Academies are schools funded by the government with the freedom to govern independently – but all are accountable to the Secretary of State for Education. To share resources and best practice, many are part of multi-academy trusts – a network of schools under one legal body.

Ark Bentworth Primary Academy is part of Ark Schools - a leading education charity and one of the country’s top-performing academy operators. Ark is non-denominational and does not make any profit from running its schools.

Ark’s relationship with the Secretary of State is set out in the Master Funding Agreement. There are also supplemental funding agreements for each individual school in the network, including Ark Bentworth.

PDF iconArk Schools Master Funding Agreement

Bentworth Supplemental Funding Agreement

Every school in the Ark network is the legal responsibility of the Ark Schools Board. This board focuses on statutory duties and delegates most day-to-day responsibilities to each school’s individual Local Governing Body (LGB). This means that Ark Bentworth's governors are able to concentrate on the things that really matter – educational strategy, school outcomes and aspiration.

The Ark Schools Articles of Association and Decision Making Framework scheme of delegation can be found on the Ark Schools website.

Our Local Governing Body

Ark Bentworth Primary Academy’s Local Governing Body (LGB) is made up of six to ten members appointed by the Ark Director of Governance, to include the Chair, Principal, a Staff Governor and up to two Parent Governors. Governors are usually people with a local connection or a particular skill or interest who are committed to supporting educational opportunity in the area.

Governors are appointed/elected for a term of three years.

Ark Schools aims to create a balanced group that will have the right skills, connections and dynamic for the LGB to work well and support the school in achieving exceptional performance:

  • Good insight into the specific challenges at the school and the general challenges of operating top-quality schools
  • Excellent community links
  • Specific skills as needed by/relevant to the school
  • A link to the senior executive team of Ark Schools

The LGB meets four times a year.

Contacting the Governors

The current Clerk to Governors is Cathi Hughes (Catherine.Hughes@arkonline.org). Governors can be contacted through the Clerk.

If you are interested in becoming a governor, please visit the Ark Schools website.

If you have any governance-related queries, please contact Catherine.Hughes@arkonline.org 

Current Governors

Ian Emerson (Chair and SEND Link Governor)

Ian has been a Modern Language teacher since 1998, having previously worked in large comprehensive schools in the North-East of England.  Ian originally joined the Governing Body to develop the links between Ark Bentworth and City of London School and now works in Latymer Upper School.

Natasha Brown (Ark Nominated Governor)

Natasha is a Governance Officer at Academies Enterprise Trust.  Previous to that, she was on the Ark Schools' Governance Team, where she spent three years clerking at seven schools (primary, secondary and all-through).  In addition to her MAT governance experience, Natasha brings a decade of experience as an Executive Assistant to Directors at various corporate entities, including two FTSE 250 companies.  As a local resident for many years, Natasha has a strong connection to the community and a passion for ensuring the children of the community are well-served by their schools.

Sam Campbell (Ark Appointed Governor and Health & Safety Link Governor)

Sam is a teacher of MFL in a secondary school and her son attends Ark Bentworth.  She has been in the teaching profession for over 10 years and does see the importance of pupils achieving highly from primary school level as it does give them a head start in secondary school.  She finds the school environment at Ark Bentworth welcoming and volunteers weekly.

Entisar Elhag (Parent Governor)

Entisar has been known to the school as a parent since 2011 . Her older children joined Ark Bentworth as their first school after moving to this country until they have graduated over the last 8 years. She is currently a parent of twins in Year 5 . This has led to her having a long lasting relationship with the school and community, she has built a friendly relationship with the most of the parents. She has joined a few schools as a volunteer in early years education including Ark Bentworth and has been working closely with the young children while she was studying in level 3 childcare diploma. This has made her fully aware of the importance of children's safeguarding.

Lyndsay Harris (Trust Appointed Governor)

Lyndsay Harris is currently the Director of Pastoral and Inclusion at Ark Schools. In this role she provides strategic support and guidance for all 39 schools in the network, and line manages the Head of Safeguarding and Head of Inclusion. Before being appointed at Ark in September 2022 she worked at Harris Academy Bermondsey for ten years, where most recently she was Vice Principal for Personal Development, Behaviour and Attitudes.

Andrew McBroom (Ark Appointed Governor & Safeguarding Link Governor) 

Andrew is currently Deputy Head - Co-curricular & Operations at City of London School, where he has taught since 2002. In his time there, he has also been Head of History, Head of Sixth Form and an Assistant Head (with responsibility for Staff Development). He is passionate about the benefits of extra-curricular activity in helping young people develop self-esteem and resilience. He has also worked closely with Mental Health First Aid England to promote their important work. City of London School has had a longstanding relationship with Ark Bentworth and Andrew is excited about the prospect of contributing to that relationship in his role as Governor.

Julian Moon (Ark Appointed Governor & Finance Link Governor)

As a trainee accountant at KPMG, Julian is part of a team that audits some of the biggest UK and international companies. He is required to deliver high-quality work at pace for clients. He believes his professional experience will be useful to ensure funding is used effectively and gives teachers the necessary resources to help pupils succeed. He is currently in the middle of his accountancy qualifications and will be fully ACA accredited by July 2022.

Andrew Ritchie (Ark Appointed Governor)

Andrew has worked locally to Ark Bentworth for 12 years and is a father of three daughters, two of whom currently attend another Ark School (KS1 and KS2). He is a respiratory doctor at St Mary’s Hospital and a lecturer at Imperial College. His research focuses on the interplay of respiratory viruses and bacteria infection in the context of chronic lung conditions. Alongside clinical duties, Andrew teaches undergraduate and postgraduate students on a number of degree courses. Outside of work, Andrew enjoys spending time in the local area with his family as well as cycling and playing the occasional game of cricket.

David Williams (Interim Head of School)

 

 

All appointments are made by the Director of Governance for Ark.  The term of a governor is three years, except for the Principal, who remains a Governor for the duration of their time in post. Governors may be re-appointed for further terms.

The register of interests and attendance for Governors can be found here: 

Ark Bentworth Primary Academy - Declarations of Interest 2022-23.pdf

Ark Bentworth Primary Academy - Governor Attendance 2021-2022.pdf