The school has been working towards the federation of Tutshill CofE Primary School and Woolaston Primary School.

The federation is now complete and on Monday 20th June 2022 the federation became active; Forest Edge Federation is now fully operational!

Effective Governance

1. Ensuring clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction;
2. Holding executive leaders to account for the educational performance of the organisation and pupils, and the effective and efficient performance management of staff;
3. Overseeing the financial performance of the organisation and making sure its money is well spent. 

The key features of effective governance

Boards must be ambitious for all children and young people and infused with a passion for education and a commitment to continuous school improvement that enables the best possible outcomes. Governance must be grounded in reality as defined by both high-quality objective data and a full understanding of the views and needs of pupils/students, staff, parents, carers and local communities. It should be driven by inquisitive, independent minds and through conversations focused on the key strategic issues which are conducted with humility, good judgement, resilience and determination.

In our rapidly developing education system, the range of organisations being governed is more diverse than ever – ranging from single small primary schools to large MATs governing numerous academies. Regardless of the scale or nature of the organisation being governed, the features of what makes for effective governance remain the same. They are common across the education sector and share their fundamental principles with governance in the charity and business sectors.

Effective governance is based on six key features:

1. Strategic leadership that sets and champions vision, ethos and strategy.
2. Accountability that drives up educational standards and financial performance.
3. People with the right skills, experience, qualities and capacity.
4. Structures that reinforce clearly defined roles and responsibilities.
5. Compliance with statutory and contractual requirements.
6. Evaluation to monitor and improve the quality and impact of governance

Governors of the New Forest Edge Federation

Executive Headteacher                   Emma Gomersall - Interim Executive Headteacher

LA Governor                                    Marion Evans - Co Chair People and Development Chair

                                                        Safeguarding Governor

2 Foundation Governors                 Vacancy and Robin Riordan Co Chair

2 Parent Governors                         Hazel Beeton and Vacancy

1 Staff Governor                              Amanda Cooper

Co-opted Governor                         Tim Davies

Co-opted Governor                         James Bradbury Vice Chair Finance and Premises Chair

Co-opted Governor                         Simon Hardy

Co-opted Governor                         Jodie Howells

Co-opted Governor                         Dominic Board

Co-opted Governor                         Nicki Bullivant

Associated Govenors: Natalie Fryer and Calvin Rushton. Associate members do have full voting rights.

Forest Edge Governing Body 

Mrs Emma Gomersall

Interim Executive Headteacher

Term of Office

Present

Marion Evans

LA Governor

Term of Office

Co Chair 03/09/20 – 02/09/21

Co-opted 18/07/19 – 17/07/23

LA Appt 20/06/2022 - 19/06/2026

Safeguarding Governor

Interests:

I am a registered nurse who has worked for the health service for the past 36 years. I am currently a Director of Nursing and have had a wide variety of clinical and managerial experience running large public sector organisations. I have specific expertise in performance management, strategic planning and change management, which I consider are helpful skills that can be used to assist the school and our pupils to fulfil their potential.

Why I do it:

I have been a Governor at Tutshill C of E School since 2004 and during this time have been both chair and vice-chair of the governing body. I am also a member of the personnel committee at the school. I became a governor as I am keen to ensure that all our children are able to have a good start in life as this has a direct effect on their future well-being.

Mr Robin Riordan

Co Chair

Term of Office

Co Chair 14/09/2023 - Present

Mrs Hazel Beeton

Parent Governor

Term of Office

Co-opted July 2022 – June 2024

Parent Elected 20/06/2022 - 19/06/2026

Interests:

I have joined the governors at Woolaston Primary School because I have two small children starting their education here.  My two boys are three and six years old and we moved here from Chepstow five years ago when we bought a cottage on a farm.  We have chickens, rabbits and a dog and love being outdoors.

I have a degree in environmental science from the University of Birmingham and my background is in Finance.  I am an ACA qualified accountant and worked for a multinational energy company in their renewable energy division.  Since having the boys I have been self employed, for three years as an OFSTED registered childminder and more recently am enjoying a new role as a bookkeeper for local businesses.

I have never been a governor before, I have taken part in a lot of volunteering for conservation and been lucky enough to travel around the world with this.  I love all things wild life and outdoors.  I hope my enthusiasm and finance experience will be useful in my role as a governor.

Mrs Amanda Cooper

Staff Governor

Term of Office 

Co-opted 04/10/19 – 03/10/23

Staff Elected 20/06/2022 - 19/06/2026

Mr Tim Davies

Co-opted Governor

Term of Office

October 2024 - present 

Mr James Bradbury

Co-opted Governor/Vice Chair

Term of Office

Vice Chair 12/09/19 – 11/09/20

Co-opted 21/05/18 – 20/04/22

Co-opted 20/06/2022 - 19/06/2026

Mr Simon Hardy

Co-opted Governor

Term of Office
November 2023 - present

As an experienced secondary head of mathmematics i will look to use that knowledge to help shape the curriculum to ready all pupils for the transition to Year 7. I have worked closely with the Primary School Maths lead in our multi-academy trust, and as such have a clear vision of the progression of mathematics through KS2 to KS3. I am an experienced marker of SATs papers and as such have insight into the rigour required to be successful.

