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Posted on: 9/02/2026The benefits of being a local governor in Danes Educational Trust
Serving as a local governor on one of our School Boards is a rewarding way to contribute to children’s life chances while developing valuable professional skills. Our local governors help ensure our Danes Educational Trust’s vision, ethos and strategy are lived out in each school’s context. Through regular monitoring of safeguarding, SEND, underserved pupils and stakeholder engagement, you become the Trust board’s “eyes and ears” at school level, strengthening accountability and continuous improvement. You will build expertise in strategic thinking and data-informed challenge by reviewing pupil progress, attendance and curriculum information against targets, and by visiting the school to understand how policies work in practice. Working with school leaders on priorities and risks develops your ability to ask insightful questions, weigh evidence and make proportionate, transparent decisions. Panel work (for exclusions, complaints or staffing matters) offers concentrated experience in fair process, impartiality and decision-writing, skills that translate into any professional setting. You’ll collaborate closely with fellow governors and the governance professional, enhancing teamwork, communication and confidence in chairing. Our local governors play a pivotal role in stakeholder engagement: listening to our parents, pupils and staff and feeding insights to trustees helps align strategy with community needs and improves trust. The role is also flexible and supported, induction, ongoing development and clear schemes of delegation mean you focus on what matters, not day-to-day operations. Reasonable out of pocket expenses can be reclaimed, ensuring volunteering is accessible. You will be supported by - the chair and governors on the School Board - an experienced team of governance professionals - our Director of Operations who is also a consultant for the National Governance Association. - our board of trustees who value the local governance across the Trust Most importantly, your contribution helps keep pupils safe, ambitious and well supported. If you can commit to preparing for meetings, attending visits and asking constructive questions, you’ll make a tangible difference and gain skills that endure.
Posted on: 5/02/2026Learner Voice Council Primary Induction Day
On 20 January 2026, we held our fourth Learner Voice Council (LVC) Primary Induction Day, hosted at The Cranbourne Primary School. We were delighted to welcome back our primary schools, for a day dedicated to training pupils as they continue their LVC journey. The event brought together pupils and staff from across Danes Educational Trust, fostering a strong spirit of collaboration and leadership.
Pupils rotated through a dynamic workshop carousel designed to equip them with the practical tools needed for their upcoming missions. Nicola Spencer, Trust Learning Lead for English, guided the pupils through an impactful session on oracy, where pupils learned how to build confidence during a presentation. They immediately put these skills into action by presenting themselves to the group, showcasing the techniques they had just learned.
Alongside this, Shannon Anthony (Onslow St Audrey’s LVC Facilitator) led a vital workshop on survey design. Because of Shannon’s acute knowledge and experience as an LVC facilitator, she was able to provide highly relevant support that directly addressed the feedback from our primary facilitators regarding the need for better data-gathering tools.
The day also benefited significantly from the leadership of our secondary pupils. A key passion of Miles Conway’s (Trust Learning Lead for Learner Leadership) is transition, and this event served as a perfect example of secondary pupils developing their own leadership skills by teaching and mentoring their primary school peers.
This was seen in action as Matt Clarke and his pupils from Chancellor’s School shared "LVC Top Tips," providing invaluable peer-to-peer insights from pupils who have been part of the council for several years. Finally, Justin Reece and his pupils led an engaging team-building session. By challenging participants to untangle a "human knot," they visually demonstrated the importance of communication and why an LVC must work as a cohesive team to achieve its goals.
The Learner Voice Council is now celebrating its fifth year. It continues to serve as a vital platform for pupils to directly influence teaching and learning across their schools. The LVC empowers pupils to drive meaningful and lasting change by following a rigorous research cycle: planning, auditing, implementing, and evaluating.
Miles Conway, Trust Learning Lead for Learner Leadership, shared:
"It was an absolute pleasure to lead our fourth Primary Induction Day, and I am delighted by how smoothly the event ran. This success is a testament to the dedication of our primary colleagues (Helen Ansell, Jody Waters, Juliet Ford, Liz Black, Rachana Shah and Sarah Edwards), and the collaboration across the Trust. I am particularly thankful to Isla Grayson, Sarah Edwards, and the entire team at The Cranbourne Primary School for their incredible support in hosting us and ensuring the day was a success.
I am immensely proud to be in my second year in this role and to witness the significant progress we’ve achieved. The Learner Voice Council has seen substantial growth, and it is particularly gratifying to see our newer LVCs at schools like The Cranbourne, Roselands, The John Warner, and The Beaconsfield School established so successfully.
Finally, my sincere thanks go to our workshop leaders; Nicola Spencer, Shannon Anthony, Matt Clarke, and Justin Reece, along with their brilliant pupils. Their sessions on oracy, survey design, and team building are essential in training our young leaders to continue their LVC journey. To our primary facilitators: thank you for your continuous support in making the LVC a central part of our pupils' development."
The LVC would not run successfully without the support of our dedicated team of in-school facilitators: Emma Smart, Helen Ansell, Helen Cox, Jody Waters, Juliet Ford, Justin Reece, Liz Black, Matt Clarke, Paul Maddock, Rachana Shah, Rosamund Barnes, Sarah Edwards, and Shannon Anthony.
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