Governance
Trustees
The Role of Trustees
Dear Parents and Carers,
On behalf of the Board of Trustees at South Bromsgrove High Academy Trust, welcome to the Governance section of the school website.
As strategic leaders of the school, our primary aim is to uphold the highest standards of educational achievement for all pupils under our care. We are committed to overseeing the affairs of the school with diligence and dedication, ensuring that every child receives the support and guidance they need to thrive academically and personally.
At the heart of our role are three core strategic functions:
- a) Ensuring clarity of vision, ethos, and strategic direction: We are dedicated to providing a clear and cohesive vision for the future of our school, one that is rooted in our values and beliefs. Through strategic planning and careful consideration, we aim to create an environment where every child feels inspired to learn and grow.
- b) Holding the headteacher to account: We take seriously our responsibility to hold the headteacher accountable for the educational performance of the school and its students, as well as the performance management of our dedicated staff. By maintaining a focus on continuous improvement and excellence, we strive to create a culture of achievement.
- c) Overseeing the financial performance: We recognise the importance of responsible financial management in ensuring the long-term success and sustainability of our school. As stewards of our resources, we are committed to overseeing the financial performance of the school and ensuring that every pound is spent wisely and effectively.
As parents and carers, your involvement and support are essential to the success of our school community. We encourage open communication and collaboration as we work together to provide the best possible educational experience for your children.
Best wishes
Alyson Jewson
Chair of Trustees
Being a Trustee at South Bromsgrove High
‘Trustee Kerry Jones describes what it is like to be a Trustee at South…..’
Being a trustee for South Bromsgrove High School is a rewarding and fulfilling volunteer role, and where I feel I can make a real difference. I am an elected parent trustee, so in undertaking my role I am also responsible for ensuring the parents voice in the board. The term of office on the board is 4 years and there are some time commitments which varies according to how involved you can be.
South Bromsgrove High School is an academy trust, and the role of the board of trustees has three core responsibilities, which are:
- Ensuring strategic direction, vision and ethos.
- Hold executive leaders to account.
- Oversee financial performance and ensuring money is well spent.
Whilst you don’t need any specific skills or experience you do need to be curios, listen and be able to effectively communicate and question the senior leadership team. Training is also provided to you to support you to fully understand your role and responsibilities.
I periodically meet with the senior leadership for the areas which I take responsibility for, which are SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities); LAC (Looked after Children) and Careers. In these meetings we review and explore the data and information and agree areas for progression, which are summarised in a report which I present to the Board of Trustees.
In undertaking this role I not only feel that I have been given the opportunity to give back to the community, but I have also been afforded the opportunity to personally develop in areas which, in my role as a nurse, I would not have had opportunity to.
Mr Chris Smith, Headteacher 01/09/2017 - Current Ex Officio
I was appointed to the role of Headteacher in September 2017, having previously been the Head of School. I joined the school in 1998 as a Newly Qualified Teacher and I have been promoted internally over the years. My previous roles have included Key Stage 4 Coordinator in Science, Head of Biology, Assistant Timetabler, Assistant Head of Science, Director of Learning, Assistant Headteacher and Deputy Headteacher. As a senior leader I have been responsible for Teaching & Learning, Assessment, Curriculum and Raising Standards at Key Stage 4. I am extremely proud to be the Headteacher of South Bromsgrove High and I am fully committed to getting the best possible outcomes for all of our students. Email: Head@southbromsgrove.worcs.sch.uk
Mrs Alyson Jewson, Member, Chair of Trustees 13/09/06 - 13/09/26
Anyone who hears my voice will know I am not from “round ere”. I moved to Bromsgrove from Yorkshire in 1986 and have kept my accent!
I have two children and both had an excellent education at South Bromsgrove High School. I was Chairman of the PTA when Mr Baker was Head Teacher and became a Parent Governor when Mr McTague was Head. After four years I was co-opted onto the Governing Body and many years later I am still here…
It was a privilege to be appointed the Chairman of a group of very hardworking and dedicated people. It is a daunting task to have so much responsibility but I am very fortunate to have an excellent team to help and support me.
I have had several jobs over the years but the first twenty six years were in banking. I wish I could now say I am a “lady of leisure” or a “lady that lunches” but with four grandchildren, and two grand-dogs I am kept very busy. I hope to be able to ensure that my grandchildren have the same excellent education at South that my children were able to enjoy.
We have a wonderful and very successful school, and I will do everything in my power to ensure we remain so.
Mr Phil Beaumont, Member, Vice Chair of Trustees 31/03/21 - 30/03/29
I have been involved with the school for many years – our son and daughter both studied at South before going on to University and they gained a tremendous amount from the experience, both academically and also through the wide range of extra-curricular activities which the school offers, including the Duke of Edinburgh Award, eisteddfod competition, overseas trips, music and drama.
I have a deep commitment to education and a desire to make a positive impact on the lives of students.
I am a qualified accountant and have worked in both the public and private sectors, including as Finance Director of an NHS Trust and as an IT Consultant specialising in enterprise business software. As a Trustee of the school, part of my role is to use my analytical Skills to review a wide range of information and data to help gauge the school's performance, oversee its effectiveness and identify areas for improvement to enhance educational outcomes.
