** CALL FOR APPLICANTS! We are currently seeking enthusiastic, committed and open-minded individuals to join our dedicated and close-knit team as School Governors. This voluntary role is an opportunity to support the smooth running of the school. Find out more. **
Sands is a democratic school in which decisions concerning the day-to-day educational and social life of the school and its operation are taken by the school community. Within this system, the governors hold the statutory role of providing strategic oversight for the school, and of collectively serving as a ‘critical friend’ to the school. In addition, the governors are the custodians of the school’s democracy, and should ensure it is preserved, taking due consideration of the views and wishes of the school community, as expressed by the School Meeting.
The governors hold the legal responsibility for the management and operation of Sands School. Like most independent schools in the UK, Sands is a charity and a company limited by guarantee. Governors are members of the company, and, through their membership of the governing body, are collectively the legal employer of the school’s staff. Governors are appointed by the directors, and are in turn responsible for appointing the directors. The directors are both the trustees of the charity and members of the governing body.
The governors meet six times per year, including their Annual General Meeting. They receive various reports from the school at their meetings, e.g. a student report, staff report, safeguarding report and bursar’s financial report. Additional meetings are from time to time called. Governors are also expected to perform special duties such as serving on sub-committees (e.g. finance) and hearing formal complaints.
There are several areas in which governors hold particular responsibilities. They:
- Are responsible for ensuring that the school meets its legal duties as a charity, a company, an employer, and a school.
- Are the legal employer of all school staff.
- Are responsible for ensuring the sound financial management of the school.
- Approve the school’s budget, fees, and salaries.
- Play a vital role in various school procedures, such as formal complaints and staff grievances/discipline.
- Are responsible for reviewing and approving school policies.
- Must ensure that any necessary action plan is drawn up and carried out if shortcomings are identified by the Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI).
- Serve as the school’s arbiter of last resort.
There is no prescribed formula for the composition of the governing body, and individual governors may be drawn from various walks of life. In general, the governors make every effort to ensure that the board includes at least one parent governor and an appropriate balance of ex-parents, ex-students, members of the local community, and other interested individuals, with relevant expertise, skills and experience which they can contribute. Governors must be at least 16 years old, and be DBS checked.
The governors elect a Chair of Governors to oversee the administration of their work and to chair their meetings, with assistance from the Clerk to the Governors. The Chair of Governors acts as the governing body’s ‘point person’, and plays a special role in various procedures within the school, for instance in its formal complaint procedures.
The current Chair of Governors is Diarmid Mackenzie.
The governance of the school is set out in three legal documents:
There is also a summary of the main points.
Meet the team
Diarmid Mackenzie (Chair of Governors)
After a long career in telecoms technology that took him from junior software developer to various senior management roles, Diarmid has come full circle and now works as a freelance software developer, specializing in Virtual Reality and 3D Web technologies. Diarmid has five children, two of whom currently attend Sands. He has interests in Self-Directed Learning, Self-Determination Theory and Nonviolent Communication. As a governor, Diarmid has a particular interest in the use of technology at Sands, and ensuring that students with interests in this area are well-supported as they explore these interests. He also sits on the Finance Committee. Diarmid became the Chair of Governors in March 2023.
Trudi Browett (Safeguarding Governor)
After working with youth organisations as a sail training instructor, Trudi graduated from the University of Southampton as an Occupational Therapist in 2000. She went on to develop a practice that took her into community settings, hospital wards, schools, universities and prisons. Trudi is now studying for an MA in Fine Art; her research spans psychology, material exploration and the philosophy of aesthetics. She is particularly interested in the psychology of nostalgia with regard to cultural objects and identity development in children.
Trudi’s interest in child development, and her research and work with children and young adults in education settings, eventually led her to Sands School. Her family relocated to Devon in 2021 and her daughter is a happy and thriving Sands student.
Esther Daniels (School Link Governor)
Esther joined the governing body when they left Sands in 2015, and has remained close to the school. They are now a local artist working to build a more open community, in the belief that communication can solve almost anything.
Kenneth Yau (Finance Committee)
Ken has a passion for putting people first, through the practice of kindness, empathy and curiosity. In his professional life as a design director, he ensures work is informed by human-centric design principles. He also drives diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging (DEIB) initiatives. Ken takes a particular interest in coaching and mentoring people to support their personal development.
Ken has a degree in Government from the London School of Economics. He has worked at organisations of all sizes, from small start-ups to huge multi-nationals. His work so far has encompassed management consultancy, programme management, marketing and communications, user experience, service design, and people and culture.
Katherine Greenhalf (SEND Governor)
Having been a parent at Sands for several years, Katherine joined the Board of Governors in 2023 and is working with the SEND team in developing their policies and practices. Katherine has a degree in Primary Education with Qualified Teacher Status and has worked with children and young people in a variety of mainstream, alternative, home ed and SEND settings over the course of her career. Katherine first became aware of Sands when looking for secondary schools for her three children. As a parent of the school, she saw for herself the profoundly positive impact that being respected and allowed freedom, responsibility and autonomy over their school life had on her children. This strengthened Katherine’s belief in the importance of democratic and rights-respecting education and is she is delighted to have the opportunity to support Sands School as a governor.
Huw Morgan (Health and Safety Governor)
Huw spent 19 years as a member of staff at Sands, taking on a range of responsibilities including teaching, safeguarding, HR, DofE, and lots more as all staff at Sands do. He left in 2022 to concentrate on raising his young family.
For nearly 2 years he worked close to home in tree surgery conducting risk assessments and planning work, and on a care farm with adults and young people with learning difficulties. In 2024 he set off along a new career path with the MoD, and has chosen to use his extensive experience of Sands and the knowledge he gained since leaving to support the school by joining the governing body.
Huw is now the appointed governor for Health and Safety, casting a keen eye on the schools policies and procedures to support compliance, above all making sure that everyone is as safe and happy as possible.