Mr Paul Gibbons
Local Authority Governor
Chair of the Federation Board
Date appointed – 2022
Term of office – 4 years
Register of interests – none
About them
Paul is proud to have been associated with all three schools for the last 10 years. Initially as a co-opted Governor and then Chair at Hellifield and since 2019 as Local Authority Governor and Chair of the Federation. Paul is currently the Federation Maths/Computing Link Governor. As Chair Paul can (and usually does) attend both Committees.
Paul’s professional background is in senior management and leadership in public sector organisations and latterly he ran his own company supporting a wide range of bodies with development activities in these areas.
When not involved with Federation activities Paul is a keen cyclist and plays golf (not as well as he would like!)
Mrs Helen Smith
Foundation Governor (Hartley Education Foundation)
Chair of Education Committee
Date appointed
Term of office – 4 years
Register of interests – none
About them
Helen is a foundation governor appointed by the Hartley Education Foundation. Helen chairs the Education Committee and is link governor for early years. Helen works as a teaching assistant at Hellifield School and has two daughters who both went to Long Preston school. In her spare time, Helen enjoys taking her dog Holly for a walk, reading, gardening and spending time with her family.
Mr Carl Shuttleworth
Parent Governor
Finance Committee
Date appointed – 2021
Term of office – 4 years
Register of interests – none
About them
Carl is married to Gemma, and they have 2 children, one of which attends Giggleswick Primary School. Both he and his wife are Teachers of primary aged children.
Carl has been a Parent Governor since 2021 and is thoroughly enjoying being a part of the Governing Body.
Carl and his family moved to the Yorkshire Dales 3 years ago and enjoy all that it has to offer, including walking, camping, and being very much a part of the community.
Mrs Rachel Brummitt
Parent Governor
Education Committee
Date Appointed – 09/20
Term of Office 09/24
Register of Interests – None
About them
Rachel has 2 children, who have collectively enjoyed 10 happy years at Giggleswick Primary school. Rachel has played an active part in life at the school attending parent’s forums to helping in school and more recently as a parent governor of the Ribblesdale Federation.
Rachel is a Company Director in their family business which imports a wide variety of fairly traded, handcrafted products from India, Nepal, Thailand & Indonesia.
Rachel enjoys the outdoor life with family & friends, walking, cycling, ski-ing and running. Rachel is a level 1 coach at Settle Junior Harriers.
Mr James Atkinson
Co-opted Governor
Chair of the Finance Board
Date Appointed 2019
Term of office 2023
Register of Interests – None
About them
James is married to Helen and has one daughter who attends Hellifield school.
James has worked for the ambulance service for over 20 years and currently works in the Craven area as a Paramedic.
James enjoys cycling, walking and reading and regularly attends worship at St Aidan’s Church in Hellifield where he is a member of the PCC.
Mrs Emmy Hodgson
Foundation Governor (Diocese of Leeds)
Finance Committee
Date appointed 2022
Term of office 2026
Register of interests None
About them
Emmy is married to Dan and they have 4 children – all have attended Long Preston school with 3 still currently there.
Prior to having children, Emmy worked as a reception teacher for 6 years. She has since retrained in finance and returned to work after 9 years as a full time Mum.
Emmy currently works as a finance officer for a multi academy trust with 2 secondary schools in Yorkshire.
Emmy first joined the governing board in January 2018 and has just been reappointed as foundation Governor by the Diocese of Leeds.
In her free time, Emmy enjoys walking the dog and spending time with family and friends.
Rev Dr Sue McWhinney
Co-opted Governor (Diocese of Leeds)
Education Committee
Date appointed 2022
Term of office 1 year
Register of interests None
About them
Sue is the Associate Priest at Kirkby Malham and has been co-opted for a year in order to strengthen our links with the local church.
Sue is married to Paul, and they have two grown-up children.
Sue has considerable experience of working with church schools, and has a desire to see children and staff flourish and grow.
In a former life Sue was a GP near York for several years. In her free time, Sue enjoys walking in the Dales landscape, singing, live music, and spending time with family and friends.
Mr Andrew Bradley
Co-opted Governor
Vice Chair of the Federation Board
Finance Committee
Date appointed 2021
Term of office 2025
Register of interests None
About them
He is married to Gill and they have a teenage son who attended Long Preston and is now a student at Settle College.
In his spare time, Andrew coaches rugby at North Ribblesdale Rugby Club He enjoys food, both cooking and eating, washed down with a glass of good red wine!
Miss Sarah Williamson
Clerk to Governors
Date appointed 2021
Register of interests None
About them
Sarah has been a Clerk to Governors for 5 years, working in a range of schools in North Yorkshire and Cumbria. She has worked in the education sector as a teacher and senior leader for over 25 years and been a governor of 2 schools.
Miss Trudi Ward
Executive Headteacher
Ex-officio
Date appointed Jan 2021
Register of interests None
About them
Trudi was appointed as Executive Headteacher across the Federation in January 2021. Trudi started teaching in 1995 and understands first-hand the power of a good education to transform lives. She is passionate about ensuring all children in our schools have the best possible start in education and develop a life-long love of learning.
Trudi is currently studying for the National Professional Qualification in Executive Leadership and is completing a Doctorate in Education with the University of York St John.
Dr Dominic Hewitt
Associate Member
Governor for Safeguarding
Date Appointed – Jan 2022
Term of Office – 1 year
Register of Interests – None
About them
Dominic lives in Long Preston and both his children attended the village school until they moved on to Settle College.
Dominic was a Governor at Long Preston School and was invited to stay on as an Associate Member of the Federation’s Governing Board.
His job as a doctor in Emergency Medicine includes work with child safeguarding.
When he is not working, Dominic enjoys family time, and occasional sailing with friends.
Vacancy
Staff Governor
About them
To be written
Vacancy
Co-opted Governor
About them
To be written