Governors
We are pleased to welcome you to the governors’ section of the site. We hope it will give you an insight into who we are and what we do.
Wolvercote Primary School is an academy managed by the River Learning Trust (RLT). Each school within the RLT is managed by its local governing body and the Senior Leadership Team of the school.
The RLT board delegates three core strategic functions to the governing body:
- Setting the vision, ethos and strategic direction of the school, within the context of the RLT
- Holding the Headteacher and senior staff to account for the educational performance of the school and its children
- Ensuring the school remains within the budget delegated by The River Learning Trust and making sure the money is well spent
What do the Governors do?
Governors get to know the school through meetings and by visiting the school during the day.
We work collaboratively with the Headteacher and senior staff to look at where the school is now, what we want the school to achieve and how are we going to achieve this. We use the published school performance data and additional outcomes from the school’s self-evaluation, to inform priorities in the School Improvement Plan. We set clear, ambitious targets for the school and develop policies and budget and staffing structures to achieve these aims. We also appoint the Headteacher.
The governing body is organised into two sub-committees, which take responsibility for holding the Headteacher to account for the educational performance and financial performance of the school. The sub committees are:
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Impact Committee - This committee has an overview of the academic performance of the school.
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Resources Committee - This committee has an overview of the effectiveness of the school's resources including staffing, equipment and the building and grounds. It also has oversight over the school's budget.
Each governor is allocated to one of the two sub-committees and some governors take on specific responsibilities, for example, Safeguarding and Health & Safety.
Minutes from the Governor meetings are available upon request from the school office.
Who are the Governors?
Chair of Governors: Chhaya Auti (cauti@wolvercoteprimary.org)
Vice Chair: Dan Sparrow
Chair of Impact Committee: Lucy Higgins
Chair of Resources Committee: Dan Sparrow
Headteacher: Mandy Hayes
Clerk to Governors: Leyla Kizilcay
Parent Governors
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Anna Sadler
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Tom Carding
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Mary-Jane Newton
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Rebecca Williams
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Chhaya Auti
Staff Governors
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Julia Ryle-Hodges ( Teaching staff)
Community Governors
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Dan Sparrow
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Lucy Higgins
LEA Governor
| List of Governors who have served within the last 12 months Updated November 2025 | |||||
| Name of Governor | Appointed As | Responsibilities/Link Roles | Date of Appointment and appointed by: | End of office | Meetings Attended SEPT 2024/JULY 2025 (LGB + Committee) |
| Mandy Hook | Ex-officio by virtue of being the Headteacher of the School | All areas covered by the LGB and committees. | Appointed by virtue of being the Headteacher. September 2022 | - | 12/12 |
| Dan Sparrow | Parent Governor | Chair of Resources Committee Pay Committee Headteacher Appraisal Health & Safety Safeguarding Finance | Appointed by: Parents December 2020 | December 2028 | 6/8 |
| Mary-Jane Newton | Parent Governor | Impact Committee Behaviour for Learning | Appointed by: Parents January 2021 | January 2029 | 5/9 |
| Rebecca Williams | Parent Governor | Resources Committee Personal Development | Appointed by: Parents December 2021 | December 2025 | 5/8 |
| Chhaya Auti | Parent Governor | Chair of Governors Resources Committee Pay Committee Headteacher Appraisal Early Years EDI | Appointed by: Local Governing Body February 2025 | February 2029 | 4/5 |
| Anna Sadler | Parent Governor | Resources Committee Pay Committee Pupil Premium, Looked After Children Attendance | Appointed by: Parents July 2025 | July 2029 | N/A |
| Tom Carding | Parent Governor | Impact Committee Teaching and Learning - SIP 2 & 3 | Appointed by: Parents July 2025 | July 2029 | N/A |
| Lucy Higgins | Community Governor | Chair of Impact Committee SEND | Appointed by: Local Governing Body July 2024 | July 2028 | 9/9 |
| Julia Ryle-Hodges | Staff Governor | Impact Committee Children’s wellbeing | Appointed by: Staff September 2023 | September 2027 | 6/9 |
| Governors who have served in the past 12 months who are no longer governors. | |||||
| Magali Matsumiya | Parent Governor | Chair of Governors Resources Committee Finance | Appointed by: Parents April 2022 | ENDED JULY 2025 | 11/12 |
| Paul Buckley | Community Governor | Chair of Impact Committee Personal Development | Appointed by: Local Governing Body June 2021 | ENDED JULY 2025 | 9/9 |
| Dylan Price | Community Governor | Resources Committee SEND | Appointed by: Local Governing Body July 2024 | ENDED May 2025 | N/A |
| Emily Holdup | Community Governor | Co-Chair of Governors Impact Committee Flexible Learning | Appointed by: Local Governing Body February 2025 | ENDED AUGUST 2025 | 4/6 |
Register of Business Interests of the Governors at Wolvercote Primary School 2025-2026
| Governor | Relevant business interests to include: *Name of Organisation *Nature of Business *Nature of interest | Other educational establishments governed | Relationships with this school’s staff to include: *Spouses *Partners *Relatives | Date declared |
| Mary-Jane Newton | Oxford University Press Publisher Employment Oxford Union Society Membership Beta Gamma Sigma Society Membership UCL University Alumna The University of Oxford University Alumna Twig Education/Imagine Learning Publisher Employment Artemis Studios Performing Arts School Non-Executive Director/ Trustee Mary-Jane Newton Consultancy | None | None | 09/10/2025 |
| Daniel Sparrow | Rapid Indigo Ltd IT Services Director | None | None | 24/09/2025 |
| Rebecca Williams | The Oxford Trust as an Education Officer Radley College - Husband works at the college in IT security | None | None | 02/10/2025 |
| Mandy Hook | Wolvercote Primary School Education Headteacher | None | None | 15/09/2022 |
| Julia Ryle-Hodges | Staff Member at Wolvercote Primary School Primary Science Teaching Trust Trustee Oxford University Press Father is Chair of the Board | None | None | 08/09/2024 |
| Lucy Higgins | None | None | None | 16/09/2024 |
| Chhaya Auti | Eurokids International Education Managing Director | None | None | 25/09/2025 |
| Anna Sadler | Employed by Oxford University Press | None | None | 25/07/2025 |
| Tom Carding | The Swan School Teacher and Middle Leader | None | None | 17/09/2025 |
You can find out more information about The River Learning Trust and Governance here: https://riverlearningtrust.org/21/key-information
