Castleford Academy
Castleford Academy
You are here: Governance - List of Governors
Governors make an exceptional contribution to the work and direction of the school. We make strategic appointments to the governing body to ensure a breadth of expertise and experience. All are from the local community and are closely involved in the school as parents, employers or ex pupils.
The Governing body have expertise in education, local government, law, regional government organisations, business, industry and accountancy. Governors assume individual responsibility for holding departments and inclusion to account. A number of sub committees meet at least every term to evaluate the effectiveness of the school action plans and to act on their findings.
Responsibility for Careers
Kenny’s extensive involvement in the Further Education sector guarantees the Castleford Academy governing board a wealth of inherited knowledge on the subject of training opportunities and Ofsted inspections. Kenney is the proud father of two daughters who are currently in Secondary School and College, heightening Kenny’s interest in the education and progression of young adults.
Originally from Edinburgh, Kenny has lived in West Yorkshire for fifteen years and is currently employed as Operations Director of Appris Charity Limited, a not-for-profit apprenticeship training provider, specialising in engineering and manufacturing. Further to this, Kenny has led on four Ofsted inspections over twenty years in the Further Education sector; most recently achieving ‘Good’ overall with ‘Outstanding’ for Personal Development, Behaviour and Welfare.
From his lengthy experience in these fields, Kenny brings an abundance of expertise to the governing board surrounding leadership, education and the strengthening of skillsets and educational provision.
Throughout my teaching career the clear aim of increasing the life chances of the pupils we teach has been at the heart of all I have done. I have been fortunate to have been involved in and played varied key roles in terms of school improvement over the past 20 years.
I have had the opportunity to lead on high impact whole school improvement in a number of Academies in West Yorkshire and can demonstrate significant improvements in each and everyone one of them. Having joined the Castleford Academy as Headteacher in 2021 I am really excited for the future, the opportunity to work with outstanding leaders to drive pupil progress higher is a challenge that I truly relish.
Chair of Education & Standards Committee
Alison has been a governor at Castleford Academy since 2003, and also has some Junior School governance knowledge and experience. Coupled with her expertise in the Finance/Banking Sector, Alison affords the Castleford Academy governing board a wealth of knowledge, challenge and judgement.
Alison’s career within the Public and Finance/Banking sector has included over 20 years supporting Education and Skills and since 2014, Alison has worked for Yorkshire Building Society, supporting IT colleague development, project delivery, internal audit, community engagement/volunteering, data analysis and resourcing.
Alison is an experienced and well-regarded Project/Contract Manager, having previously led the Yorkshire and Humber region’s Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths Education programme (including £13 million budget delivery and evaluation). Alongside this, Alison has managed a range of Further Education Colleges and Work Based Learning Providers (for the Learning and Skills Council) to ensure they deliver high quality education outputs for 16-25 year olds, including Apprenticeships. Further to this, Alison has also been employed as a secondary school teacher and
Further Education lecturer, specialising in Business Studies, IT, Computer Science and Customer Service Qualifications. Alison also possesses a wide range of qualifications to support her governor role at Castleford Academy, including PGCE/Masters in Secondary Education, Business Studies degree, Prince 2 Project Management (Practitioner), NVQL4 Management and Change Management.
Audrey was born and brought up in Castleford, she is married and has 2 children.
The first part in Audrey’s working life was in the finance department at a car showroom. When the children came along Audrey started her career in education where she was employed at a local primary school. Audrey continued to work at the primary school for 29 years until retirement at the beginning of 2022. Audrey is committed to ensuring the children of Castleford receive a first class education in order to reach their full potential.
Dannii began her career by studying psychology and spent 14 years working in mental health, children’s care, and educational services, where she worked with those aged 10+ who were experiencing common, severe, and enduring mental health, social, emotional and/or developmental problems. During this time, she developed her communication, empathy and teamworking skills, as well as gaining good knowledge and understanding of the theories of mental health and illness.
After transitioning to a career in business, Dannii now works in the software industry as Managing Director of a company she co-founded. Here she has developed skills and experience in leadership, strategic management, operations management, business development & human resources.
Dannii also volunteers for a mental health charity as a Crisis Volunteer and in her spare time enjoys reading psychological thrillers and binging tv boxsets.
I have worked at Castleford Academy for the past 24 years in my capacity as Premises Manager. I have served on the governing body for more than 10 years as support staff governor and am also a member of various sub committees. Both my son and daughter have passed through Castleford Academy, local college and university and gone on to successful careers.
John is the founding member and, currently, a Member and Trustee for Castleford Academy Trust. John is also a governor for both Castleford Academy and Castleford Park Junior Academy Governing Bodies. Outside of school governance, John is Vice Chair of the local Labour party ward and Delegate to the Labour constituency party and district Labour party. John’s vast experience on local governing boards, coupled with his lengthy career within the Trade Union Sector, afford John substantial awareness which provides instruction and challenge to the Castleford Academy governing board.
John has been a school governor since 1990, beginning as a parent governor when his children attended the school, to the present day where John is now a community governor. John has acquired an abundance of skills through his first-hand experience during this time and has witnessed both exam results and pupil progress improve at Castleford Academy.
