Ingleby Manor Free School is part of an Academy Trust, which is a charitable company. Responsibility for financing and staffing the school and for providing students with the best education possible will belong to the Academy Trust. Just like other schools, we will have a governing body (known as the Academy Advisory Board, or AAB). The AAB is a group of local people, including staff, parents and community representatives, along with others nominated by the Delta Academies Trust group, who will meet together to oversee the running of the school. The Principal will be in charge of the day-to-day running of the school.

In order for a school to be successful it needs to be underpinned by constructive, visionary governance. The SAB which includes representation from IMFT provides this critical role in challenging, guiding, and supporting our school.

The government have high expectations of governing bodies. They are the strategic leaders of our schools and have a vital role to play in making sure every child gets the best possible education. For state funded schools this is reflected in the law, which states that the purpose of school governing bodies is to ‘conduct the school with a view to promoting high standards of educational achievement at the school’.

In all types of schools, governing bodies should have a strong focus on three core strategic functions:

Some governing bodies of maintained schools, and all academy boards of trustees, have additional functions and responsibilities. Depending on the category of school, they may own land, act as employers, admission authorities, or boards of charitable trustees and company directors.

This amounts to a demanding role for governing bodies. Evidence suggests that those that deliver it well do so by:

Effective governing bodies also think carefully about how they are organised. This includes thinking about whether and how to use their powers to delegate functions and decisions to committees or individual governors. Governing bodies may decide to task individual governors to take an interest in a specific area, such as SEN, safeguarding or health and safety, but there is no legal requirement for academies and Free schools to do so. There are many different models and governing bodies are best placed to decide for themselves what will work best in their own circumstances. It is the overall governing body, however, that in all cases remains accountable in law and to Ofsted for the exercise of its functions. We expect every governing body to focus strongly on its core functions and to retain oversight of them.

Roger is a fully qualified Electrical Engineer with over 50 years experience in the Electricity Supply and associated industries. A 34 year career culminating in a senior management role with a large Distribution Network Operator was followed with directorships of 2 small companies operating in the private sector.

Roger is a member of the institute of Engineering and Technology and an Associate of the Society of Education and Training. He is a fully accredited assessor authorised to assess candidates up to NVQ level 3.

Roger has been a Governor at Knottingley High School for some 35 years. He has previously served terms of office on the Academy Advisory Bodies of both Simpsons Lane and Englands Lane Primary schools in Knottingley. He is currently Chair of DeLacy Academy, formally Knottingley High School. He is currently a member of The Vale Primary Academy at Knottingley. He has successfully completed The National College of Leaderships Chairs Development Programme.

Roger is married with two sons both of whom attended Knottingley High School.

His view is that Ingleby Manor Free School belongs to the local community. It exists for the benefit of its student population. Its primary function is to facilitate the best possible education provision thereby ensuring our students get the best possible start in life.

A Physics specialist, Ray has worked in education for 19 years. Before entering the teaching profession, he spent some time in industry. When he joined the teaching profession all those years ago, it was firstly to share his enthusiasm for his subject and to help and support others to reach their full potential; this ethos still drives him today.

He believes that all students deserve the highest quality education and the art of teaching is to craft explanations so that students can understand complex or difficult problems. However, a good education is more than the sum of the academic subjects; it’s about developing the whole child. Good schools offer a range of opportunities and experiences achieved through a broad and balanced curriculum.

In the last few years Ray has worked across a number of schools as a science consultant and over the last six years, as part of the leadership team in a successful secondary school. In this role, he has been able to support other senior leaders, middle leaders and teaching colleagues in the pursuit of better outcomes for all learners.

Outside school life, Ray is an avid ‘Newcastle United’ fan, dog walker and taxi driver to his two daughters!

Jo is an Assistant Headteacher at a Primary school in Middlesbrough and is responsible for embedding a high quality and ambitious curriculum for the learners in her school. Jo has been teaching for 17 years and has had a range of leadership responsibilities. As well as teaching in the UK, Jo worked in the Middle East where she taught at an international school as an English specialist. Jo is new to the area and moved to Ingleby Barwick in 2019.

