How the trust is governed

Sparken Hill Academy Trust is a standalone single academy trust (company number 09250922). Its Members oversee the trust and appoint Trustees. The Trust Board (Trustees, also called governors) is responsible for the academy's strategic direction, holding the Principal to account and overseeing its finances. The Board meets six times a year and has two committees, each meeting three times a year: the Finance and Personnel Committee, made up of all Trustees, and the Audit Committee, made up of all Trustees except those employed by the academy.

Information correct at 2 October 2026. It is updated within a month of any change.

Members

Members of Sparken Hill Academy Trust

Name	How appointed	Date appointed	Term of office
Mrs Marion (Sue) Cutts	Founding member (signatory to the Memorandum of Association)	6 October 2014	No fixed term
Councillor John Shephard	Appointed by the Members	1 September 2021	No fixed term
Mrs Frances Walker	Appointed by the Members	1 September 2021	No fixed term
Rev David Gough	Appointed by the Members	1 September 2021	No fixed term

Trustees (Trust Board)

The Board has twelve places: Principal (1), staff (2), parent (2), co-opted (3), partnership (2) and community (2). Trustees serve a four-year term, except the Principal, who is a Trustee while in post.

Trustees of Sparken Hill Academy Trust

Name	Category	Appointed by	Date appointed	Term ends	Committees	Posts of responsibility
Mr Philip Gawthorpe	Partnership	Trust Board	Trustee since 6 October 2014; Chair since 11 December 2020	31 October 2030	Finance and Personnel; Audit	Chair of Trustees; performance management; complaints. Link Trustee: pupil premium and disadvantage; standards and achievement
Mrs Clare Middleton	Community	Trust Board	23 June 2016	22 June 2028	Finance and Personnel (Chair); Audit	Vice Chair of Trustees; safeguarding and safer recruitment. Link Trustee: safeguarding; standards and achievement
Mr Richard Lilley	Principal	Ex officio	1 November 2014	While in post	Finance and Personnel	Principal and Accounting Officer
Mrs Kate Phoenix	Staff	Trust Board	19 April 2022	18 April 2030	Finance and Personnel	None
Mr Ryan Collins	Staff	Elected by staff	16 October 2025	16 October 2029	Finance and Personnel	None
Miss Lisa Bunn	Parent	Elected by parents	29 September 2025	29 September 2029	Finance and Personnel; Audit	Link Trustee: safeguarding
Mr Graham Eden	Parent	Elected by parents	16 October 2025	16 October 2029	Finance and Personnel; Audit	Link Trustee: SEND and inclusion; food standards
Mrs Sue Sparks	Co-opted	Trust Board	6 July 2017	5 July 2029	Finance and Personnel; Audit	Link Trustee: SEND and inclusion; attendance, behaviour and e-safety
Mrs Donna Carter	Co-opted	Trust Board	25 June 2020	25 June 2028	Finance and Personnel; Audit	Link Trustee: health and safety; finance and resources
Mrs Sian Wichmann	Community	Trust Board	21 March 2022	17 September 2029	Finance and Personnel; Audit	Link Trustee: phonics and early reading; early years
Mr Mike Bland	Partnership	Trust Board	1 September 2025	31 August 2029	Finance and Personnel; Audit	Link Trustee: health and safety
Vacancy	Co-opted	Interested in becoming a Trustee? Email office@sparkenhill.com.

Link Trustees. Each link role is tied to a School Improvement Plan 2026-27 priority. Link Trustees make termly monitoring visits and report to every full Board meeting. The link role for art, design and technology and creative curriculum is currently held by the Chair until a Trustee is appointed.

Former Trustees (last 12 months): Mary Pimm, Trustee from 25 January 2024 to 21 September 2026.

