Governors

Governance

The Cranbourne Primary School is part of Danes Educational Trust. Danes Educational Trust Board has responsibility for the operation of the Trust, but delegates some of the responsibilities to a local level. Therefore, schools within the Trust have a School Board, comprising local Governors. The School Board holds 4 meetings per year. 

Further information about the Danes Educational Trust governance structure is available on the Trust website

To contact the Governors of The Cranbourne Primary School, please email our Chair of Governors, Rob McCarthy: chair@cranbourne.herts.sch.uk

Our governors

Rob McCarthy - Chair  |   Rebecca Bannocks  |   Lynne Bennett  | Murray Bruce  |   Emma Foxcroft  |  Beatrice Ramelle  |   Rachel Semark  |   Christina Whellams

 

 

Rebecca Bannocks

Rebecca has worked at Cranbourne as a teacher for the last seven years and currently leads on PSHE and RSE across the school. She has been a staff governor for the last year. 

Rebecca is a proud mum of two children, an avid reader of books, and she has been known to run the odd marathon. 

She loves being a teacher and finds so much joy in helping children reach their full potential. It was this motivation that led her to becoming a staff governor.

Lynne Bennett

Lynne is Assistant SENCo at Cranbourne, with a particular focus on autism and ADHD.

Lynne began her governor journey in 2014, when she was co-opted onto the Local Gpverning Body because of her interest in SEND. She is currently a staff governor and enjoys having a role in maintaining the provision and outcomes for children at Cranbourne.

Professionally, her background is in music and SEND. She is passionate about improving outcomes for children who are neurodiverse.

Murray Bruce

Murray joined the board as a Co-Opted Governor in early 2023, bringing with him expertise and experience from both the private and public sectors. Murray has over a decade of experience in teaching, training and facilitation. He is currently a teacher at a local primary school in the Borough of Broxbourne and brings the unique perspective of serving in two educational systems, having immigrated from Australia to the UK in 2016. He holds a Master of Teaching (Primary) as well as a Bachelor of Communication and a Certificate IV in Government Procurement. Previously he has held roles in training and organisational development in the insurance sector, as well as project management and intelligence analysis with the Australian Department of Defence. He is formerly a qualified Rescue Boat Driver and Beach Patrol Captain for Caves Beach Surf Life Saving Club, Australia. He is married and has two children at Cranbourne Primary.  

Emma Foxcroft

Emma has been a Parent Governor at Cranbourne since November 2018 and has a child in year 3.

She works for Hertfordshire County Council in the Growth and Environment Directorate, on Procurement and Contract Management projects. Previously she has been involved in young people’s organisations as a sports coach and youth leader. Now as a parent she is interested in how the strategic management of the school affects the day to day experience and learning for the children at Cranbourne. 

Rob McCarthy

Rob retired in 2017 after nearly 40 years of service with the UK Government’s Environment Agency as a civil engineering major projects programme manager. Projects included Channel Tunnel Rail Link, Heathrow Airport Terminal 5, Crossrail, 2012 Olympics, Thames Tideway Tunnel, along with many flood risk projects in Herts, Essex and North London, advising nationally on the management of major infrastructure projects (HS2, Nuclear Power, Northern Powerhouse). He was Area Duty Manager responsible for incident management in the region, dealing with flooding, waste fires, and radioactive incidents.

Rob was the London Regional lead for diversity and inclusion, formulating the strategy and policies, now implemented nationally. A qualified health and safety auditor, incident investigator, and investigating officer relating to disciplinary matters. A member of the Chartered Institute of Water and Environmental Management and the Chartered Management Institute.

Voluntary roles include being a governor at Roselands School (currently Chair of the School Board) and became a Trustee of The Hoddesdon School Trust on its incorporation in September 2016, scout leader in Hoddesdon, Independent Custody Visitor at Hertfordshire Police Authority, Ambassador for several children’s charities.

Rob was awarded the British Empire Medal in the Queen’s New Years Honours list 2018 for services to the Environment and the local community.

Beatrice Ramelle

Beatrice has worked in education for over 10 years as a research professional and also as a coach. As a governor, she is keen on all aspects of learning together with foreign languages that will help children enjoy their education and will help them progress further.

Rachel Semark

Rachel joined Cranbourne in 1991 after working at two other Hertfordshire schools and has been here ever since!

After a five year stint as deputy head Rachel became headteacher in January 2008. She has an absolute passion for helping children reach the highest possible standards in their learning, and for broadening their horizons by giving them experiences they may not get outside school. She has supported other schools as consultant deputy and executive headteacher, and mentors new headteachers as a Herts Professional Partner. She sits on the board of HABS (our local Family Support Worker team), is Chair of the local consortium of schools, and sits on Primary Heads' Forum which represents all headteachers in Hertfordshire. She is a Founding Fellow of the Chartered College of Teaching.

Christina Whellams

Christina became a governor in November 2018 and has one daughter at the school. She currently has the additional responsibility of safeguarding governor.

She has previously worked in higher education, is a qualified swimming instructor, and clerk for Stanstead St Margaret's Parish Council. She is pleased to be on the School Board helping to create the best educational experiences for the children,  planning the school’s long-term direction, and evaluating progress.