Mrs Jodie Howells

Co-opted Governor

Term of Office

Mr Dominic Broad

Co-opted Governor 

Term of Office

November 2023 - 

Parent of 2 children at Tutshill School.

I am currently Director of Education in the Midlands. I am responsible for the  performance of schools in multiple local authorities.
Having led the development of the new national curriculum in Wales, led programmes for The National College and consulted at Pearson, Lego Education and Apple Education to name a few.

I am a former governor of a Primary School, Chair of Trustees for a national Anti Bullying Charity, deputy headteacher and headteacher.

Rev Nicki Bullivant

Co-opted Governor

Term of Office 

Forest Edge Governors that have stood down in the last 12 months

Ms Nataline Bennett-Coleman

Foundation Governor

Term of Office 

Foundation Governor Diocese 07/09/2022 - 06/09/2026

Miss Cheryl Bray

Parent Governor

Term of Office

November 2023 - 

Background in HR and Business at an executive level alongside a passion for the school values and a desire to help in any way I can. 

Mrs Hannah Rowlands

Co-opted Governor

Term of Office

Co-opted 18/07/2022 - 02/09/2024

I have worded in secordary education for 14 years, primarily as a Science teacher and for the past 4 years as Assistant Headteacher at a local secondary school. I have an absolute passion for ensuring that all of our young people get the very best in terms of their educational experience and that we, as educators, support them fully in laying the foundations to be able to pursue their ambitions and to be successful and contributing members of society. I have 2 daughters who attend Tutshill School so when the opportunity to join the Forest Edge Governing Body came up I saw this as my chance to give a little something back to the school and federation that play such an integral and positive part in our lives.

Mrs Rebecca Stackhouse

Co-opted Sen Governor

Term of Office 

Co-opted 20/06/2022 - November 2023

Interests:

I have joined the governors at Tutshill Primary School because i have 3 children who have all attended or are attending. My son has ASD, ADD and other special needs and Tutshill School has been his and our rock. With their support and guidance he has transitioned successfully to secondary school and is thriving. My experience with SEN is personally achieved, I have also attended many courses and hope to be able to be a point of contact for any families who are new to SEN to offer my support and knowledge. 

Mrs Jo Kibble

Parent Governor

Term of Office

Co-opted 28/04/20 – 28/04/24

Parent Elected 20/06/2022 - 19/06/2026

Occupation: IT Delivery Manager at Ecclesiastical Insurance in Gloucester

Interests:

I graduated with a degree in Maths and have worked with IT and delivery over the past 25 years across a number of industries. I love working with people and implementing technical solutions that make working life easier.

I have two children at Tutshill School and have always been impressed by the ethos and values that exist within the school. My children like to repeat the values back to me on a regular basis!

I have very little experience in the running of a school but wanted to offer my commercial and management experience outside education to give an alternative perspective to issues that the school may encounter. It is an honour to be accepted as a parent governor as it provides a unique insight into the pressures and priorities of the school and be part of finding creative ways to resolve them

Helen Grimes 

Co-opted Governor

Term of Office

Co-opted 18/07/2022-17/07/2026

Rev David Treharne

Foundation Governor

Term of Office
2012 - May 2023
Occupation: Vicar of Tidenham and Priest-in-Charge of St Briavels with Hewelsfield
 

Interests:
I was appointed Vicar of the Parish of Tidenham in 2012. Prior to my appointment here I was Llandaff Diocesan Vocations Advisor and Parish Priest of Porthkerry and Rhoose in the Church in Wales. I am married to Kathy and we have one daughter. I am a keen musician having done my first degree in music and in my spare time I very much enjoy sport (but not rugby), good wine & food (game and Chinese) and travelling! Once upon a time I was also known for doing very good impressions but that seems a long time ago now!

Why I do it:
With Tutshill School being a Church of England school and me being the Vicar of the Parish I have the privilege of inheriting the position of Ex-officio foundation governor. However, I do also have an education background having once upon a time trained as a teacher and having worked in several schools so I am very glad to be part of the school’s governing body and the school community.

Mr Richard Heys

Co-opted Governor

Term of Office

Chairs of Governors April 2018 - April 2023

Co-opted  20/06/2022 - 21/07/2023

I am Julia Hey's father and have experience as a school governor, as a parent governor and chair of governor at my daughters' previous school in Surbiton, Surrey, where we successfully achieved a "Good" rating at the schools' first inspection, where the governing body received a positive assessment from Ofsted.

I am a professional economist with seventeen years experience in undertaking analytical work from varying government departments, and in the private sector, including the Department for Education and Skills where I  had responsibility for evaluating varied school and children's services policies - such as Excellence in Cities and Sure Start, alongside allocating budgets for Sure Start and childcare to local authorities.

In my role as Deputy Chief Economist at the Office for National Statistics, I have responsibility for productivity statistics and economic statistics research. I am a member of the Government Economic Service Board, the Government Statistical Service,  the Government Statistical Service Methods Advisory Committee, and the UK's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) Balancing Panel, with responsibility for setting monthly and quarterly estimates of the UK's GDP. I am a member of the Royal Economic Society.

I have recently taken on a role as a Parish Councillor In Alvington