Trustees and Members

Meet the Trustees and Members

Graveney Primary School became an Academy February 2012. We are Single Academy within a Multi Academy Trust (MAT). Our governing body consist of the Headteacher, 3 x Co-opted Trustees, 3 x Parent Trustees and 1 x Staff Trustee.

Name	Appointed by	Date of Appointment Terms of Office
Mr Andrew Bowles	Member	01-02-2016
Mr Barry Snashall	Member	02.09.2019
Mrs Mary Hewitt	Member	01-10-2020
Dr Rina Kreitman	Member	05-02-2024
Mr Charles Rumsey	Member	05-02-2024 07.10.24
Mrs Alison Blackwell	Head Teacher, Accounting Officer	05.09.2016 14.05.2028
Mrs Dreena Knibbs	Trustee (Staff)	28-03-2016 28-03-2028
Mr Martin Wicks (Vice Chair)	Trustee (Co-opted)	02.09.2019 02.09.2027
Dr Timothy Thomas (Chair)	Trustee (Parent)	22.09.2022 07.10.2028
Mr Charles Rumsey	Trustee (Co-opted)	02.09.2022 02.09.2026
Mrs Carla Hodgson	Trustee (Parent)	16.06.2023 16.06.2027
Mr Samuel Bishop	Trustee	05.02.2024 05.02.2028
Mr Leon Robichaud	Trustee	05.02.2024 05.02.2028
Vacancy

Trustees who have resigned in the last 12 months:

Sarah Jefferys resigned as Parent Trustee 31/07/2023
Mart Hewitt resigned as Co-opted Trustee 31/08/2023
Shannan Jackson resigned as Co-opted Trustee 10.09.2024

Members & the Board of Trustees of Graveney Primary School

Andrew Bowles (Member)

I was born and brought up in Graveney and my children attended Graveney School. I became a Local Authority Governor in 1980 after playing a leading role in opposing a County Council proposal to close the school, as it had less than 20 pupils on role. I am a member of Swale Borough Council and KCC. I no longer sit on the Board as a Governor but remain a Member.

Barry Snashall (Member)

I have lived in the Whitstable area for several decades. After 11 years as a parent Governor I am pleased to say I love the job so much I am staying on. As an Accountant and software specialist I feel I bring skills to the board which ensure we remain strategic in our role within Graveney and ensure we are helping the pupils to strive for their very best. When not working, Cricket, rugby and the family keep me quite busy and entertained.

Mary Hewitt (Member)

I have lived in Faversham for well over 30 years and began my teaching career in a girls’ secondary school in Sittingbourne. Following the births of my children I retrained as a primary teacher and went on to serve as Headteacher in two different Kent Schools. I retired from my post at the end of December 2016, I have been chair of governors at Graveney School, I now look forward to my new role as a member of this board.

Alison Blackwell (Headteacher)

I am the Headteacher of Graveney Primary and started teaching in 2001. I have had experience teaching across the primary years and also in a special school. I live in the Medway towns with my family and many pets, my Chihuahuas regularly join me in school. I enjoy gardening and have been known to knit the occasional item. I love working here in Graveney and have a fantastic team of staff.

Dreena Knibbs

I have been associated with Graveney since 1986 when my children began school.
They have now grown up and moved on and I am still here. I am currently the staff governor; I have completed my AAT technician and my diploma of school business management. I have been a governor here for a number of years in various different roles.

Martin Wicks (Vice Chair)

I moved to Faversham 15 years ago and have two children in a local primary school. As a Chartered Accountant with a background in both Internal and External Audit in the public and private sectors I bring strong financial scrutiny to the Board of Governors along with a real passion to ensure the children get the very best from their primary school education.

Dr Tim Thomas (Chair)

Having grown up in Lancashire, I left the North West to attend university in Cardiff and Oxford. After graduating, I resided in London for several years, and then spent nine years living and working in Vancouver, Canada. Subsequently, I spent almost four years living in New York City where my oldest son, Alexander was born. Since moving back to the UK, we have had another son, Edward, and both our boys now attend Graveney Primary School. We moved to the area when my wife accepted an academic position at University of Kent, and I now work as the Chief Copywriter for an international company with their base in London. We are loving the location and attendant lifestyle Kent has to offer and our sons are thoroughly enjoying their new school. I am delighted to join the existing members on the school board and hope to offer positive support and efficacious contributions whenever, and in whatever capacity I am able.

Charles Rumsey

While I have only very recently moved to Whitstable, accepting a role as Trustee at Graveney is both a privilege and an opportunity to support my local community. I am a lawyer in the Government Legal Department and so I have a particular interest in supporting the governance and compliance functions of the Graveney board.

Carla Hodgson

I have lived in Faversham for the last 13 years having grown up in Hastings. My older son attended Graveney Primary school and my youngest is currently at the school. My children have had a really positive experience at the school and enjoyed their time there. I really value education and recognise that parents and carers have a large role to play in supporting their children to be happy and achieve as much as possible. Working together with the school is key to achieving positive outcomes.

I am a social worker and have extensive experience in safeguarding and working with children and families.

Rina Kreitman (Member)

I came to Kent in 2022, when our family moved from Wales, having lived in Wales for six years. Prior to that, we lived in New York City, where I taught at Columbia University. I am a linguist by nature and by training, and you will often see me engage in conversations about language and its use. I am also passionate about education and hope to be able to contribute to conversations about the merits of a range of educational approaches.

Leon Robichaud

I moved to Faversham in 2023 and my youngest two children are at Graveney Primary School. I have worked in education for almost 20 years, 10 of which I have been a headteacher. I am passionate about giving all children the best possible School experience and I hope to be able to help the staff and children of Graveney in any way I can. Having been raised in Canada I am also a big Ice Hockey fan and I like to Skateboard (badly) in my spare time.

Record of Business and Pecuniary Interests (including governance roles in other educational establishments)

Governor Monitoring Pairs

Funding Agreement, Memorandum and Articles of Association

Governor Attendance 2022-23

The Trustees of Graveney Primary School met on the following dates:

Name	09.10.23	04.12.23	05.02.24	11.3.24	13.5.24	15.7.24
Alison Blackwell	P	P	P	P	P	P
Charles Rumsey	P	P	P	P	P	P
Martin Wicks	A	P	P	P	P	P
Dreena Knibbs	P	P	P	P	P	P
Tim Thomas	P	P	P	P	P	P
Carla Hodgson	P	P	P	P	A	P
Samuel Bishop			A	P	A	A
Leon Robichaud				P	P	A
Shannan Jackson					P	P

P - Present

A - Apologies accepted

Ab - Absent (No apologies received)

The Members of Graveney Primary School met in January 2024.

Trustees and Members

Meet the Trustees and Members

Name

Appointed by

Date of Appointment

Terms of Office