Governors

The governors remain committed to raising standards of learning and we are grateful to parents for ensuring that our school community remains well behaved and eager to learn.

We are all part of the team, governors, staff, children and parents and together we will continue to be a “good” school and a happy community.

Majid Waris
Chair of Governors

 

Our next full Governing Board Meeting is November 2025

If you are interested in becoming a school governor please contact Mr Archer or Majid Waris at school for more information.

Link Governor Roles

Safeguarding	Majid Waris
Health & Safety	Lisa Shaw
Curriculum	Lee Smith
SEND	Chris Drury
RSE & PSHE	Lisa Shaw
Behaviour & Attendance	Beth Hill
Additional Funding	Rumman Ahmed
Early Years	Iris Tallett

 

Our governors are committed to supporting our school and are listed below:

Details of Governing Board 2024-2025

Details of Governing Board 2025-2026

Register of Interests 2025-2026

 

For more information on what is involved with being a governor check out the National Governors Association at http://www.nga.org.uk/Home.aspx or Staffordshire Governors Association at http://www.staffsga.org.uk/ 

 

Meet your Governors

Name: Majid Waris (Chair of Governors)

A bit about me:

Born and bred in Burton, as a local ‘lad’, I attended Christ Church as a student many decades ago! I then attended a Anglesey Junior School (at the time) before attending Paget High School for my secondary education and then going on to university to attain my Law degree.

Although I have lived in different parts of the UK for education and work, I have always considered Burton as my home, and I still live here.

I have been self-employed most of my working life I have run my own business as a Managing Director of an international Risk Management Consultancy for the last 15 years. I have been fortunate enough to have worked internationally on one of the world’s prestigious projects in the Middle East, addition to household brands as clients in the UK.

I also actively participate in social and charitable community initiatives and I am the co-founder of Humanity Unites CIC; a local food bank and soup kitchen which has been running for around 8 years. In addition to the above, I am often invited as a speaker at business networking events, radio shows, podcasts and charity fundraisers on TV.

Why I became a Governor:

I first became a Governor in 2011 when my eldest son joined Christ Church nursery. I feel it is important to give back to a community which has given us so much over the years, hence, I felt it be a good idea to start with the very first establishment of my academic journey.

 

Name: Miss Bethany Hill

A bit about me: I am proud to be staff governor, English lead and a Year 5 class teacher at Christ Church. This is my seventh year working at Christ Church and it has been a pleasure to become a part of such a welcoming, warm community. I have a passion for books and adore getting to share this excitement with the children, helping them to develop a life-long love of reading. I am particularly proud of our brand-new school library project and opening this with our children. In my spare time, I love going to the theatre, going on walks in nature and watching a good Disney film!

Why I became a Governor: I became a governor in order to help have the biggest positive impact I could on the children’s whole experience at Christ Church. It is fantastic to be involved in reviewing, planning and target setting that have a whole-school impact.

 

Name: Rev Chris Drury

A bit about me:

I am the minister of Burton Elim Church, the big church next door to the school.  Christchurch School was originally built in 1844 as part of our church, and although Christchurch has been modernised over the years and is no longer a church school, I am proud to be able to continue to offer an ongoing community link by volunteering as a Governor. Before moving to become the minister of the church in 2022, I worked as a Senior Manager in a National Charity helping to rehabilitate high risk offenders leaving prison and secure hospital with complex behavioural and mental health needs. This included being a CQC Registered Manager overseeing specialist care homes across the country, working to improve performance and deliver high-quality person-centred support that changed lives and kept people safe.

Why I became a Governor:

I became a link Governor in 2023 and have had the privilege of supporting Christchurch in a number of ways – from welcoming children from KS1 to our building for the annual Harvest Service, through to organising puppet teams or Y6 experience visits. I am now the link Governor for SEN at Christchurch and having a family member with significant additional needs I am keen to support the incredible team we have at Christchurch to make sure that no one misses out on opportunities due to needing additional support.  As the minister of a thriving church with a large children and families work, we are very aware of the challenges facing parents and children in our community because of additional needs, having adapted our own work as a church to include SEN children within what we do.  We are also aware of the challenge facing parents and the incredible pressures they are under and have been developing peer support for parents as a result.  I believe what our team do at Christchurch is amazing and I am keen to make sure that the voice of parents and children is heard and represented within our SEN provision so that we continue to offer your children the opportunity to be the best they can be.

 

Name: Lisa Shaw

A bit about me:

Full-time Teaching Assistant, Senior lunchtime Supervisor and Mum of three. I enjoy being outdoors and going for long walks. Autumn is my favourite time of year: I just love the variety of colours on the trees! I also like watching films, playing computer games and reading.

Why I became a Governor:

I used to work in the Governance Support Unit at Queen’s Hospital, Burton, where I analysed clinical incidents, carried out risk assessments and helped to create and audit policies. I also taught staff about clinical risk and health and safety. I made the decision to have a career break and start a family in 2010. When my eldest daughter started at Christ Church in 2013, I became involved in the school through the PTFA, which I have also enjoyed. Two years later, the school was looking for Parent Governors and with my governance background and love for the school I thought it was a natural next step. I have now been a governor for 10 years and I enjoy helping to set the strategic direction for the school, our meetings are very welcoming, friendly environments and every voice is as important and is heard. I am no longer a Parent Governor as my children have now left Christ Church, but I am a Staff Governor now which means I am a voice for our amazing staff team at school. It is truly an honourable and privileged position to be a governor; one I urge anyone to consider.

What is a School Governor?

A school governor can be anyone! A Parent, a business person, a member of the local community, anyone. People volunteer to be a Governor and can be elected on to the schools governing board.

The role of a Governor is, with the Headteacher and Senior leadership team, to set the school’s vision, aims and objectives, approve the school budget, drive strategic development, raise standards of achievement and appoint the Headteacher. They provide an oversight and accountability, but don’t get involved in the day-to-day management of the school.

Meetings are held every half term and there we review what has been happening with the curriculum, the school’s finances, Health and Safety, achievements etc and challenge or question where we can improve. They also meet with subject leads to see what is currently being taught or what is planned for the future.

If this is something you would like to get involved in, please do get in touch. We place adverts on our school website for these roles and welcome applications.