Trustees

Trustees are responsible for the strategic direction of the school together with oversight and assurance of the school’s educational and financial performance, while the day to day operation of the school is delegated, by the trustees, to the headteacher and the senior leadership team. All trustees are committed to our students achieving the very best outcomes.

Trustees are asked to attend six meeting per year (one per term), together with three monitoring visits. The full trustee meetings take place at the end of the school day (currently 16.00) and are either online via Teams or in person at Discovery Park, while the monitoring visits are usually scheduled to take place during the school day or soon after the close of school and arranged to the convenience of all the parties involved. There are also invitations to attend performances and presentations at the school throughout the year. 

If you are interested in becoming a trustee please use the contact details below.

To contact the trustees please write to the school or email chairoftrustees@greatoakssmallschool.co.uk.

Who we are:

Clive Best

Chair of Trustees/Health and Safety Trustee

I qualified as a teacher in 1977 with a Cert. Ed. from the University of Leeds and 1999 I graduated from the University of Kent with a B.A. (Hons.) in Studies in Education. Prior to retiring in 2015 I spent my working career as a Primary School teacher in both Kent and Oxfordshire and working with all years within Key Stage 2. During my time as a teacher, I have been responsible for Music, Mathematics and I.T. and a member of a Senior Management Team. I am currently a co-opted Governor at a Primary School in Faversham and an Infant school in Herne Bay.

Stuart Jones

Careers Trustee/GDPR/Post-16 Education

Following an Honours degree in French and German and PGCE in French and PE, I taught for 32 years at secondary schools in Broadstairs. Over 20 years were as Head of MFL department and faculty. I used to run after-school teams for cricket, rugby and hockey as well as junior sections at Broadstairs Cricket Club and Cliftonville Hockey Club. At the latter I held the position of chairman between 2004 and 2012. From 2014 - 2016 I was vice-chair of Sandwich Honfleur Twinning Association and, since 2016, have been chairman, overseeing, amongst other responsibilities, bi-ennial group trips to Honfleur and receiving group visits to Sandwich. In this period our membership has risen by over a third and stands at more than 100.

Sandra Jones

Vice Chair & Careers Trustee

In my early career I developed Day Care facilities for children of working parents and as a mature student I gained a BSC at Brunel University.

I later developed my career in the NHS, formalised organisational policies, protocols and procedures for Primary Care services. I managed the quality of services as a Commissioner and developed recovery plans to implement across the South East Coast and NW London. I was responsible also for writing the Learning Disabilities (LD) self-assessment framework (SAF) delivered contractual management and provider performance for Dental, Ophthalmic and Pharmacy services, organising stakeholder events for a variety of audiences.

In the last years of my NHS career I reviewed the annual Care Quality Commission (CQC) plans for the acute services at a strategic level and worked with GPs and Consultants on behalf of the Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCG) in London, managing contracts and transitioning services to the Intermediate and Community services.

The Community work I’m involved with in Sandwich includes Deputy Chair of the Sandwich Honfleur Twinning Association (SHTA) 2017-2018 and Secretary for the association (2018-to date).  Bi-annually we organise a visit to Sandwich for our Honfleur friends for four days.  I also support Sandwich in Bloom by participating in team gardening in the centre of Sandwich.

Daniel Friend

Finance Trustee

Dan is a local business owner and charity worker living in Sandwich with his wife Megan and their three young children. His background and expertise is senior management, finance, strategic planning and change management. His businesses focus on business and marketing, consultancy, as well as offering varied training packages and IT services.

Ian Grant

Assessment

I qualified as a Social worker in 1981 and have worked mainly in local Authority services for Children and Families. I also had a period of self-employment as a consultant / interim manager in Children’s Services.   I moved to Kent in 2012 and 

I retired from employment in 2018

My career included a wide range of management roles, including working with Child Protection, Looked after Children, and Young Offenders. Before undertaking professional training, I was a member of staff in a Girl’s Residential School and towards the end of my career, I returned to work in an Educational setting as Director of an Independent School and Fostering Project in Kent.

I am married, with 3 adult Children and 2 Grandchildren. I currently volunteer as a mentor with young people and have in the past assisted with Primary pupils attending Forest school.

Teresa Buckley

Safeguarding Trustee

September 2022 marks 50 years of my enthusiasm and passion for Education.  I have taught in several secondary schools across Kent and served on the Senior Leadership Team in three schools. In 2008 I was seconded to a Kent-based team working to raise attainment; in the same year I was appointed as a Lead Practitioner to the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust and spent time supporting teachers across the South East.

My final role before retirement was Consultant/Advisor for MoD Schools, specialising in Post 16 Education. I led and managed the Quality Assurance Assessment Centre based in HQ MoD Schools in Germany. As Quality Assurance Lead for MoD Schools, I travelled to MoD Bases around the world quality assuring the work of civilian Post 16 and adult learners working in those areas. We were ahead of our time using remote learning to reach our learners in far flung parts of the world long before the Pandemic thrust it upon our schools and training institutions across the UK.

In 2016, the Quality Assurance and Assessment Centre was selected by the Cabinet Office as a pocket of excellence within the MoD. 

I retired in 2019.

I have long been interested in school governance and have served as a governor in 5 schools – 2 being MoD Schools. My roles have included Staff Governor and Acting Chair during the Chair’s deployment to Afghanistan. On retirement, I took the job Clerk to Governors and was allocated Great Oaks Small School. On resigning my position as Clerk in July 2022, I offered my services as Trustee to this amazing little school.