Our Governing Body

Springwell Lincolnshire Governing Body

Springwell Lincolnshire joined Wellspring Academy Trust in April 2017 and is proud to be part of a wider community of schools serving local communities and their interests. There is a single governing body for all four schools within the Springwell Lincolnshire  partnership, covering the alternative provision sites at Spalding, Grantham, Mablethorpe and Lincoln.

Our governing body has three key roles:

  • in consultation with the Trust, we decide the vision, ethos and strategic direction of the Academy
  • we hold the Executive Principal and her senior staff to account for the educational performance of the school and its pupils, helping to ensure that all of our pupils are given the opportunity to thrive, and
  • we oversee the financial performance of the school to ensure that money is well spent.

 

Details of our current governors are set out below. Our governors have a wide range of background, skills and experience which they bring to the governing body and work closely with the Executive Principal and senior leaders, who are responsible for the running of the Academy. The Executive Principal is accountable to governors for how she does this and frequently reports and consults with governors about this.

 

Governors meet several times a year to look at all aspects of the life and work of the school. All of our governors are linked to one of our sites and visit regularly to ensure that things are working as they should and your child will recognise our governors from school celebrations. In addition, many of the governors are linked with specific aspects of school life and make regular reports to the rest of the governors.

 

If you are interested in finding out more about becoming a governor, please contact our Governance Professional, Melanie Gibbons, on 07729 105871 or by emailing her at m.gibbons@wellspringacademies.org.uk. We currently have vacancies for a parent governor and Trust-appointed governors.

 

Our Chair of Governors is David Reed and he can be contacted via the Governance Professional as above or by writing to:

David Reed

℅ Springwell Alternative Academy Lincoln

Macauley Drive

Lincoln LN2 4EN

 

 

Meet the Governors

 

David Reed MBE

Chair of Governors

Trust-Appointed Governor

Term of office

21/05/2020 – 20/05/2024

 

  

I have had a varied career before arriving at Springwell. I studied English at University before joining the Army (in the Royal Engineers). I then spent nearly 30 years in the Metropolitan Police in various operational roles. I finished by leading several change programmes aimed at modernising policing in London.

In 2019, I moved to Lincoln and started work as a project manager for the NHS (supporting Palliative & End of Life care) and then with the Kisimul group (supporting Adults with complex learning disabilities and Autism). I am married to Louise with two grown up children and two dachshunds (who

passionately believe that they are really in charge.)

I am a Link Governor for Leadership and Management.

Louise Ballantine

Parent Governor

Term of office

28/02/2023 – 28/02/2027

 

  My name is Louise and I live in Billinghay with my partner and 2 boys aged 12 and 10. We moved up from Buckinghamshire 7 years ago. I am currently studying at college to become an occupational therapist specialising in sensory integration. I have 2 boys who both have additional needs, with the youngest attending Springwell in Lincoln. I decided to become a parent governor due to my youngest having a long stay placement there of 4 years. I wanted to give back to the school after offering my son a permanent place. I also wanted to bring my background of over 20yrs in the care sector working with vulnerable adults and children. Like everything I put my mind to, I always give it my all and being a parent governor will be no different. I am a Link Governor for Safeguarding and SEND.

 

Andrew Harrison

Vice Chair

Trust-Appointed Governor

Term of office

28/02/2023 – 28/02/2027

 

 

  

I am married to Pam, our son Sam lives in Sheffield, we also have a Jack Russell, Jessie and a Ferret, Daphne. I am an Engineering Services Manager for BOC based in Lincolnshire. My role encompasses; project management and execution, Capex management, engineering standards with best practice, and interfacing with external regulatory bodies e.g. HSE. My interests are; fishing, archery (coaching), running (slowly) and playing the ukulele (badly).

My interest and involvement with schools started when I became a parent governor for a Lincolnshire grammar. I was the chair of the finance and estates committee for several years before becoming the chair of the governing body for 3 years. I am still a member of this Trust.  I am also a Governor at Coomb Briggs Primary Academy in Immingham, which is another school within Wellspring Academy Trust.

At Springwell Lincolnshire, I am a Link Governor for Finance, Standards and Quality of Curriculum.

 

Alison Gordon

Staff Governor

Term of office

08/07/2021 – 08/07/2025

 

  

I have over 10 years experience working with SEMH needs within the education sector and I am an intervention learning practitioner at Springwell Alternative Academy in Lincoln. I am passionate about finding the right interventions and sensory needs to help the pupils I work with and strive to make a difference with the team I work with. I am a Link Governor for SEND, Behaviour and Attendance.

