Governance

Welcome to our Governors’ section

Please find below details of how our Governing Committee is structured, including the names, categories, responsibilities and terms of appointment for each Governor.

We currently have vacancies for 1 Parent Governor - if you are interested please email Liz Edwards Clerk to the Local Governing Committee : [email protected]

Bridge Academy Trust

The Ongar Academy joined the Bridge Academy Trust on 1st October 2017.

Please visit the Trust Governance Area to view:

• Memorandum of Association
• Articles of Association
• Names of trust members and trustees
• Relevant business and financial interests of members, trustees and accounting officer(s)
• Funding Agreement
• Governance arrangements
• Board Diversity Data
• Executive Pay
• Staff Gender Pay Gap
• Annual Accounts and Reports

Local Governing Committee

Underneath the Bridge Academy Trustees, the local governing board will work with the school to ensure it delivers a high quality education for local children. Together with the Headteacher, who is responsible for day-to-day management, they set the schools aims and policies.

The Local Governing Committee consists of the following individuals:

Headteacher

Mr. J. Sands

Appointed: 15/04/2024

Chair of Governors

Mr. D. Sykes (non-elected)

Appointed: 09/11/2024

End of Term: 08/11/2028

Vice Chair of Governors 

Mr. B. Payne (non-elected )

Appointed: 30/03/2022

End of Term: 30/09/2029

To contact the Chair of Governors, please contact Ms L Edwards, Clerk to the LGC - [email protected]

Governors

Mr J Gunn (non-elected)

Appointed: 25/06/2025

End of Term: 24/06/2029

Mr. D. Lawrie (non-elected)

Appointed:  14/03/2023

End of Term:  13/03/2027

Ms H Maclennan (non-elected)

Appointed: 13/02/2025

End of Term: 12/02/2029

Mr. G. Read (non-elected)

Appointed:  29/11/2025

End of Term:  28/11/2029

Mr Dai Bourton (staff governor)  

Appointed:  26/11/2024 

End of Term: 25/11/2028

Resignations in the last 12 months

Name	Term of Office
Susan Double	01/3/2024 - 12/05/2025

Roles and Responsibilities

Governor Post of Responsibility 2025 - 2026

Area of Responsibility	Governor
Attendance	Brian Payne
Quality Of Education	Jason Gunn
Personal Development  (including careers and equalities)	David Lawrie
Safeguarding/Medical Needs	Graeme Read
SEND	Brian Payne
Pupil Premium & looked After Children	Brian Payne
Behaviour & Attitudes	David Sykes
Leadership & Management	David Sykes/Brian Payne
Staff and Student Well Being	David Lawrie
Student Voice	David Sykes
Community Engagement	Hannah Maclennan

Meeting Attendance

Meeting Attendance 2025 - 2026

FIRST NAME	SURNAME	SCHOOL	16/09/2025		03/12/2025
Dai	Bourton	TOA	YES		YES
Jason	Gunn	TOA	YES		YES
David	Lawrie	TOA	YES		YES
Hannah	Maclennan	TOA	YES		YES
Brian	Payne	TOA	YES		YES
Graeme	Read	TOA	YES		NO
Jonathan	Sands	TOA	YES		YES
David	Sykes	TOA	YES		YES
			100%		88%

Meeting Attendance 2024 - 2025

LGC 01/10/2024	LGC 26/11/2024	LGC 04/03/2025	LGC 25/06/2025	Number of Meetings Attended	% of Meetings Attended
Jonathan Sands	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	4	100%
Brian Payne	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	4	100%
David Sykes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	4	100%
David Lawrie	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	4	100%
Graeme Read	Yes	Yes	Yes	yes	4	100%
Susan Double	No	Yes	No	N/A	1	33%
Dai Bourton	N/A	Yes	Yes	Yes	3	100%
Jason Gunn	N/A	N/A	Yes	No	1	50%
Hannah Maclennan	No	No	Yes	Yes	2	100%

Meeting Attendance 2023 - 2024

 

