Our Governance

Effective governance is crucial to the success of schools and academy trusts. The Governance Handbook sets out the key elements of effective governance as:

  • Strategic leadership that sets and champions vision, ethos and strategy;
  • Accountability that drives up educational standards and financial performance, and effectively manages risk;
  • People with the right skills, experience, qualities and capacity;
  • Structures which reinforce clearly defined roles and responsibilities;
  • Compliance with statutory and contractual requirements; and
  • Evaluation to monitor and improve the quality and impact of governance.

Our Local Governing Body (LGB)

Belleville's LGB includes parents (elected by the school's parent body), members of staff (elected by the school staff) and co-opted local governors (appointed by the local governing body and/or the Trustees, because they have the skills required to contribute to the effective governance and success of the school).
 

What the LGB does
The school is overseen by the Board of Trustees for the Quality First Education Trust. The board delegates some governance functions to the LGB, as outlined in our scheme of delegation, which can be found on the Q1E Trust website. Belleville's LGB works as a team of local governors to challenge, monitor and support the school, to make sure it provides a good quality education for its pupils. There are normally two full LGB meetings per term. There are currently no LGB committees.

In addition to attending meetings, local governors may take on a link or lead role for an aspect of the school. As part of this link role, they will undertake pre-arranged visits and/or work with members of staff to monitor particular aspects of provision, and report back to the LGB. 

Contacting the LGB
If you wish to contact the local governing body you can write to us, care of the school office on either of our sites. Bring or send your letter to the school, marked for the attention of the Chair of the Local Governing Body, or email us directly at governors@bellevilleschool.org. However, please be aware that concerns should be managed in accordance with the school concerns and complaints policy, which means that local governors will not act unilaterally and may refer issues back to the school.

Declaration of interests

It is important that all those involved in governance act impartially. All those involved in school governance have a responsibility to avoid any conflict between their business and personal interests and affairs, and those of the school and the Trust. We keep a register of business interests for the LGB and maintain signed individual statements. In addition, individuals have a duty to declare any interest that could lead to questions of bias, when considering any item of business at a meeting and to withdraw, if necessary, whilst the matter is considered.
The register of interests for our Members and Trustees can be found on the Q1E Trust website. 

Meet the Local Governing Body

Article ImageEmma Stace

Chair
(Elected Parent Governor)

 

I was elected as a local parent governor in 2017 and have been Chair since 2019. All three of our children attended Belleville, our youngest having just left in July 2023.

In my professional life, I work as a Director at the Open University. I have experience working across both the education and health sectors; I have been a Director at the Department for Education, Executive Producer of Sesame Street in South Africa; led a charity aimed at supporting young people’s mental health in Australia and developed many online / digital educational and health interventions aimed at supporting young people. 

I became a local governor because I wanted to give back to the school that has given so much to our family, and I want to ensure that the views of the children and parents/carers are heard. I also hope my professional background will help Belleville continue to thrive as part of a multi-academy trust.

Area of focus within the LGB:
Curriculum Standards, Governance, Complaints, Grievances, Educational Provision and Curriculum.

Article ImageSanjeev Chopra

Vice chair

(Co-opted Governor)

 

I am delighted to be part of the LGB and have taken the role of Vice Chair. My son attended Belleville and soon my daughter will start her journey here, too.

Our family love the area we live in and are proud that Belleville forms such a big part of the local community. We have a great circle of friends, both in and outside of the school, which allows me to canvas a variety of ideas to the LGB and use this network for the benefit of the school.  I have a particular desire to increase awareness around equality and diversity and inclusion.

Area of focus within the LGB:

SEND/inclusion, Finance, Governance, Wellbeing, Complaints and Grievances.

Article ImageRachel Gaskin

Elected Staff Governor

 

I have been a teaching assistant at Belleville for the past 10 years, as well as a Cover Supervisor, First Aider and mini bus driver when required. I am particularly interested in the wellbeing of the support staff at Belleville and intend to do what I can to support their role within the school.

Fiona MacnabArticle Image

Co-opted Parent Governor

 

I am thrilled to be part of the Local Governing Body since September 2022. I have lived locally for the past 20 years, and my eldest just left Belleville in July 2023 and my son is currently in Year 5. I feel incredibly fortunate that our children have access to such a vibrant, outstanding school, and, as a parent, I can rely on such strong support from parents and the school.

Professionally, I have been a PE teacher for over 15 years, working across all Key Stages.  I have always considered my role as teacher to be one of privilege, to have the opportunity to help guide and nurture pupils on their journey through school. I very much hope that my experience and enthusiasm will be beneficial to the Belleville School Community.

Area of focus within the LGB:

Safeguarding.

 

Yuki Molteni Article Image

Elected Parent Governor

 

I am grateful to those who voted me into the Local Governing Body at the end of the 2022 school year. My three children love the school and, we, as a family, have made wonderful friends.  

I grew up in Tokyo and studied Psychology in the US and the UK. I worked as an advertising strategist for clients such as P&G and Unilever. Since having children, I returned to my roots in Psychology and am retraining as a therapist.

I care deeply about people’s wellbeing and I strongly believe that happiness and health are life skills to be practiced daily. I hope to support the school in this aspect as well as using my experience in communication strategy.

Areas of interest within the LGB:

Communications

Suzi Telford

Elected Staff Governor

 

Article ImageI am in my third year of teaching at Belleville Primary School and currently teach in Year 6.  I passionately believe that all children should have the opportunity to thrive in a joyful environment that will enable them to achieve their full potential.  With that in mind, I strongly support the school’s values and as a Staff Governor, I hope to support Belleville School in providing our children with the very best all-round educational experience. 

 

Article ImageNina Vora

Co-opted Parent Governor
 

I am delighted to have been part of the LGB since I was co-opted in Feb 2021. With two children thriving at Belleville, our family are grateful to be part of this inclusive, caring and vibrant environment. Professionally, I'm a doctor (academic clinician) specialising in infectious diseases and virology, focusing on clinical and research work with marginalised and vulnerable groups. Inclusion and equity underpin my roles both in my career and as Belleville's SENDCO governor. With over a decade of teaching experience at graduate and postgraduate levels, as well as serving on national guideline writing committees, I hope to utilise my experience to help Belleville continue to thrive.

 

Area of focus within the LGB:

Health and Safety, SEND.