How Ark's governance works
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 our Academy's governors are able to concentrate on the things that really matter – educational strategy, school outcomes and aspiration.
The Ark Schools Decision Making Framework outlines where responsibility and accountability sits for the key functional areas within Ark Schools between the ‘tiers’ of governance.
Our Local Governing Body
Our Local Governing Body (LGB) is made up of 6-10 members – usually people with a local connection or interest who are committed to supporting educational opportunity in the area. The board generally includes:
- Academy Principal
- Up to two Parent Governors
- One Teaching Staff Governor
- One Non-teaching Staff Governor
- One Local Authority representative
We aim 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. Attributes we look for include:
- 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
All appointments are made by the Director of Governance for Ark Schools. The term of a governor is three years, except for the Principal, who remains a governor for the duration of his or her time in post. Governors may be reappointed for further terms.
The LGB meets four times a year.
Becoming a governor
If you have an interest and commitment to improving education, and would like to make a difference within your community, please register your interest in becoming a governor by completing our online Governor Application Form. If you have any questions about a governor’s role or responsibilities please contact us at governance.team@arkonline.org
A full programme of induction, training and support is provided. You can see more information, including role specifications here.
Contacting the governors
The current Clerk to Governors is Titilola Kehinde (titilola.kehinde@arkonline.org). Please contact them if you have any governance-related queries, or would like to contact one of the governors.
Our Governors
John Phillipson
John has over 15 years’ experience of school governor roles. He is currently Chair of Governors at St Johns C of E Primary School, an outstanding primary school in Shirley, and was for a number of years, Vice Chair of Governors at Ark Oval Primary School. John has been designated by the Department of Education as a National Leader of Governance and mentors a number of other chairs who are either new to the role or facing challenging situations. John regularly delivers training for Governors and teachers, both for the local authority and independent education organisations.
John has a long association with the local area. His great-great grandmother was once the oldest publican in Croydon! John is senior partner of a local firm of Chartered Surveyors and a director of a number of other companies. He is involved in two local projects to support the homeless and also sings in a number of local choirs when time allows.
John is passionate about the opportunities that first rate education can give every single child and has enjoyed working with Ark for the last eight years as he feels they share that same passion. John feels it is a huge privilege to lead the Local Governing Body at Ark Blake and hopes to make a positive difference to every student who attends.
Aderonke Akintunde
Ronke is passionate about young people and children. Her love for passing on knowledge led her into education, where she taught for nine years. During her time at a London school she saw a need for children to experience fun learning opportunities not readily available. Ronke went on to set up several initiatives in the school, some of which are still in place today. As a class teacher, she has a way of personalising learning experiences for the children. Ronke is a big believer in ‘every child can succeed’ and should not be held back but given the tools to succeed. One of her favourite phrases is: ‘you can – let’s try again’. This was seen in the huge progress her EAL pupils made.
In 2010, Ronke founded I Am Who I Am, a youth club for 11- 14 year olds. This came about because of her desire to offer opportunities to young people in her neighbourhood.
Ronke grew up in West Africa with her Nigerian father and English mother. She has many fond memories of her childhood and is proud to be of dual heritage. As a person of dual heritage, she is keen on young people taking pride in their heritage and valuing it as an important part of their identity, which is to be celebrated.
Ronke’s first degree is in Information and Business Systems Technology. She loves challenges and new experiences
Benjamin Lloyd
Ben works as a strategy director for Barclays, having previously been a management consultant for Ernst & Young. Key specialities include Organisational design and effectiveness. He is a chartered Management Accountant (CIMA) and holds an MBA (Warwick). He has spent 10 years as a governor and chair in the primary sector before joining Ark in 2020. Ben is hugely excited about joining Ark Blake from its inception and the opportunities it will bring for its pupils.
Ruby Nightingale
Ruby works in communications and public affairs at the Sutton Trust, a charity which works to improve social mobility from the early years through to access to the workplace. Ruby works on the Sutton Trust’s policy events, stakeholder relations and media engagement. Ruby has also been involved with work on the Oak National Academy and the National Tutoring Programme, both developed in response to the impact of the Coronavirus pandemic on education. She is committed to working with her community to ensure that young people of all backgrounds are supported and able to achieve the best outcomes possible.
David Sharples
David qualified as a teacher in 2006 and taught secondary English in schools at home and overseas. He holds a Masters degree in Education from UCL and is particularly interested in ensuring that children from all backgrounds have access to a curriculum that will enable them to flourish. He now works for the Department of Education. Originally from Lancashire, David settled in Greenwich in 2014, where he is also a governor at a local primary school.
Amy Tweddle
Amy is a Research Fellow at Ambition Institute where she specialises in curriculum, working with school leaders on curriculum reform at a subject and whole-school level, as well as tutoring on the Master’s in Expert Teaching Programme. Prior to this, Amy held a number of leadership roles in schools across London (including in Croydon) and in Dubai, most notably as Director of Learning and Head of English for five years, for a newly opened multi-academy trust school – building the department from its inception. Amy has also been an examiner for both AQA and Edexcel and is a Teach First alumni, representing UK education at the global Teach For All conference. Prior to working in education, Amy worked in marketing and public relations, where she oversaw the corporate communications for a number of high-profile businesses and charities.
