Governance

The Vine Schools Trust is a multi-academy trust and is the accountable body for all twenty three of its schools. Therefore, the overarching responsibility for the governance of the Trust and its schools lies with the Vine Board of Directors. They fulfil the three core functions of governance:

Ensuring clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction;
Holding executive leaders to account for the educational performance of the organisation and its pupils, and the effective and efficient performance management of staff; and
Overseeing the financial performance of the organisation and making sure its money is well spent.

To enable the Directors to fulfil their responsibility eight regional Local School Boards work on their behalf and undertake delegated local governance of between two and four schools. Community Boards in each school enable local support and provide information to enable good governance.

The key principle is that all three Boards together with Executive Leaders will provide an aspect of governance the other cannot as set out in this chart.

This model of governance is undertaken under delegated responsibility. For full details see below.

Local Governing Board

All Governors may be contacted via the school.
The school will pass on any correspondence as soon as possible after it has been received.

Chair of Governors: Marian Emuss
Contact details: marian.emuss@dcvst.org

Full Name	Category of Member	Term of office ends	Areas of responsibility / focus	Business / pecuniary interests	Relevant personal interests
Marian Emuss	Chair, appointed by Trust	31/12/2025	Chair of Local Schools Board, SEND	None	None
Mike Hope	Appointed by Trust	31/08/2024	Church school distinctiveness, Compliance	Head of Operations, Morelock Installations Ltd	None
Carrie Prior	Appointed by Trust	31/12/2025	Safeguarding	School Team Leader & Schools Advisor, Diocese of Chelmsford – not appointed as Advisor to Rivenhall Primary School or Howbridge Junior School	None
Karen Jones	Appointed by Trust	31/12/2024	Vine Trust Headteacher	Headteacher – Great Clacton Junior School	Husband – member of Mistley & St Osyth LSB
Lisa Dale	Ex-officio (Headteacher)	N/A	Headteacher – Howbridge Junior School	None	None
Rebecca More	Ex-officio (Headteacher)	N/A	Headteacher – Rivenhall Primary School	None	None
Lorna Rae-Shearing	Appointed by Trust	30/04/2025		None	None

Historic (Left within last 12 months)

Full Name	Category of Member	Term of office ends	Areas of responsibility / focus	Business / pecuniary interests	Relevant personal interests
Timothy Diaper	Chair	31/12/2020	Chair, Safeguarding	Chair of Trustees, Flitwick Baptist Church; Vice Chair of Trustees, Daylight Christian Prison Trust	None

Governor Information

LSB Attendance 2020-21

Local School Board Documents

Vine Schools Trust Board

Community Board