Governors

Our Governors

Endike Academy is governed by an Academy Scrutiny Committee.

Our governors are:

Kim Lawton

Executive Principal

Kim Lawton
Natalie Morris

Principal

Natalie Morris
Wendy Baxter

Trust Senior Link (Chair)

Wendy Baxter

Wendy is the Trust Senior Link appointed on to the ASC. Â She has served on other ASCs across the DRET Academies for the past 10 years. Â Wendy is a Regional Director for DRET and its part of her role to ensure that all aspects of school leadership are exemplary, including governance. Â She wishes to support ASCs by bringing her knowledge and skill-set to the meetings and there is always something new to learn from other governors. Â She has previously been a Teacher and also had a 20 year career in NHS management as well as running her own business supporting GP practices. Â When not at work, she loves to spend time outdoors and is an avid fan of parkrun.
Caroline Broadhead

DRET Appointed Governor

Caroline Broadhead
Stephen Platten

DRET Appointed Governor (Vice Chair)

Stephen Platten

Stephen was appointed a DRET Appointed Governor on 17 February 2020. Stephen is a STEM Ambassador and wishes to contribute to his local community by working with schools to promote STEM subjects. His interests vary and he is flexible regarding what areas the academy would like him to focus upon. He is employed as a Trials Support Engineer and has experience in operating formal meetings, data analysis and Equality, Diversity and Inclusion. His interests are War gaming, Weight lifting, Sport, software and reading mainly fiction and philosophy.
Desislava Catchpole

DRET Appointed Governor

Desislava Catchpole

Desi was appointed a DRET Appointed Governor on 17 March 2023. She wanted to become a governor to support the academy in improving pupil outcomes. Desi feels that being a governor can be very rewarding and she will enjoy feeling part of a team who is working to improve the life chances of children who sometimes come from very challenging backgrounds. Desi is currently appointed as a Special Educational Needs Coordinator. Over the last four years, she has been employed as a Year 6 teacher at The Parks Academy, where she has demonstrated excellence as a classroom practitioner and served as an inspiring, motivational, and positive role model to establish herself as an important part of a team. In addition to her classroom duties, Desi has had additional responsibilities as a MFL lead. She has successfully developed an enriched MFL curriculum, which provides the children with excellent opportunities and broaden their horizon. Currently, Desi is completing the National Professional Qualification in Leading Teaching (NPQLT) course which will further support her career and professional development.
Richard Crompton

DRET Appointed Governor

Richard Crompton

Richard was appointed a DRET Appointed Governor on 21 June 2023. He is also a governor at other primary academies within the Trust. Richard decided to become a Governor so that he could support and challenge the academy to be the best that it could be. He previously worked for DRET as the Trust’s Head of Estates, Facilities and Operations and is now employed as a Director of Operations at Bellevue Place Education Trust. In his spare time, Richard enjoys going for days out with his son Albie and dog Skye. He enjoys Walking, lunches out and plenty of socialising.
Tammy Bullivant

DRET Appointed Governor

Tammy Bullivant
Trina Smallwood

Staff Governor

Trina Smallwood

Trina was appointed a Staff Governor on 17 October 2019. As Assistant Head and Safeguarding Lead for the academy, being a governor gives Trina the opportunity to share the academy's successes with others and discuss what they have in place, to not only safeguard the children, but to move the academy forward. Being a governor gives Trina the opportunity to discuss the policies and practices that they have in place with others from outside the academy and have honest discussions about how they can be adapted or developed to improve outcomes for the children. Trina started off as the Phase Leader at Endike and has taken on the role of temporary Vice Principal for six months. She is very passionate about teaching and providing the children with the best opportunities. The needs of the children should always come first. Trina is a classically trained singer and believes that singing helps with mental health. She has recently joined a local choir. Trina is also very passionate about enrichments and creativity and loves bringing the whole academy together for whole academy creative arts events.
Jemma Routledge

Staff Governor

Jemma Routledge

Jemma was appointed a Staff Governor on 22 December 2022. Jemma wishes to improve the school for students and staff, ensure that staff workload is taken into account and children have access to a range of opportunities to enhance learning. She is currently working as a class teacher and Art/DT subject lead at Endike Academy. She is hard working, reliable and good at problem-solving. Jemma is also good with technology and can adapt well to change. Outside of work, she loves baking and decorating cakes. Jemma also enjoys puzzle games with logical thinking involved. Additionally, since the age of 2, Jemma has attended dance classes and taken various roles in pantomimes.
John D

Parent Governor

John D

John was appointed a Parent Governor on 27 April 2023. He believes becoming a governor of a school is an excellent way to give back to the community and make a positive impact on the local education system. By serving as a governor, John works as part of a team to help ensure that the school follows policies, implements best practices, provides the best possible education for its students and harnesses opportunities to improve wherever possible. He has been involved in various areas of teaching, pastoral support, school governance and active citizenship in educational settings since 2006. Through his work, John develops, delivers and supports novel and pioneering teaching and learning techniques, and has worked with schools, pupils and the Government to provide tools and support to drive genuine student involvement with their education. As a result, John brings experience and expertise which is directly relevant to promoting excellence, equity and quality in both policy and education. He is particularly interested in ICT and software, with expertise in software, research and project management.
Beth Hewitt

Clerk

Beth Hewitt

Beth Hewitt has 16 years of experience as a governance professional, previously managing the Children and Young People, Health Inequalities and Economic Development Scrutiny Committees for Kirklees Council and clerking school appeal and governing body meetings. She is the former Chair of the Primary Care Commissioning Committee for NHS Kirklees and was the Lay Member for public and patient involvement throughout the pandemic. Formally a senior project manager helping start-ups and businesses to grow across nine local authorities in West and North Yorkshire, she now works part-time for Just a Sec and is the Director of her own international business membership for entrepreneurs. Beth is passionate about helping people follow their passions earlier in life, podcasting and spending time with her 18-year-old daughter and Izzy, her cat.

Governor Assigned Responsibilities

Safeguarding - Wendy Baxter
SEND - Stephen Platten
Pupil Premium - Caroline Broadhead

Attendance - John D

Curriculum, Teaching and Learning - Desislava Catchpole

Contacting a Governor

To contact a governor, please contact the Trust Governance Team by emailing governance@dret.co.uk.

If you are looking to contact a Governor to make a complaint or share a concern, please note that as per our Complaints Policy, governors do not investigate complaints at Stage 1 or Stage 2. This enables them to be impartial should a complaint be escalated to a Stage 3 governor panel. If you wish to make a complaint, please complete this form and your complaint will be investigated accordingly.

Scheme of Delegation

Information about the David Ross Education Trust’s scheme of delegation is available here.

Minutes of the Academy Scrutiny Committee

Should you wish to view a copy of the minutes of the ASC at this academy, please contact the Trust Governance Team, who will be able to provide you with an electronic or paper copy of the minutes.

Are you interested in becoming an academy governor?

We are looking for new governors to support our academies. Our governors work closely with their academies to support the Trust’s goal of broadening the horizons of young people through a world-class education, equipping our students with the skills and experiences to become their confident, academic best, no matter what.

If you have an interest in, and commitment to, improving education and would like to make a difference within your community, please register your interest in becoming a governor by completing our governor application form. If you have any questions about a governor’s role or responsibilities please contact us at governance@dret.co.uk or review our information pack below.

governor recruitment booklet summer 2023.pdf

What is it like being a Governor with DRET?

To understand what it is like to be a governor with us, take a look at our testimonial booklet and videos which contain insights from serving governors.

governor testimonial booklet.pdf