Accounting officer, chief financial officer and clerk

Senior governance roles

Role	Name	From
Accounting Officer	Mr Richard Lilley, Principal	1 November 2014
Chief Financial Officer	Mrs Vicky Dashper, Business Manager	1 November 2014
Clerk to the Trustees (governance professional)	Mrs Jayne Littlewood

Register of business and pecuniary interests 2025-26

Members, Trustees and the Accounting Officer declare their relevant business and financial interests every year, and whenever they change. The full signed register is available below. The 2026-27 register will be published once declarations are signed this autumn.

Summary of declared interests

Name	Role	Interests declared
Mrs Marion (Sue) Cutts	Member	None declared
Councillor John Shephard	Member	Bassetlaw District Councillor for Worksop South East ward. Trustee of Worksop Priory Gatehouse Community Trust.
Mrs Frances Walker	Member	Director of Worksop Priory Gatehouse Community Trust. Trustee of Focus on Young People in Bassetlaw.
Rev David Gough	Member	Governor at St Anne's C of E (Aided) Primary School, Cuckney C of E Primary School and Outwood Academy Portland.
Mr Philip Gawthorpe	Chair of Trustees	Chair of Governors at St Swithun's C of E Primary School (IEB), Haggonfields Primary School (IEB) and REAL Independent Schools.
Mrs Clare Middleton	Vice Chair of Trustees	Headteacher and governor at another local primary school.
Mr Richard Lilley	Principal, Trustee and Accounting Officer	A family member is employed by Notts Training Group Ltd (formerly BTA), a potential provider of adult students to the trust. Director (unpaid) of Bassetlaw Primary Behaviour Partnership Ltd, which supports Bassetlaw primary schools with pupils' social, emotional and mental health needs.
Mrs Kate Phoenix	Staff Trustee	None declared
Mr Ryan Collins	Staff Trustee	None declared
Miss Lisa Bunn	Parent Trustee	None declared
Mr Graham Eden	Parent Trustee	None declared
Mrs Sue Sparks	Co-opted Trustee	None declared
Mrs Donna Carter	Co-opted Trustee	None declared
Mrs Sian Wichmann	Community Trustee	None declared
Mr Mike Bland	Partnership Trustee	None declared
Mrs Vicky Dashper	Chief Financial Officer (not a Trustee)	A family member provides a paid service to the academy.

Attendance at Board meetings for each Trustee is recorded in the Governor Attendance Registers below. The trust's Memorandum and Articles of Association and Funding Agreement are published on this page.

Link Governors

Every Board of Governors has a statutory responsibility to establish and monitor school policies and evaluate the effectiveness of the school and its curriculum. Governors are also held to account for the school’s performance. The Office for Standards in Education (OFSTED) assumes that Governors know the strengths and weaknesses of the school and will test this assumption during a school inspection.

The role of the Link Governor is to provide a link between the Governing Board and the school. When Link Governors visit the school and report back to the Governing Board, they help to deepen all governors’ understanding of how the school operates, how the strategic objectives are being pursued, how financial resources are being used and what extra support the school may need to meet its objectives. Without Link Governors, the Governing Board is totally reliant on the Headteacher, or other staff governors, for their understanding of the school. The presence of Link Governors provides an additional source of evidence upon which governing decisions can be made. This additional evidence should enable the Governing Body to better challenge information presented by the school and also better support the school to meet its strategic objectives.

At Sparken Hill Academy, we ask our Link Governors to:

• Gain insight into the life of the school
• Create and develop relationships with staff, children and, where appropriate, parents
• Better understand the Governors' roles in raising standards
• Enable a deeper understanding of the school’s current performance, practice, strengths and areas for further development.
• Observe policies and plans being implemented on a day-to-day basis

What is the purpose of Link Governor Visits?