Meeting Attendance 2022 - 2023

	27/09/2022	12/12/2022	30/03/2023	20/04/2023	27/06/2023	Number of Meetings Attended	% of Meetings Attended
Brian Payne	P	P	P	P	P	5/5	100%
Rob Gibson	P	P	P	A	P	4/5	80%
Graeme Read	P	P	P	P	P	5/5	100%
Michelle Steadman	P	P	P	P	P	5/5	100%
David Sykes	A	P	P	P	P	4/5	80%
Danielle Taylor	P	P	A	A	P	3/5	60%
Anna Wallbank	A	P	A	A	A	1/1	20%
Caroline Jamison			P	P	A	2/2	66%
Dave Lawrie			P	P	A	2/2	66%

Register of Business Interests

Register of Business Interests 2025 - 2026

Register of Business Interests 2025-2026

Register of Business Interests 2024 - 2025

Governor	Role	Term of Office	Committee	Relevant Business Interest (including whether a governor at another school)	Personal Relationship with members of school staff (e.g spouse, partner, relative)
Brian Payne	Chair (Non-Elected Governor)	01/10/2017 - 30/09/2025	Staff/Student Disciplinary Committee	Governorship: - Chipping Ongar Primary School - Richard de Clare Community Academy	Spouse - Governor @Chipping Ongar Primary School
David Sykes	Vice Chair (Non-Elected Governor)	09/11/2020 - 08/11/2028	Staff/Student Disciplinary Committee	None	Spouse - employed @Bridge Academy Trust
Graeme Read	(Non-Elected Governor)	29/11/2017 - 28/11/2025	Staff/Student Disciplinary Committee	Membership: - RICS	None
David Lawrie	Non-Elected Governor	14/03/2023 - 13/03/2027	Staff/Student Disciplinary Committee	None	None
Jono Sands	Governor	15/04/2024	Head Teacher	Governorship: - St Peter's Primary School	None
Hannah Maclennan	Non Elected Governor	13/02/2025-12/02/2029	Staff/Student Disciplinary Committee	Paul Waters Motor Co Ltd Shareholder	None
Jason Gunn	Co-opted Governor	04/03/2025-04/03/2026	Staff/Student Disciplinary Committee	Mahadevi Yoga Centre – Trustee Ongar Town Council  Chairman	None

 

Governor Pen Portraits

David Sykes

I have been a governor of The Ongar Academy since 2020 and I am the current Chair of Governors. During this time we have seen many changes at the school and I will do my utmost to continue the improvements made and strive to ensure that the young people at this school get the best education possible. From the solid foundations in place I expect the school to continue to flourish and provide an excellent education and experience for our students.

I have lived in the Ongar area since 2006 and I am married with two children. I’m a semi-retired IT professional, having worked for a major financial institution in the City of London for many years. During this time I was fortunate enough to travel extensively, mainly to various countries in Eastern Europe. I now work for a local business on a part time basis and I enjoy meeting many of the local people in this role.

I’m a keen follower of sport, particularly football (obsessive), rugby and cricket. My playing days are long over but I attend football matches in the Championship on a regular basis. I’m also a keen follower of the Chelmsford Chieftains Ice Hockey team and attend matches with my family several times a season.

I grew up, and was educated in, New Zealand. I graduated from the University of Waikato in 1987 with a Bachelors degree in Social Science (Geography). I try to get back to NZ most years to visit my family and enjoy the wonderful scenery and wildlife.

Brian Payne

I am a retired senior manager with 40 years’ experience as an Executive Director and Chief Executive in the public and private health care sectors with local, national and international organisations, including 10 years as an Executive Director of the Heath Sector Skills Council. This has given me a good insight into developing and maintaining skills for employment and of the vital importance of primary, secondary and tertiary education in preparing young people for work. I have been a governor of Chipping Ongar Primary School since 2013 including a period as Chair of Governors and Vice Chair . This has given me experience of primary education and of the need to develop high level learning skills right at the beginning of a young person’s education. In 2016 I joined the Governing Board of The Ongar Academy and was Chair of Governors from 2022-2025. I am committed to the children of our local community getting an excellent educational experience at primary school, secondary school and beyond, to give them the best possible life and employment skills.  I am married with two children and four grandchildren. My wife, who is a retired independent social worker, is also committed to supporting local education and has also been a governor of Chipping Ongar Primary School for many years.

