IN THIS SECTION

Governance Overview

We have been part of the NEAT Academy Trust family of schools since 1 April 2017.

The levels of governance in NEAT include:

  • Members
  • Non-executive directors/trustees
  • Local governing committees

Our NEAT Board and committee role overview shows the relationships between the different levels of governance.

Constitution

Our local governing committee has:

  • Two parent members (elected by parents of pupils at the school)
  • One staff member (elected by staff of the school)
  • Headteacher member (ex-officio)
  • Eight trust members approved by the NEAT board of directors.
  • Three co-opted members approved by the Local Governing Committee

The terms of office of all members are four years, except:

  • Any co-opted members where the term of office is one year
  • Ex-officio appointments which are based on the person holding a particular office and continue as long as the person remains in post

Local Governing Committee members

Shah Yaseen Ali

Trust Member (LGC Co-Vice Chair)

Appointed by NEAT Trust Board: 25.03.24

Term of office ends: 24.03.28

Declared interests: Non-Executive Director – Beamish Museum Trading Limited since 11.03.25; Member – Co-op Group National Members Council since 18.06.24

Philip Anderson

Trust Member (LGC Chair)

Appointed by NEAT Trust Board: 05.07.19

Re-appointed: 05.07.23

Term of office ends: 04.07.27

Declared interests: Employee – Berry Education since 16.09.24; Contractor – AQA since 01.06.22; Employee – Camps International Ltd since 01.07.16

Shaun Cairns

Parent Member

Elected by parents of Benfield School: 01.05.24

Term of office ends: 30.04.28

Declared interests: Employee – Royston Ltd since September 2002

Connor Campbell

Co-opted Member

Appointed by Local Governing Committee: 21.03.24

Re-appointed by Local Governing Committee: with effect from 21.03.25

Term of office ends: 20.03.26

Declared interests: Employee – Newcastle United Foundation since September 2022

Lynne Elizabeth Cope

Trust Member

Appointed as co-opted member: 22.09.22

Appointed by NEAT Trust Board: 26.01.23

Term of office ends: 25.01.27

Declared interests: Employee – Education Development Trust since 29.06.09

Susan Currey

Co-opted Member (LGC Co-Vice Chair)

Appointed by the Local Governing Committee as Co-opted member: 13.03.23 

Appointed by NEAT Trust board as Trust member: 04.12.23 

Term of office ends: 03.12.27

Declared interests: Employee – Pearson Edexcel since 28.03.22

Carole Ann Day

Parent Member

Elected by parents of Benfield School: 09.05.22

Term of office ends: 08.05.26

Declared interests: Employee – NEAT Academy Trust since 19.06.23

Anthony Martin

Headteacher

Ex-officio position based on role as Headteacher from 01.09.22

Declared interests: Employee – NEAT Academy Trust, Benfield School since 01.09.22

Hamdi Torun

Trust Member

Appointed by NEAT Trust Board: 13.07.22

Term of office ends: 12.07.26

Declared Interests: Employee – Northumbria Unversity since 30.10.17; Business interest – GlakoLens (Istanbul) since 01.01.16

Taylor Turner

Staff Member

Elected by staff at Benfield School: 25.11.24

Term of office ends: 24.11.28

Declared Interests: Employee – NEAT Academy Trust since 10.01.24

Neil Jonathan Walker

Trust Member

Appointed by the Local Governing Committee as a co-opted member: 13.03.23 

Re-appointed as a co-opted member: 25.01.24

Appointed by NEAT Trust Board as a Trust member: 11.02.25

Term of office ends: 10.02.29

Declared interests: Employee – Westfield School since 01.09.17

Former LGC members in the last 12 months

Carolyn Reay

Trust Member

Appointed by NEAT Trust Board: 17.03.21

Term of office ended: 16.03.25

Declared interests: Employee – NEAT Academy Trust since April 2017

James Holdsworth

Trust Member

Appointed by NEAT Trust Board: 13.07.22

Resigned: 03.03.25

Declared interests: Employee – Newcastle City Council since 14.11.16

Christopher Fairs

Co-opted Member

Appointed by Local Governing Committee: 21.03.24

Resigned: 05.12.24

Declared interests: Partner – Value Added HR Ltd since March 2024; Employee – Peacocks Medical Group Ltd since October 2023; Sole Trader – Property Investment since December 2002

Stephanie Murray

Staff Member

Elected by staff at Benfield School: 11.03.21

Resigned: 22.11.24

Declared interests: Employee – NEAT Academy Trust, Benfield School since 01.05.2017

Angela Rose Birt

Trust Member

Appointed by NEAT Trust Board: 19.10.18

Re-appointed: 19.10.21

Resigned: 20.09.24

Declared interests: Employee – Newcastle upon Tyne NHS Hospitals Trust since 02.06.14

Local Governing Committee Meetings

The Scheme of Delegation of Governance sets out the role and responsibilities of each school’s local governing committee and the decisions that the NEAT Board of Directors has delegated to it.

Meetings

The local governing committee meets up to six times each year: twice in each of the Autumn, Spring and Summer Terms.

Attendance register

The attendance of local governors at meetings in 2023-24 is shown below:

Benfield 2023-24 Attendance