• To increase the governing board’s first-hand knowledge about the school and its daily operation; thus helping to inform ongoing and future strategic decision-making
• Monitor how the school is managing areas for further development
• Demonstrate to staff that the Governing Board takes its responsibilities very seriously
• See in context the monitoring systems employed by the school
• They provide OFSTED with concrete evidence about the involvement of the governors in the school

Structure for Link Governor Roles 2026/27

For the year 2026/27 we have aligned our Link Governor Roles with the aims of our School Improvement Plan so that governors can oversee their fulfilment. Our Link Governors report their findings to the Board and also share their experiences with parents through our weekly newsletters. 

A schedule maps each link governor role directly to the SIP 2026-27 priorities. Link governors should use the activity prompts as the basis for each termly visit. A brief written report must be submitted to the Clerk before each Full Governing Body (FGB) meeting and presented as a standing item. Where a role is unassigned, the Chair of Governors holds monitoring responsibility until a governor is appointed.

All link governor written reports should be circulated to governors at least 5 days before the FGB meeting. 

Visit format.  Each monitoring visit should be agreed in advance. Typical visits last 60–90 minutes and may include: meeting with the relevant lead; a learning walk; review of data/documentation; and pupil or staff voice activity. All activities must be arranged through the school office.

Governor role vs management role.  Link governors do not manage staff or provision. The role is to ask questions, review evidence, and provide constructive challenge to inform the governing body’s strategic decisions. Governors should avoid directing staff action during visits.

Evidence sources.  Key evidence sources include: SIP monitoring summary reports; termly data packs; attendance/behaviour data; learning walk records; staff confidence surveys; pupil voice; parent feedback; and subject leader monitoring reports.

Reporting to FGB.  Each governor should submit a brief written report (1–2 pages) before each FGB meeting. The report should address: what was observed/reviewed; progress against SIP targets; areas of strength; areas for further development; and any recommended governing body actions.

Governor development.  Governors without experience in a specific area (e.g. SEND statutory duties) should access National Governance Association (NGA) or Nottinghamshire LA governance training before undertaking monitoring visits in that area.

GOVERNOR MONITORING SUMMARY REPORT BLANK

Register of Business Interests

Trustees and Members have a legal duty to act only in the interests of the academy. Where a situation arises in which they cannot do this due to a personal interest they have, steps should be taken to identify, prevent and record the conflict. This ensures that Members/Trustees are acting only in the best interest of the academy. Members and Trustees complete a Declaration of Business Interests on an annual basis. The declaration confirms that each Member/Trustee confirms that they have read the notes of guidance and are aware of the requirements of the Department of Education Academy Handbook.

Members/Trustees are asked if they have connections/membership/shares in companies etc. as explained in the notes of guidance, which have a direct business interest in the academy.

Members/Trustees are also asked if they have any other business interests as explained in the note of guidance. A copy of the register for business interests can be found further on this page. A summary is provided:

Members Pecuniary Interests: 

Mrs Frances Walker 

1. Director of "Worksop Priory Gatehouse Community Trust"

2. Trustee of "Focus on Young People in Bassetlaw"

Rev Dave Gough 

1. Governor at St Anne's C of E (Aided) Primary School

2. Governor at Cuckney C of E Primary School

3. Governor at Outwood Academy Portland

Cllr John Shephard

1. Bassetlaw District Councillor for Worksop SE Ward

2. Trustee of "Worksop Priory Gatehouse Community Trust"

Trustees Pecuniary Interests

Mr R Lilley 

1. Family member employed by Notts Training Group Ltd (formally BTA) – a potential provider of (adult) students to the trust

2. (No benefit) Director of Bassetlaw Primary Behaviour Partnership (BPBP) - a partnership that supports (through advisory functions and more tangible support) Bassetlaw Primary Schools manage SEMH pupils

Mrs V Dashper

1. A family member provides a paid service to the Academy.

Mrs C Middleton 

1. Governor and HT at another local primary school. 

Mr P Gawthorpe

1.Chair of Governors at St Swithun's C of E Primary School IEB

2. Chair of Governors at Haggonfields Primary School IEB 

3. Chair of Governors REAL Independent Schools.