John retired in April 2016, following a notable career where John spent 37 years as a Trade Union Representative and 12 years as a full-time HR Specialist Trade Union Official for Unison (representing members in schools and children’s services). Other duties John carried out during his career include performing restructures in schools, TUPE transfers of staff and individual cases of disciplinary action and grievances, along with school mergers. In his role, John was able to observe how schools and services evolved over the years and used this information to construct lessons for his own schools,
To remain updated, John attends numerous training courses each year and reads information distributed by DfE, NGA and other governor websites. John has been a delegate to Wakefield District School Forum for the past 13 years, initially from his union, Unison, and more recently as an Academy School Governor. John has found this role useful for sharing best practice across the district and ensuring that the Castleford Academy Trust are adhering to this guidance.
To keep updated I attend numerous training courses each year and read information sent out from DFE, NGA and other governor websites.
Responsibility for Special Educational Needs & Disabilities
Responsibility for Pupil Premium
Kathryn has been a governor of Castleford Academy (formerly Castleford High School) for nearly 30 years, and has also been a governor at Park Junior School, now Park Junior Academy. Kathryn’s extensive experience as a governor, together with her established career working for the council, render’s Kathryn’s expertise invaluable to the Castleford Academy governing body, with substantial, effective challenge and direction.
As a proud parent of one daughter and two sons, all of whom have attended both Park Junior and Castleford Academy, Kathryn has a vested interest in the education, development and betterment of students in the Castleford area. All of Kathryn’s children proceeded to attend college, with two furthering their education at University.
Previously, Kathryn worked for the local council for over 20 years before leaving this role to become a local councillor. As a local councillor, Kathryn is a member of the Planning and Highways Committee, Licensing Committee, Corporate Parenting Committee and the Financial Review Committee. Kathryn is also the Deputy Chair of Children and Young People and Skills Overview and Scrutiny Committee.
Responsibility for Safeguarding Children
A teacher of Modern Foreign Languages at Castleford Academy since September 2008, Gemma brings a plethora of expertise and teaching experience to the Castleford Academy governing board. Gemma has previously led the Prefect team in their duties and responsibilities and more recently, has assumed the role of Assistant Year Leader, which constitutes working pastorally with both staff and students at the Academy. Gemma’s experience in both her teaching position and leadership role has afforded her a holistic view of the school, allowing Gemma to scrutinise the teaching and pastoral elements of education and import this immediate knowledge into the operations of the Castleford Academy governing board.
Gemma is committed to ensuring that all children receive first-rate education and have high aspirations for their future. Gemma considers it a privilege to work in such a skilled and passionate team that supports her view of education and endeavours to continue the excellent work being fulfilled at the Academy.
Responsibility for Pupil Premium
Gary works in education as a Teacher of English at Castleford Academy, specialising in Literacy in both the classroom and across the whole school. He also has experience of working in a Primary setting and brings expertise in the Key Stage 2 curriculum and how this translates into the Secondary framework. Gary is also a Senior Marker for the Key Stage 2 SATS, specialising in spelling, punctuation and grammar, and has held this position for over 5 years.
Prior to entering education, Gary worked as an Area Manager for a dry-cleaning company and was heavily involved in staff training, both at Customer Service level and dry-cleaning operator level. He was also responsible for budgets for the branches he covered and has financial experience in profit and loss accounting, wages and budgets.
Gary also brings a wealth of experience of interview techniques and staff welfare. He was responsible for attendance, Health and Safety and staff well-being. Gary also brings experience of working with and liaising with suppliers and contractors to ensure that deadlines were met on new openings and that these all came in at or under budget.
Gary is Castleford-born and educated, further promoting his passion for exciting pupils in lessons and making a real difference to future generations within Castleford and its surrounding areas. Gary’s experience in both the Education sector and managerial roles provides the Castleford Academy Trust with a knowledgeable and valued governor, with consistent contributions across multiple areas of expertise.
Peter was elected to Castleford Academy governing board in 2020, having previously gained experience serving as a governor on three other local governing boards, including two within the Castleford Multi-Academy Trust (Park Junior and Glasshoughton Infants).
After completing his PGCE at the University of Leeds in 2003, Peter went on to teach at several local schools and is a former Assistant Headteacher.
In 2013, Peter joined Wakefield and District Housing (WDH) where he continues to work as an integral member of their Business Planning and Contracts Team. Peter is also a trained internal reviewer for the internationally recognised Investors in People (IiP) standard.
Peter is passionate about ensuring that local young people have access to the necessary resources and opportunities to help them pursue their interests and fulfil their potential. He has lived in the local area for over forty years and has multiple family ties to Castleford Academy. Peter enjoys watching most team sports, particularly football and rugby union and he is a lifelong supporter of Nottingham Forest, but of course he is also keen to see Castleford Tigers doing well. He loves to visit the major cities of the world, as well as being a DIY, video game and movie enthusiast.
Sarah is a parent in the Castleford community and has lived in Castleford for over 22 years. Sarah believes that it is vital to build relationships between the academy, parents/carers, pupils, the local community as well as the local authority and employers. Sarah has worked in the public sector (Ambulance Service – NHS) for 21 years and openly challenges any decision made to understand how effective it can be to the organisation. Sarah is passionate about every aspect of what she does in her private and public life and strive to be open, honest and remain objective to ensure the best for everyone involved.
Sarah has a very busy work life so during her home life she like to spend quality time with her son and family.
Links in the Governance Section
© Castleford Academy Trust 2023
