Governors

Welcome to the Governors' section!

Our Governors work extremely hard to ensure that Oakhill Primary continues to be a fantastic school. Their remit is as follows:

1. Ensure clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction;
2. Hold the headteacher to account for the educational performance of the school and its pupils, and the performance management of staff; and
3. Oversee the financial performance of the school and making sure its money is well spent.

As well as the full governing body, we have 3 committees. These are as follows:

Strategic committee (Full Governors) - Chair: Mr Jason Toft

Audit, Finance and Premises committee - Chair: Mr Jason Toft

Curriculum and Standards committee - Chair: Mrs Margaret Tatton 

Further information about who the governors are, and which committees they are a member of, can be found below. Also below is a report of the work the Governing Body have undertaken each academic year (2019 onwards).

The following acronyms are used for the different committees:

AFPC = Audit, Finance and Premises Committee

CSC = Curriculum and Standards Committee 

All Governors attend Full Governors meetings.

For further information on the structure of our Multi Academy Trust including the profiles of our Trustees please follow this link to the Orchard Community Trust website: http://orchardct.org.uk/governance/givernance-structure

Find Out More About Our Governors!

Jason Toft - Chair of Governors

I have been a Governor at Oakhill Primary School for over 20 years, initially starting as a Parent Governor. I was appointed vice chair of governors in 2017 and became chair in September 2019.
I worked for Staffordshire County Council for over twenty five years in project management and transformation roles. In August 2019 I had a change of career and became an Investigative Officer for Staffordshire Police. I have two sons who have both attended Oakhill and have one grandson who is now attending the school. I care passionately about the staff and children of Oakhill Primary School and I will always strive to give them the very best.

Sharon May - Vice Chair of Governors

I have been the Principal at Packmoor Ormiston Academy since 2016, prior to that I was a headteacher at another local school in Stoke on Trent. I have worked in Education for over twenty years, predominantly in Stoke, Staffordshire and Cheshire. I became vice chair of the Governing Board in September 2021.

Margaret Tatton

I am a co-opted governor. I chair the “Curriculum and Standards” Committee and am the link governor for Pupil Premium I have a great attachment to the area as I have always lived in Oakhill and both our daughters attended Oakhill Primary school. I am a trustee of the Orchard Academy Trust which Oakhill is part of. I am a retired deputy head teacher; I worked in a large inner-city high school. I had particular responsibility for training new teachers as well as the appraisal and professional development of all staff both teaching and support. I was a member of SACRE which is responsible for writing and monitoring the Agreed Syllabus for Religious Education. I am a volunteer at Foodbank which is part of the Trussell Trust and I am Safeguarding Officer for a local church.

Dave Holland

(Photograph to follow)

I have recently been appointed as a co-opted governor at the school. I am now retired having spent 28 years at Stoke on Trent City Council,1 year at Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service and 10 years at Staffordshire County Council. All of my career has been spent in Finance. I was born and bred in Stoke on Trent  living on the Springfield estate, in Penkhull and then in Trent Valley Road, Oakhill. Although I have now lived out of the area for the past 20 years, I still class the Stoke and particularly the Trent Vale and Oakhill area as my spiritual home. Following retirement I wanted to put something back into the community that served me so well in my formative years and I jumped at the chance  to become a school governor for Oakhill Primary School. I am very much looking forward to working with the dedicated staff at the school to help it move forward.

Chris Fallows

I am a recently appointed parent governor, I also have been volunteering at Oakhill Primary School since 2018 when my daughter went into reception from nursery. I loved volunteering so much that I decided to go on a level 3 teaching assistant course which I passed last year.

I wanted to be a parent governor because I really care about making sure that every child gets the education that they deserve and at the same time making sure that they learn in a safe environment. Oakhill Primary School is a great school with great ideas making sure that the children come first. I will constantly work with the headteacher, fellow governors, teachers and most importantly the parents, because they must feel confident that Oakhill is doing its upmost in providing the most up to date education and making sure they are safe whilst in a school setting.

Rhiannon Buddin

I became a Parent Governor at Oakhill Primary School in 2018, I currently sit on 2 of the committees. I live in Oakhill and I have one child who attends Oakhill Primary School and two older children who attend local High Schools. I also volunteer in the school working with pupils a few days a week. I graduated from Staffordshire University in 2012 with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in English Literature and I am a qualified teaching assistant with a special interest in Special Educational needs. I am currently studying both a Special Educational Needs and disability Diploma and a Speech Therapy course to enable me to use these skills to support pupils further in the future at the school.  

Katie Heath

I am a staff governor at the school and have been since December 2019. I am a teacher in year six and I have been at Oakhill since September 2019 having taught for a previous 5 years at Norton Primary Academy. I lead English, reading and spelling for the whole school; English and maths are my main academic interests. I enjoy teaching reading and I’m passionate about developing a love of reading. 

Sherin Vorajee

I am delighted to take up my first Governors role at Oakhill Primary School. I am currently Assistant Head Teacher and Curriculum Lead at Forest Park Primary School  where I have worked for the last 20 years, with many wonderful youngsters and their families, in a range of roles. I am passionate about helping young people achieve their potential through education and ensuring youngsters have the best opportunities to succeed whilst growing into responsible and caring individuals. I am really looking forward to working with the children, staff and families within the school community.

Darren Christie

(Photograph to follow)

I was a Parent Governor at The Crescent Academy in Meir for 11 years [I enjoyed it so much that I stayed on after my daughter left for high school] before deciding to move away from this involvement and instead become a ‘Member’ of their academy. I was Vice Chair of the board for around 5 years.

A vacancy arose for a parent governor at her High School (Blythe Bridge High School & Sixth Form) within a year of my daughter joining the Year 7. I was keen to help out and experience the differences and similarities between the primary and secondary sectors. I applied and was lucky enough to be successful. That was in 2016; I’ve now been privileged to be granted a second term of office and, again, am now Vice Chair there. I also established and chair a Strategic Committee which looks at the future direction of the school from a long-term perspective. I have been honoured to have been away on educational trips abroad, too, which were brilliant in seeing how investment in these events really does benefit the students so much.

Whilst I love this involvement with Blythe and continue to learn constantly, I found that I also missed contributing at the primary level and so decided to register my interest in case any local opportunities were available…..so….here I am! Whilst I have no previous connection to Oakhill Primary, I was given a warm welcome and a tour by the Head convinced me to give it my very best. I was impressed by the ethos of the school, by the organisation and, especially, by the calm focus of the pupils I saw on this tour - very impressive indeed.

Away from governance, I have worked for the Department for Work and Pensions since the early 90s, having had a variety of roles there. I have just the one child, aforementioned and long-suffering daughter [now 16] and enjoy watching sport, trips to the movies and reading when I get the chance. I say “sport”....well, I’m a Port Vale fan (no sniggering at the back) but was interested - while having the Oakhill tour - to see the clear view of our local neighbours’ ground in the distance. A very popular ‘perk’ of being in the school, I’m sure!

I hope to learn all about the school as I go along and, hopefully, make some positive contributions as a Governor. Certainly, first impressions are very bright and I look forward to the role immensely.