Welcome to our Governors’ section. 

Please find below details of how our Governing body is structured, including the names, categories, responsibilities and terms of appointment for each Governor.  The LGB Constitution can be found in the Governing Board documentation folder below.

We have also provided a Register of Governor Interests and an Annual Statement of Issues for your information.

Who are the governors at Goldenhill Primary Academy?

Mrs. Angela Bradshaw MAAT: Chair of governors.

Angela has had contact with Goldenhill Primary for 14 years when her son started in nursery in 2006.

Angela worked as an area manager for 8 years, visiting high profile clients and manning a stall at the ideal home exhibition on numerous occasions. From there she moved on to assist the accounts manager with all accounting duties for 5 years. Having left this position to have her daughter, she took this time out to gain her AAT Accounting qualification which took 3 years. After this was obtained she started her own licensed accountancy business 7 years ago. Running her own business, she is a very motivated, organised person. Angela is used to communicating on all levels of management and her friendly approachable nature is a strength she is proud of. She like to see a task out to the end and puts 100% effort into this. A little bit of a perfectionist!

Angela has experience in financial and management accounting, budgeting, payroll, petty cash, costing, taxation, customer service/relations and complaints. She has qualifications in Business Studies and Customer Care.

Mrs Kate Douglas: Vice Chair of governor

Kate is currently Director of Primary Transition and Mathematics Teacher at Ormiston Horizon Academy. She has been teaching for 20 years, working for nine years within the primary sector before moving to secondary education. Her roles have been varied and have included; KS3 and KS4 Mathematics Teacher, KS2/3 Transition and Head of House.

In her current role Kate has developed transition arrangements across the academy and has built strong relationships with the local primary schools, working alongside a range of practitioners. She has worked closely with Goldenhill Primary School for the past five years promoting higher level Mathematics.

Kate has two children and in her spare time enjoys walking, visiting the theatre and travelling. She is local to the area and values the opportunity to serve as a Governor at Goldenhill Primary School and looks forward to working with the children, staff and families within the community.

Mr. Grahame Colclough: Trust Appointed Governor

Grahame has been the Business & Operations Leader for Burnwood Community School since 2010. Before this he spent 2 years as Office Manager at a High School and had a variety of roles in businesses such as JCB and the Caudwell Group. Grahame is a Senior Leader at Burnwood and has qualifications in HR, Business Management and the National Professional Qualification for Senior Leadership. In 2019 he was presented with a national award for his contribution to the School Business Management by the Institute for School Business Leadership (ISBL).

Grahame is involved in all aspects of the school, leading on finance, HR and premises and in the past has led on awards such as the Food for Life and the Eco Schools Green Flag awards. 

Originally from a small town in Shropshire, Grahame moved to Stoke on Trent in 2000. Grahame is married and has a dog, Poppy. In their spare time, Grahame and his husband enjoy travelling and a good restaurant.

Mr. Steven Martin, Head Teacher, B.A. (Hons) N.P.Q.H, governor

Steven Martin is the Head teacher of Goldenhill Primary Academy.  He has been the Head Teacher for 9 years.  Before that he was a Deputy Head Teacher for 7 years in another school in Stoke-on-Trent. He has enjoyed teaching in a range of schools since leaving university 20 years ago.  He has guest lectured at Manchester Metropolitan University focusing on creativity in science and in the curriculum.  He is married with two children and enjoys cooking, playing squash and reading.

Steven has experience in school support and has carried out continuing Professional Development in others schools as part of this process.

Here at Goldenhill Primary Academy we place great emphasis on developing the whole child; developing them into citizens of the future, ensuring that they achieve their potential.  We pride ourselves in developing engaging and motivating learning experiences that inspire children leading to a deeper level of understanding.

Mrs. Sara Cookson: Staff governor

Sara has been teacher governor at Goldenhill Primary Academy for the last 9 years. She teaches in the Reception class and is the Early Years Foundation Stage Manager within the school. She is also responsible for Pupil Premium, phonics and is Lead Teacher Educator and deputy DSL.

Sara has been a teacher for the last 26 years and has taught at two different schools. She has experience of teaching from the Foundation Stage up to Year 4 and has coordinated a range of subjects. Sara has been part of the senior management team at Goldenhill for the last 19 years.

Sara is committed to improving the education of all the children at Goldenhill and has a professional manner throughout. She has a thorough understanding of the vision and development areas for her school.

She is married with one son and enjoys running and reading in her spare time.

Mr. Andrew Bagley: Staff governor

Andrew has been a member of staff at Goldenhill Primary Academy for the last 18 years. Currently, he is the Deputy Head teacher. Previously he has been the Assistant Head Teacher for 8 years and has a wealth of experience teaching across KS2.  He is also responsible for Assessment and Interventions, Behaviour, Attendance  and a Deputy DSL.

Andrew gained Specialist Leader of Education Status (SLE) in 2019. He has experience in school support and has carried out continuing Professional Development in others schools as part of this process.

Andrew  is committed to improving the education of all the children at Goldenhill and has a professional and dedicated manner throughout. He has a thorough understanding of the vision and development areas for the Academy.

Miss. Clare Pearson: Trust Appointed Governor

Clare became Headteacher of Summerbank Primary Academy in 2019, having been at the school for a number of years, first as a teaching, then non-teaching Deputy Headteacher and later Head of School.  Prior to this Clare worked for Stoke-on-Trent Local Authority as a Literacy Consultant working in schools and leading CPD, she then took responsibility for the leadership of the LA English Team.  During this time she also formed part of the school improvement team working with the senior leadership of schools in challenging circumstances.

Since her return to working in schools, Clare has guest lectured at Keele University on Subject Leadership and supporting children with EAL.  She is passionate about reading and has had several articles published in ‘Teach Primary’ magazine around how high quality books can be used to support cross-curricular learning.

Away from work Clare enjoys cooking, going to the gym and walking (partly to counteract the cooking!).  Clare is passionate about the education of children in Stoke-on-Trent and for her the role of Governor at Goldenhill Primary Academy offers a great opportunity to develop this further.

Becoming a governor.

Becoming a governor is very rewarding and worthwhile experience. Effective governors do not need educational expertise but do need to be committed to their academy, willing to ask questions and offer appropriate challenge and support.

They also need to be able to work as an enthusiastic member of the governing board team with the aim of raising and maintaining high educational standards for all children. Governors are asked to act with integrity, honesty and objectivity and act at all times in the best interests of the academy.

The prime focus of the Governing Board is to develop the strategic direction of the academy, be accountable to stakeholders and to ensure that financial resources are spent appropriately.

Governors also have a number of opportunities to access training or development to develop and enhance their knowledge and skills.

It is important to note that governors are elected or appointed to bring the experience of that individual as a member of the governing board. Once elected, parent governors are a representative parent but not a delegate. This means they are not expected to report back to parents on any matters relating to the academy or governing board without prior consent from the governing board.