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 - 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

SVC = Strategic Vision Committee

CSC = Curriculum and Standards Committee 

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.

Margaret Tatton - Vice Chair of Governors

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.

Stephen W Furnival

I have been a governor at Oakhill School for almost 25 years, initially as a Parent Governor whilst my son and daughter attended the school and for the past 15 years as a Co-opted Governor. I have worked in the construction since leaving school and I am a Member of the Chartered Institute of Building. I was involved with the original refurbishment of the buildings when it was altered from the old high school into the new primary school which means I remember the original timber framed school buildings. I am currently a member of the Audit, Finance and Premises Committee.

Ben Wilson

I have recently been appointed as a co-opted governor. I currently work for VOICES as a Community Development Manager where I support people who have had experiences of mental ill-health, homelessness, offending and addiction to move into volunteering opportunities within in the community. So, I have a lot of experience working with different statutory and voluntary sector partners to produce beneficial opportunities for everyone. I am excited at the opportunity to be a governor for Oakhill. I am really looking forward to supporting the work of the fantastic staff, parents and children who are so driven to make their school and community even better.

Steve Smith

I am a co-opted governor at the school and have been so since July 2015. I am the deputy headteacher and I have been at Oakhill for 8 years having taught for a previous 5 years at Abbey Hulton Primary School. My main academic interests are in maths and computing and I also enjoy teaching (and playing) a wide range of sports. I lead data and assessment for the whole school and present this to both governors and other agencies on a regular basis.

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.

Sharon May

Recently appointed governor. Further information to follow.

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.