Dr Mark Trout

Trust-Appointed Governor

Term of office

08/10/2024 – 08/10/2028

 

 I am now retired after a career that started with working as a fire-fighter. However, following an injury on duty with West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service, it took me via academia to the oil industry. After the Fire service I got a BSc in Geological Sciences (University of Leeds), an MSc in micropalaeontology (University of Sheffield) and a PhD in geological processes (University of Leeds). After briefly working in the civil service between my undergraduate and postgraduate degrees, I also taught at the University of Leeds, before moving into geological consultancy in the oil industry.  I then worked as a principal geologist for a number of international oil companies in the U.K., North America and the Middle East. I retired from hydrocarbon exploration as a consequence of a prolonged medical condition that led to cancer and culminated in an organ transplant.

 

I have always had an interest in education, firstly as a parent to two sons but also because it  provided me with the opportunity to have another chance of a career following my injury (in the fire service).  It is because of this that I applied to become a governor with a view to giving something back into a system that gave so much me.

I am a Link Governor for Careers.

Katy Marshall

Trust-Appointed Governor

Term of office

08/10/2024 – 08/10/2028

 I work full time for the NHS and have spent most of my career to date within the public sector.  With a background of organisational development, transformation and leadership, I have experience in leadership development, change management, developing cultures, and enhancing wellbeing, I am also a qualified Executive Coach and Action Learning Set Facilitator.  My driver is to support people, teams and organisations to be the best version of themselves and I am committed to creating kinder workplaces.

Having lived in Lincolnshire for the majority of my life, I am passionate about using my skills and experience to give back to the community, in addition to my paid role within the health sector.  I understand the importance of education in the future of our society and see how education, health and social care continuously work together to enhance the lives of children and young people. I am a Link Governor for Behaviour and Attendance.

 
 

David Manning

Trust-Appointed Governor

Term of office

08/10/2024 – 08/10/2028

  

 

I am a data scientist working in a human resources department and I have degrees in mathematics and statistics. My career has involved various data-related projects and change management initiatives. Although I don’t have a personal connection to Springwell Lincolnshire, I am passionate about education and looking forward to using my expertise to support the school’s mission and continuing success as a governor.

I am a Link Governor for Finance.

Robert Simpson

Staff Governor

Term of office

08/10/2024-08/10/2028

 

  

 

Married with 3 daughters, served in the British Army for over 23 years in varying roles, left in 2012, I have been employed in various sectors…including teaching in Further Education, and managing the National Citizen Service across the East of England. Hobbies include playing Cricket and reading, I studied at the University of Salford, gaining a Masters in Terrorism and Security.

 

I am a Link Governor for Safeguarding.

 

Josh Greaves

Ex Officio governor

Trust Representative

 I am Wellspring’s Deputy CEO and contribute to Springwell Lincolnshire’s Governing Body in an ex-officio capacity.  I  have previously enjoyed leadership roles in both mainstream and special schools / Trusts. I have volunteered extensively in both the Academy and other charitable sectors.  Alongside my passion for education, I am active in grassroots community projects which aim to disrupt social barriers, nurture ambition and improve lives.

I hold an MBA, a bachelor’s degree in politics, the Advanced Diploma in School Business Management and I am a PRINCE2 Project Management Practitioner.  Outside professional and voluntary work, I enjoy spending time outdoors where my love of cycling is not quite matched by my ability.
 

 

Lisa Ashcroft

Executive Principal

Ex Officio governor

 I completed my teaching qualification at Loughborough University in 2002 and became an Advanced Skills Teacher within my first 2 years of teaching. I moved from subject leadership to become Head of KS4 in a large secondary school where I was responsible for pastoral care as well as pupil outcomes. Being passionate about supporting pupils to overcome barriers to learning, I completed my National SENDCo Award through Northampton University. Having gained my SENDCo qualification I was promoted to a senior leadership role to develop inclusive practice across the school. I made the move from mainstream to work in AP as Executive Vice Principal in 2016 and have gained valuable experience of working with vulnerable children and young people with SEMH needs. I led the opening of two new AP Free Schools in Lincoln and Mablethorpe and have worked closely with Lincolnshire Local Authority to deliver the AP strand of the Lincolnshire Ladder of Behaviour Intervention. In January 2021, I became Executive Principal across all four Springwell Lincolnshire schools and since that time, three of the four schools have welcomed Ofsted in for their first official Inspections, securing two Good ratings, and one Outstanding. I sit on the Governing Body in an ex-officio capacity.

 

 

Governing Body Meetings 2024-25

This year’s meetings will be held virtually on the following dates at 4.30pm:

  • 8th October 2024
  • 26th November 2024
  • 11th February 2025
  • 29th April 2025
  • 24th June 2025

 

Minutes of Governing Body meetings are available on request from the Governance Professional, Melanie Gibbons: m.gibbons@wellspringacademies.org.uk

 

Please click on the links below for a summary of attendance at meetings for 2022-23 and 2023-24  and details of governors’ pecuniary and business interests for the last two years.

 

Springwell Lincs LGB Attendance Summary 2022-23

Springwell Lincs LGB Attendance Summary 2023-24

Summary of Springwell Lincolnshire LGB Declarations of Interest 2022-23

Summary of Springwell Lincolnshire LGB Declarations of Interest 2023-24