How Ark's governance works
Every school in the Ark network is the legal responsibility of the Ark Schools Board. This board focuses on statutory duties and delegates most day-to-day responsibilities to each school’s individual Local Governing Body (LGB).
This means that our Academy's governors are able to concentrate on the things that really matter – educational strategy, school outcomes and aspiration.
The Ark Schools Decision Making Framework outlines where responsibility and accountability sits for the key functional areas within Ark Schools between the ‘tiers’ of governance.
Our Local Governing Body
Our Local Governing Body (LGB) is made up of 6-10 members – usually people with a local connection or interest who are committed to supporting educational opportunity in the area. The board generally includes:
- Academy Principal
- Up to two Parent Governors
- One Teaching Staff Governor
- One Non-teaching Staff Governor
- One Local Authority representative
We aim to create a balanced group that will have the right skills, connections and dynamic for the LGB to work well and support the school in achieving exceptional performance. Attributes we look for include:
- Good insight into the specific challenges at the school and the general challenges of operating top-quality schools
- Excellent community links
- Specific skills as needed by/relevant to the school
- A link to the senior executive team of Ark Schools
All appointments are made by the Director of Governance for Ark Schools. The term of a governor is three years, except for the Principal, who remains a governor for the duration of his or her time in post. Governors may be reappointed for further terms.
The LGB meets four times a year.
Becoming a governor
If you have an interest and commitment to improving education, and would like to make a difference within your community, please register your interest in becoming a governor by completing our online Governor Application Form. If you have any questions about a governor’s role or responsibilities please contact us at governance.team@arkonline.org
A full programme of induction, training and support is provided. You can see more information, including role specifications here.
Contacting the governors
The current Clerk to Governors is Cathi Hughes (Catherine.Hughes@arkonline.org). Please contact them if you have any governance-related queries, or would like to contact one of the governors.
Our Governors
Alison Cabot
Since 2011, Alison has served as Co-Chair of the Thomas's Schools Foundation, a volunteer-run, charitable organisation that provides educational and extracurricular opportunities for primary–school aged children in London through partnerships with local primary schools and community organisations. Prior to TSF, she worked in senior management in e-commerce and book publishing. Alison is passionate about improving education of young people, working with the local community and to providing opportunities to build self esteem and life skills.
Jennifer Bowers
Jennifer became a parent of Ark Conway in 2021 and felt immediately welcomed into the school community. Jennifer was struck in particular by the enthusiasm of the school to encourage a sense of pride, embed the values and encourage each child's hopes and aspirations. As a parent governor, Jennifer is passionate about helping the school continue to inspire every child and offer them opportunities to find that thing that makes their heart sing. A solicitor with extensive UK and international experience, Jennifer is currently General Counsel at company using technology to support mental healthcare solutions.
Jye Harris
Jye works at an asset management firm based in London. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Economics from University College London and currently lives in South London. As the son, grandson and nephew of teachers Jye is passionate about education and is a supporter of a number of charities including Papyrus & The Connection at St Martins in the Fields and Movember!
Conor Kiernan
As Chief Technology Officer for the London-headquartered alternative asset manager Marshall Wace, Conor is responsible for the architectural oversight and strategic direction of their global technology platform and operational infrastructure. Conor holds a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science and Applied Mathematics from the University at Albany, State University of New York (2002).
Camilla Sandberg
Milly has 3 children in their twenties, one of whom has dyslexia. In 1992 she qualified and worked as a Montessori teacher. In 2004 she completed the Hornsby Diploma in SpLD as she found working with children with specific difficulties extremely rewarding. She worked as an SEN teacher at Prospect House School from 2005 to early 2013. Throughout this time she also worked after school with children with a diagnostic report from an Educational Psychologist. After she left Prospect House, Milly continued to work with children from nearby schools. She was delighted when she was asked if she was interested in becoming a SEN governor at an ARK school. As a parent of a dyslexic child and a teacher of SEN children for 15 years, she is very keen to contribute the process of SEN children within the ARK school realising and achieving their potential.
Sankar Nishaad M Sankarasubramony
Sankar is currently leading product and technology in the Alexa Shopping Ads division. He joined Amazon after a 15-year stint in technology consulting, creating innovative solutions and strategy for multiple Fortune 500 clients. He has an engineering degree from India and has lived and worked in 4 continents, meeting people from diverse backgrounds. He has been a part of the Red Cross chapter in the US and multiple philanthropic initiatives in India. He is passionate about technology and loves traveling. He strongly believes that having the right attitude towards education is essential for success in a competitive world.
Alex Spencer
Alex is currently training to become a barrister, having previously worked as a tax advisor for six years. During that time, Alex also served on the governing body of a school in Newham, as both Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) Inclusion and subsequently Safeguarding link governor. Alex currently also volunteers for a charity which advises parents and young people on SEND law. Alex has recently moved to West London and has become a governor to contribute to the community he is newly a part of.
Kanishk Walia
Kanishk Walia is an investor in early stage technology companies across Europe, assisting these companies and their management teams with strategic direction and advice on day to day operations, board creation and stakeholder management, fundraising and expansion plans amongst other topics.He has prior entrepreneurial experience as a founder of a technology business having developed and sold software, raised capital and hired a team as well as experience in the financial services profession, having worked in corporate finance, advising corporates and SMEs across the UK on their capital raising and acquisition strategies. Kanishk holds a Bachelors degree in Economics from the London School of Economics and Political Science.