Governing Board
Our Governing Board
What We Do
At Trinity CE Primary School, our governing board plays a vital strategic role in ensuring every child can “shine as a light in the world” (Philippians 2:15).
Governors work in partnership with the Headteacher and staff to make sure the school delivers a high-quality education within a safe, nurturing and inclusive Christian environment.
The governing board focuses on the strategic direction of the school, setting vision, values, and long-term priorities, while the Headteacher leads on the day-to-day management.
We act as a “critical friend”: providing both support and challenge to ensure every decision we make serves the best interests of our pupils.
Our Statutory Responsibilities
The board’s statutory duties are set out by the Department for Education (DfE) and inspected under the Education Act 2005. Governors are collectively responsible for:
- Safeguarding – ensuring the school meets all requirements in Keeping Children Safe in Education and maintains a strong culture of vigilance and care.
- Educational Standards – holding leaders to account for the quality of education, curriculum intent, teaching and outcomes for all pupils, including those who are disadvantaged or have SEND.
- Finance – overseeing the school’s budget, ensuring resources are used efficiently, and securing long-term financial stability.
- Christian Distinctiveness – upholding the school’s Church of England foundation and ensuring our ethos and values of Courage, Compassion and Respect shine through all that we do.
- Leadership and Staffing – ensuring effective leadership, staff wellbeing and professional development.
- Compliance and Risk – monitoring statutory policies, health and safety, and data protection, and maintaining a live risk register aligned to our strategic priorities.
How We Drive Improvement
Governors at Trinity work strategically to drive improvement and ensure accountability.
We do this through:
- Monitoring visits linked to our School Improvement Plan (SIP) and five-year strategic intentions.
Governors follow an Intent–Implementation–Impact model, gathering evidence through conversations with leaders, classroom visits and pupil voice. - Committee structures focused on key areas such as Staffing & Curriculum, Finance & Premises, and Ethos. Each committee reports to the Full Governing Board, ensuring decisions are well-informed and transparent.
- Data-informed governance – using termly reports and pupil progress matrices to understand trends in attainment and progress, including outcomes for SEND and disadvantaged pupils.
- Stakeholder engagement – listening to parents, pupils, and staff through surveys, community events and feedback, ensuring our vision remains grounded in the needs of those we serve.
- Strategic planning – aligning annual priorities to our five-year plan (2023–2028), ensuring long-term sustainability and continued improvement.
- Reflection and accountability – conducting annual reviews of board effectiveness, governor training and impact statements which are shared with stakeholders.
Current Governors
Link to Get Information about Schools: Trinity Church of England Primary School Governance
Chair of Governors: Danielle Townsend
Vice Chair of Governors: Gaja Tabley
Conrad Hutton
Jess Godwin
Mark Edwards
Karen Smith
Rachel Allibone
Annie Bernays
Rev Richard Thomson
Dominic Rennie
Millie Green
Get Involved
Our governors are volunteers drawn from the school, church and wider community. We always welcome expressions of interest from those who would like to make a difference. If you are passionate about education, inclusion, and community, we would love to hear from you.
Conrad Hutton
HEAD TEACHER
Who I am…
I have been headteacher at Trinity since September 2013 having previously been deputy head of a large infant school. I have worked in several schools in and around the Bristol area since starting teaching in September 1995.
I live on the outskirts of Bristol with my three daughters.
What is my role on the Governing Body?…
As headteacher my role is to give the governing board all the information it needs to do its job well towards the strategic development of the school. This entails helping the governing board to access data about the school published by the DfE and Ofsted, and providing whatever management information the board requires to monitor different aspects of life in the school throughout the year so that they may fulfil their role to support and challenge.
I attend all full governing body and committee meetings and report on all aspects of school life and in particular:
- Pupil learning and progress
- Pupil applications, admissions, attendance and exclusions
- Staff absence, recruitment, retention, morale and performance
- The quality of teaching
Why I wanted to become a School Governor?…
I am automatically a school governor due to my role.
What I enjoy about being a School Governor?…
I enjoy working with a group of people from different backgrounds, often outside of education. The governors provide me with a different lens through which to view the school. I enjoy working with dedicated and committed highly skilled people performing a voluntary role.
Danielle Townsend
CHAIR OF GOVERNORS
Who am I?
I am a mother to 2 children and work in the telecoms industry as a finance manager and data analyst. I joined the governing board in October 2020. I am incredibly curious and love learning so always searching for new challenges and learning opportunities. In my spare time I can normally be found pottering in the garden or signing up to some new training course!
What is my role on the governing body?
I am vice-chair, supporting the chair of governors as well as chairing the Finance & Premises subcommittee and sitting on the Ethos Committee. Due to my professional knowledge, I support the school with budget setting, monitoring and strategy but I am also keen to support pupil & staff wellbeing and understand curriculum improvement. I was appointed by the diocese as a Foundation Governor to support the Christian foundation of the school through ensuring the vision and values of the school align to those of the Christian faith.
Why did I want to become a school governor?
I wanted to use my professional and personal skillset to help our local school and give back. In my professional role it can sometimes feel like the difference you make is small or can't really be seen it but as a governor you can see the direct impact your skillset and support have on the pupils and the staff. I wanted to be able to further support the excellent work all the staff at Trinity do.
What I enjoy about being a school governor?
I enjoy being able to put my skills into action to support the continuous improvement of the school and give back to the community. You must be creative with how the funds are spent and generated to ensure the children receive the best education possible. I also enjoy coming into school and embedding as part of the school community, attending collective worship and observing the fun they have while learning. I love bringing a passion and energy to the board and challenging the status quo.
Gaja Tabley
VICE-CHAIR OF GOVERNORS
Rachel Allibone
LOCAL AUTHORITY
Who I am…
My name is Rachel Allibone, I am a Painter & Decorator and have 3 boys, all of whom are or have been pupils at Trinity School.
What is my role on the Governing Body?…
My role on the governing body sits within the staffing and curriculum area specifically with responsibility for Early Years (EYFS).
Why I wanted to become a School Governor?…
I decided to put my name forward to become a governor once my youngest child started reception. I have always been involved in the Friends of School activities and generally supporting fund raising. Becoming a governor seemed like an obvious next step for me providing an opportunity to get involved in supporting the real nuts and bolts of how our wonderful school works!
What I enjoy about being a School Governor?…
Being a governor is fascinating and has been quite a learning experience for me – I feel I am gaining such a different perspective on how the primary education system works and the pressures schools like ours are under. Despite still being relatively new to the governing body I already feel that I have gained enormous insight into how hard the team at Trinity work to maintain such high standards in and out of the classroom. I feel very fortunate to be able to support this work at all.
Jessica Godwin
STAFF GOVERNOR
Annie Bernays
FOUNDATION GOVERNOR
Karen Smith
PARENT GOVERNOR
Millie Green
CO-OPTED GOVERNOR
Dominic Rennie
CO-OPTED GOVERNOR
Who am I?
I am a Chartered Aerospace Engineer. I live locally and have two children, one of whom attends Trinity.
What is my role on the Governing Body?
I am a Co-Opted Governor and sit within the Finance & Premises subcommittee. I'm the Link Governor for Health & Safety (Facilities).
Why I wanted to school Governor?
I took up the role to support my local primary school using skills and experience I have gathered over the course of my career. I believe that a successful school contributes to a better community for all.
What I enjoy about being a school Governor?
I enjoy the opportunity to work with enthusiastic volunteers from across our school community. It is a fresh and totally different challenge to my day job.
Mark Edwards
CO-OPTED GOVERNOR
Rev. Richard Thomson
EX-OFFICIO