) is governed by a Board of Trustees who is responsible for overseeing the management and administration of ODBST and all the academies run by it including Curzon. The Trustees are accountable to external government agencies including the Charity Commission and the Department for Education for the quality of education they provide. They are required to have systems in place through which they can assure themselves of quality, safety and good practice. As Curzon is a Church of England school, the Trustees are also accountable for ensuring that the academy provides an education of the highest quality within the context of Christian belief and practice. In order to discharge these responsibilities the Trustees appoint people who are locally based to serve on a local governing body which has been established to ensure the good governance of the school.
Curzon’s Local Governing Body has three core functions:
- To ensure clarity of the school’s vision, ethos and strategic direction;
- To hold the Headteacher to account for the educational performance of the school and its pupils, and the performance management of staff; and
- To oversee the financial performance of the school and make sure its money is well spent.
The Headteacher is responsible for the implementation of policy and of the curriculum, for the day-to-day operations of the school, and is accountable to the Diocese and Local Governing Body. The Local Governing Body has overall responsibility for the aim and direction of the school and is accountable to the Oxford Diocese Bucks Schools Trust, as well as to parents for the way the school is run.
Our Local Governing Body is made up of up to 12 governors at any one time, to include the Headteacher, one elected by staff, two elected by parents and a further eight appointed by the Diocese. With the exception of the Head Teacher, governors all hold office for a period of four years. Governors can be contacted by letter or email via the school office.
On conversion to an academy within the ODBST on 1st June 2020 all governors’ terms of office came to an end. All were reappointed as members of the Local governing body at that time and it was agreed that the expiry date of the original term of office would be observed to facilitate orderly succession planning.
Our Local Governing Body meets together formally twice a term and governors are also part of sub-committees or working groups, which meet once or twice a term, to deliver the school’s vision and objectives and to ensure all statutory business, such as budgets and policies, can be properly discussed. These are:
- Curriculum & Admissions Committee
- Finance, Personnel & General Committee (to include the Pay Review Committee)
- Premises, Health & Safety Committee
- Foundation Governors Working Group (to oversee the school’s Christian distinctiveness).
Governors agree to abide by a Code of Conduct and accept the seven Nolan principles of public life.
Effective governance is based on six key features (taken from the DfE’s Governance Handbook, updated Jan 2017):
Core pillars of the board’s role and purpose:
Strategic leadership that sets and champions vision, ethos and strategy.
Accountability that drives up educational standards and financial performance.
How governance is organised:
People with the right skills, experience, qualities and capacity.
Structures that reinforce clearly defined roles and responsibilities.
Ensuring and improving the quality of governance:
Compliance with statutory and contractual requirements.
Evaluation to monitor and improve the quality and impact of governance.
If you would like more information on becoming a governor at Curzon, please contact our Chair of Governors via the school office. Alternatively, more general information about school governors can be obtained from the the Oxford Diocese Governance – Oxford Diocesan Board of Education (odbe.org.uk) or Oxford Diocesan Buckinghamshire Schools Trust https://www.odbst.org.uk
Our Local Governing Body Governors (LGB) 2024-25 are as follows:
Our Governors, showing their roles and current 4 year term dates are detailed below:
Mrs J Payne, Headteacher – 19/10/2019
Mr M Bowditch, Chair of Governors (Parent governor, elected by parents: Finance and Premises) 15/01/2023 – 14/01/2027
Countess E Howe (Foundation governor, appointed by the Diocese: Curriculum, Foundation and Head Teacher performance management) 12/03/2023 – 11/03/2027
Mrs R Lawrence (Foundation governor, appointed by the Diocese: Finance, Curriculum, Foundation and Head Teacher performance) 26/11/2019 – 25/11/2023
Mrs J Cossins Vice Chair of Governors (Foundation governor, appointed by the Diocese: Curriculum and Foundation) 10/03/2022 – 09/03/2026
Mr P Ryan, F.C.A. (Foundation governor, appointed by the Diocese) 09/05/2022 – 08/05/2026
Mrs W Allen (Staff governor, elected by staff: Curriculum) 01/10/2022 – 30/09/2026
Mrs A. Higham (Foundation governor, appointed by the Diocese) 11/03/2024 – 10/03/2028
Mr Russell Simenot (Foundation governor, appointed by the Diocese) 25/06/2024 – 24/06/2028
