We are delighted to welcome James Barker to the Board of Trustees.
James Barker joins the Board after serving as a governor at Siddington C of E Primary School for two years. James Barker is a chartered accountant with 15 years’ experience in both practice and industry. One of his first roles in practice was setting up a team to support academies with their statutory accounts and audits. James Barker moved to St. James’s Place in Cirencester in 2015 where he was a financial controller for the investment side of the business for 6 years. With a keen interest in data and technology, James now manages financial data for the group with responsibilities ranging from data governance through to overseeing financial modelling.
Our thanks go to Kathy Jackson, who as our Governance Officer, has been working closely with our Headteachers and Chairs to recruit and appoint new members of our Local Governing Bodies. Consequently, we have welcomed 13 new Governors and 2 new Trustees in 2024-25. The search for new Trustees continues.
Both Trustees and Members of our Local Governing Bodies are volunteers and all give generously of their time. We are immensely grateful for the commitment they all make to their individual schools and the Trust. Not only do they attend meetings, Trustees and governors also engage in network groups and training, provide support and challenge through their monitoring activities and now share their feedback with the Board in 3-4 specific areas: Standards, Stakeholders, Safeguarding and, for our Church schools only, SIAMS. We thank them all and, especially, those who have served their time or stepped away in 2024-25, including Martin McLeman, former Chair of Trustees, who has re-located to the Lake District.