Graeme Read

I am married with 2 children. I have been a school governor at TOA for a number of years currently holding the position of vice chair with a link role for safeguarding.  By profession I am a degree qualified Chartered Quantity Surveyor and I am employed as a Commercial Manager for a large privately owned building contractor specialising in the construction and refurbishment of social housing across all London Boroughs and the Home Counties. I manage a team of 15 quantity surveyors of various ages and levels including mentoring trainees studying through degree apprenticeships.

I am responsible for all commercial aspects on the contracts including the management of client relationships, supply chain management, management of commercial risks, contract advice and dispute resolution. In my spare time as well as spending time with my family I am a Scout leader providing a balanced and varied weekly programme of activities and events to 40 Scouts between the ages of 10 – 14. I hold national instructor qualifications for small bore rifle shooting and archery and run training sessions for the Scouts. I also enjoy camping and outdoor pursuits with my family and socialising with friends.

David Lawrie

My name is David Lawrie and I was born and raised in Edinburgh, the capital city of Scotland. I attended Portobello High School until 1974 and then to Heriot-Watt University where I graduated in 1978 with a degree in Building Economics and Quantity Surveying. Incidentally, with over 1,500 pupils, Portobello High School was one of the largest state schools in Europe when it opened in 1963. I became an Associate of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors in 1982.

I married Julie who was a nurse, also retired now, in 1979 and we have two children and grandchildren:  Circumstances meant that we moved away from Edinburgh in 1982, initially to Newcastle-Upon-Tyne for 2 years before moving to Chelmsford in 1985. I am now retired but worked as a construction consultant specialising in economics and legal aspects of the industry.  My main loves are sport (especially football, squash, golf and rugby), reading, music and spending time with the grandchildren. I’m a massive Newcastle United fan although for a very long time it has been “a labour of love” with so many disappointments over the years.

So why did I become a Governor at the Ongar Academy? At the 1996 Labour Party conference, Tony Blair who was then leader of the Labour Party, stated that his three top priorities on coming to office were "education, education, and education". I fully support what he meant by this, and I wholeheartedly agree with the principals he was driving at. Young people will be the future law makers, wealth creators, peace makers and environmentalists and it is so important that knowledge is accumulated in the early years to ensure that they can make the world a better place for everyone.

Jason Gunn

I spent my career in secondary education reaching the position of Assistant Headteacher and providing the role of teacher-governor until taking early retirement in 2013, due to a spinal cord injury and as a result, I am now a full-time manual wheelchair user.  I have a wealth of experience as an educator and as a senior leader which I now apply to promoting inclusion, diversity, and patient education in the charitable and voluntary sector.

I support the National Spinal Injuries Centre in Stoke Mandeville Hospital delivering patient education from lived experience , as well as providing a patient’s perspective on the centre’s directorate board and supporting the centre with goal planning and training.  In addition to this I am  a public Governor for an NHS Mental Health and Community Services Trust, a Trustee for a children’s charity which specialises in yoga for children with complex needs, Chairman of Ongar Town Council, Chair of the Ongar Surgery Patients Participation Group (PPG)  and I provide lived-experience input for the Oxford University school of psychology, I am a a mentor for university students as part of the Greenwich and Kingston Universities Alumni Programmes.

I have a strong belief in education for all and as a governor for The Ongar Academy, I believe that good governance plays a central role in school improvement.

Hannah MacLennan

I am a mum of 2 pupils who attend The Ongar Academy.  I have always lived in the Ongar area, attending a local primary school and then attending Davenant Foundation School in Loughton for secondary education.  I started work at Essex Police Headquarters in their recruitment department then moved to an Investment Bank in London where I worked for 12 years before leaving when my second child was born.  I then ran a small furniture  business for 4 years which gave me the flexibility I needed to work and raise a family.  At present I help my partner in his local business with book-keeping and at a security firm as a service maanger.

In my spare time I enjoy playing tennis and going on plenty of dog walks as well as running the children around to their various clubs.

I am new to the governor's role and already had an amazing insight as to all the work that goes on behind the scenes in running the school.  I see my role as looking at all aspects from a "Parents point of view"  I care deeply about the school's success and its role in the community.