Mr Peter Richards (Parent governor, elected by parents) 16/10/24 – 15/10/28
Mrs J Bunce
Governors who are no longer serving the governing body but served during the preceding twelve months are listed below with the date their terms ended:
Mrs S Elsey (Foundation governor, appointed by the Diocese: Finance and Foundation) 12/11/2020 – 11/11/2024
Mrs J Bunce (Parent governor, elected by parents: Premises) 16/10/2020 – 15/10/2024
Mr A Smith (Foundation governor, appointed by the Diocese) 09/01/2023 – 19/07/2024
Please follow the link below to access information on the Governing Body, Business Interests and Attendance at Meetings:
Business and Financial Interests
| Governor | Business Interest | Financial Interest | Governor at another educational establishment |
| J Payne | Nil return | Nil return | Nil return |
| M Bowditch | Nil return | Nil return | Nil return |
| E Howe | Family farm business-Penn House Estate 12/03/2023 | Family farm business-Penn House Estate 12/03/2023 | No |
| S Elsey | Nil return | Nil return | Nil return |
| R Lawrence | Nil return | Nil return | Nil return |
| J Cossins | Art and Craft classes-Where Inspiration Blooms 10/03/2022 | Art and Craft classes-Where Inspiration Blooms 10/3/2022 | Nil return |
| R Ryan | Nil return | Nil return | Nil return |
| W Allen | Nil return | Nil return | Nil return |
| A Smith | Nil return | Nil return | Nil return |
| J Bunce | Nil return | Nil return | Nil return |
| R Simenot | Nil return | Nil return | Nil return |
| A Higham | Music Administrator Caldicott School 11/03/2024 | Nil return | Nil return |
Governor Attendance 2023-4
| Date | M Bowditch | J Payne | W Allen | R Lawrence | E Howe | J Bunce | J Cossins | P Ryan | A Smith | A Higham | ||
| Premises | 3/3 | 25.09.23 | 1 | 1 | – | – | – | 1 | – | – | – | |
| Local governing body | 7/9 | 05.10.23 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Finance & Personnel | 3/3 | 11 10 23 | 1 | 1 | – | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | |
| Curriculum/Admissions | 4/5 | 12 10 23 | – | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | – | 1 | – | – | |
| LGB | 8/9 | 14.11.23 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| Finance & Personnel | 4/4 | 21.11.23 | 1 | 1 | – | 1 | – | – | – | 1 | – | |
| Curriculum/Admissions | 4/5 | 23.11.23 | – | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | – | 0 | – | – | |
| Premises | 2/3 | 12.12.23 | 1 | 1 | – | – | – | 0 | – | – | – | |
| Finance & Personnel | 4/4 | 16.01.24 | 1 | 1 | – | 1 | – | – | – | 1 | – | |
| Curriculum/Admissions | 5/5 | 18.1.24 | – | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | – | 1 | – | – | |
| Local governing body | 8/9 | 31.01.24 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | |
| Premises | 2/3 | 27.02.24 | 1 | 1 | – | – | – | 0 | – | – | – | |
| Finance & Personnel | 4/4 | 05.03.24 | 1 | 1 | – | 1 | – | – | – | 1 | – | |
| Local governing body | 8/10 | 05.03.24 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Curriculum/Admissions | 5/5 | 07.03.24 | – | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | – | 1 | – | – | |
| Premises | 3/3 | 30.04.24 | 1 | 1 | – | – | – | 1 | – | – | – | |
| Local governing body | 6/10 | 02 05 24 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Curriculum/Admissions | 5/5 | 02 05 24 | – | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | – | 1 | – | – | |
| Finance & Personnel | 3/4 | 07.05.24 | 1 | 1 | – | 1 | – | – | – | 0 | – | |
| Premises | 3/3 | 17.6.24 | 1 | 1 | – | – | – | 1 | – | – | – | |
| Finance and Personnel | 4/4 | 18.6.24 | 1 | 1 | – | 1 | – | – | – | 1 | – | |
| LGB | 8/10 | 18.6.24 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Curriculum/Admissions | 5/5 | 18.6.24 | – | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | – | 1 | – | – |
Governor Attendance 2024-25
| Date | M Bowditch | J Payne | W Allen | R Lawrence | E Howe | J Bunce | J Cossins | P Ryan | A Higham | R Simenot | p Richards | ||
| LGB | 10/11 | 10.10.24 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Attendance key:
1= attended
0= apologies
– = not a member of that committee and therefore not invited to attend
Current governors: Please click here to access the Governor Portal (Username and Password protected).
ODBST Trust Board
We are members of the Oxford Diocesan Bucks Schools Trust, and the governance of the Trust belongs to the main ODBST Board of Trustees. Below is our Scheme of Delegation. This also includes our Constitution and Terms of Reference. Paper copies can be obtained through the school office or by using the contact us option on this website. You can also find details of the Trust Board and details of our Trust Governance by clicking the link (to ODBST website)
The Clerk to the Local Governing Body is Rachel Lawson and can be contacted by email: office@czn.odbst.org
ODBST Scheme of Delegation Approved July23
OBDST Governance Structure:
Please refer to the link below for the OBDST governance Structure
Oxford Diocesan Bucks Schools Trust – Local Governors (odbst.org.uk)