Jo believes that curriculum is the beating heart of a school and that all children deserve the right to an education that provides them with the knowledge and skills they need to become successful 21st global citizens and lifelong learners. Jo has a son who attends IMFS.

Dave has been a teacher since 2000. He taught at Acklam Grange School for 12 years and was a Head of Year at the school. Dave then taught for 5 years at Redcar Academy, now Outwood Redcar. He was Head of Humanities and an Associate Assistant Principal.

Dave moved to Ingleby Manor in 2017. He is currently an Associate Assistant Principal and Joint Head of Geography at the school. Dave is also the NEU Representative for staff at the school.  

Dave has lived on Teesside all his life, he supports Middlesbrough Football Club, coaches an Under 14s Girls Football team and has played cricket in local leagues for over 20 years. Dave is married with 3 children – all girls.

Rachel has lived on Teesside all her life, apart from when she attended the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, where she first studied for a BA in Religious Studies followed by a Masters in Human Resource Management.

Shortly after finishing university, Rachel joined the Tees & Hartlepool Port Authority, now known as PD Ports, initially on a 1 year fixed term contract as a HR Graduate – she has been with the company for 21 years, and is currently in the role of Group Human Resources Manager.

Rachel has lived on Ingleby Barwick for 9 years, has a daughter in IMFS and a son in a local primary school. This is her first time on a Governors board. 

I am delighted to be a member of the Ingleby Manor School SAB. I am a qualified teacher of mathematics and have significant experience as a subject leader, senior leader and trust-wide leader. I have worked in several large comprehensive schools before the role I have now in school improvement. Being involved with the SAB is enabling me to play a greater part in the school community and supporting the School’s future success.

Louise has worked in education for over 20 years. As a newly qualified teacher, she entered the education pathway to challenge children and young people to be the best that they can be.  Now as a headteacher of a local primary school, serving children in mainstream and specialist provision, this desire is still at the forefront of her work alongside ensuring that education is as inclusive as possible – children (and staff) need to have the opportunity to be creative, independent individuals with every opportunity to be the best that they can be. 

She is passionate about improving the life chances of all children and young people,  harnessing all of the talents, skills and expertise of the staff, pupils and young people and communities to meet the demands of a constantly evolving educational landscape.  Localising the curriculum to ensure that children are aware and proud of the place that they live and develop an awareness of where their achievements in life could take them has been a key focus of her recent work. Successful families are key to successful children. 

As a parent of two children who attend Ingleby Manor, she feels she can support and challenge to ensure that every pupil, gets every chance, every day. She wants to contribute to the young people not just in her professional capacity but also the young people in her own personal community; something which she thinks is important.

Outside school life, Louise enjoys spending time with her family and likes to travel, especially if it involves skiing.

As a youngster, Lee wanted to be a steam train driver and then a footballer. After realising that neither dream would become a reality, his studies led him to graduating with a first class degree in Mathematics in 2002.

Thereafter, Lee fell into a career in tax (because no-one purposely chooses one…) and has worked for international and national practices in their tax advisory teams. Lee is now a partner at Clive Owen LLP, which is a large independent accountancy and business advisory firm, employing over 125 people, operating across Teesside, County Durham and North Yorkshire. Whilst Lee specialises in tax, he is called upon by many business owners for strategic advice which ranges from helping businesses grow, attract inward investment to eventual exit planning.

Outside of work, Lee follows Newcastle United and is married with two daughters. Whilst originating from slightly further North (Chester-Le-Street), Lee has lived in Ingleby Barwick for over ten years and is a big advocate for Teesside life and is keen to create opportunities for future talent to flourish on Teesside, hence his delight at being part of the Ingleby Manor SAB.

The Chair of the School Advisory Board can be contacted directly via email

To contact the School Advisory Board for Ingleby Manor School, please do so in writing to the following:

FAO Mr Dawson, Chair of Governors, C/O Ingleby Manor School.

These communications will then be submitted directly to the Chair who will respond accordingly.