Mr Rob Steenton, Trustee 05/10/08 - 04/10/28
I have been a resident of Bromsgrove since 1985, my daughter started her higher education at South in 2003 and I immediately joined the PTA and shortly afterwards the governing body. I have been a governor at South since 2004, in 2006 I became Chair of resources and in 2016 became Vice Chair of the governing body. I was previously from South Birmingham: I started work at ‘the Austin’ in Longbridge as an apprentice, so my roots are firmly planted in the local area. I’m a trained mechanical engineer, the latter parts of my career being in programme management leading multi-million pound programmes within the automotive industry. My skills and experience such as leading teams, project planning, budgeting, resource planning, establishing policies and procedures are put to good use within the trustees body. They allow me influence and challenge some of the academy’s key performance measures enabling us to retain our outstanding performance.
Mrs Davinder Matharu, appointed by academy members 31/03/21
I have lived in Bromsgrove for 29 years having moved from London - a complete contrast in environment (all for the best!). I have been a governor in all the phases of school in Bromsgrove- First, Middle and High for 17 years, having put my 3 children through all those schools. I have been at SBHS for 16 of those 17 and followed it through different heads and new buildings! I have always been on panels connected with curriculum and performance and it is what I know most about. These panels allow me to contribute to matters unconnected with my day to day life. I am a Chartered accountant by profession and have my own practice in the rural surroundings of Stockwood complete with our own sheep! Indeed – a work experience young person from SBHS commented on the school forum that her best moment of the week she spent with us was feeding the sheep digestives each day (pampered sheep!) SBHS is a great school to be a governor of, it is ever evolving and being a trustee allows me to give something back to the community in which I live.
Mr Tony Watson, Original signatory member 11/06/13
I’ve been living in Bromsgrove for the last 23 years and started as a Parent Governor in 2004, becoming a Community Trustee after my second child completed her time at the school. I had the privilege to be involved in the transfer over into the new school building in 2008 and the conversion into an Academy in 2013 at which time I became one of the Founding Members of the Trust. Following a review of Governance in 2019 I retired as a Trustee but have remained as a Member in order to continue to contribute to oversight of the Trust Board. My professional experience as a Managing Director of a Commercial Energy Brokerage has been useful in my role as Governor, Trustee and Member and has enabled me to contribute fully to various governance activities of the Academy during this time.
Miss Elizabeth Hill, Trustee 25/09/24-24/09/28
I am a secondary school teacher of Business and began my teaching career training on the PGCE School Direct route at South in 2015. I completed my NQT year at South, too, and then hopped over the fence to join Bromsgrove School in 2017. In my 7 years at Bromsgrove, I have had academic and pastoral responsibilities, including being head of the Business department and an assistant houseparent. My focus now is on our co-curricular opportunities. I have taught GCSE, A-Level and BTEC groups across Key Stage 4 and 5 and been a resident member of staff living on site since I joined the school. Despite not originally being from Worcestershire, Bromsgrove is now my home and being a trustee at South means that I can support the opportunities that our local young people have in being as good as they can possibly be. Based on my experience, my focus as a trustee is on Key Stage 5.
Mrs Pam Taylor, Trustee 01/09/18 - 02/07/2025
Mr Chris Bovey, Trustee 20/06/18 - 31/08/26
I have been a resident of Bromsgrove since 1982. I am married with 2 grown up children, both of whom attended South Bromsgrove. In the past I have been a governor at St Johns Middle School and also at South as a parent trustee. I am a retired solicitor, being a former partner based in the Bromsgrove office of mfg where for some time I was a member of the Education Law Association. Immediately after retirement I became involved in the Artrix and Citizens Advice, but now grandchildren, travel, golf and keeping fit have rather taken over my time!
Mrs Kerry Jones, Trustee 20/01/21 - 06/06/25
Mr Malcolm Davis, Trustee 27/09/23 - 26/09/27
I arrived as a Head of Year at SBH in 1987 after teaching in Solihull for 10 years. In the following 28 years at SBH I held a wide variety of roles as Assistant and Deputy Head, including overseeing the Eisteddfod and Duke of Edinburgh Award. I have served on the Governing body before and bring a wide range of management skills to the current role. I am committed to maintaining and improving the ethos and success of South.’
Mr Paul Topping, Member appointed by academy members 20/11/24
The adage that “you can take the person out of the South, but you can’t take South out of the person” applies to me. I had the great privilege of leading the school from 2010-17 as Headteacher/Principal and the memories of that wonderful learning journey are as sharp now as they were on the day I left. Having previously been a Headteacher at a large school in Telford, I subsequently moved from South to take up a Headship in the Netherlands and was resident there until 2024. Since 2022 as a consultant, and also with the Council of International Schools based in Leiden, I have supported Boards and leadership teams in international and UK schools in their school improvement journeys. Utilising my background as a science teacher, I joined In2scienceUK three years ago as a Trustee. This charity supports students from disadvantaged backgrounds in accessing pre-university placements and postgraduate programmes in STEM-related fields. A strong advocate of professional learning, I continue to facilitate for NPQH within a West Midlands licence. Cycling and hiking remain interests outside of work.
