Meet Our Governors
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Local Authority Governor & Chair of Governors
I started my working life as a community worker. Thereafter, I worked as a social worker. From 1996, I worked as an area manager for Children’s Services, commissioning and developing programmes to benefit children, and managing budgets and staff.
In 1994, I took a Master’s degree in Child Protection (Safeguarding), which included three years of clinical work with families at the Tavistock Centre in London. I have trained a variety of professionals in safeguarding, from hospital doctors and GPs to teachers, student teachers, and nursery nurses.
I have been a governor since 2006 and was elected to the role of chair in 2012. Before I moved to Dent, I was on the governing body of a lower school in Bedford and, for four years, chair of that body.
I am married with three children, two stepchildren, and seven grandchildren. In my spare time, I enjoy spending time with my family and friends. I am a member of a book club and a voluntary car driver. I also enjoy dining out and gardening.
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Foundation Governor
I moved to Dentdale two years ago with my husband. We have enjoyed becoming active members of St Andrew’s church.
I graduated from Royal Holloway College, London, in Chemistry. I did a PGCE at Warwick University specialising in Secondary Science. Following this I taught in an 11 – 18 comprehensive school in Leamington Spa followed by 2 years in an independent girl’s school.
I was a supply teacher in a number of schools in Wells, Glastonbury and Street and continued to bring up our three children. During this time, I took a part time RSA Diploma in Specific Learning Difficulties.
At Wells Cathedral School, I taught Maths to year 9 and gave 1:1 help with dyslexic students. I also set up some small groups in Maths in the junior school, helping children who were falling behind. I was also asked to re-write the RS course for years 3, 4 & 5. This important challenge involved working with the diocesan education department, which I found stimulating. I subsequently taught RS for 3 years.
My last professional post was Head of Learning Support at Downside School near Bath, teaching year 5 to year 13 on a 1:1 basis with pupils having a variety of additional needs.
Having retired, I now spend my time gardening, reading, sewing & knitting. I am a member of Cumbria Wildlife, I enjoy walking and Scottish country dancing.
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Foundation Governor
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Foundation Governor
In January 2025 Ben began working as the Children Youth and Families Worker for the Western Dales Mission Community. Prior to this he was a primary school teacher for twenty years, working for nine years in Cumbria and eleven in Lancaster. He continues to work one day a week as SENDCO for two small schools in the north of Lancashire.
Ben grew up in Sedbergh where his parents ran the Post Office, he has many happy memories of helping to deliver the mail as a child around Dent and Cowgill. Ben went to school at Sedbergh Primary and then Settlebeck before transferring to sixth form in Kendal and training as a teacher at St Martin’s College, Ambleside.
Ben has lived in Sedbergh almost all his life and has always been involved in the life of the churches in our locality, especially in children and youth work. Therefore he was delighted to be appointed to his current role for the Mission Community and since starting has really enjoyed getting to know the children, staff and families of Dent School.
Outside of work Ben enjoy exploring the country with his little caravan and has a dog called Danny who enjoys taking him for walks!
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Headteacher
Emma Farrell started her Headship at Dent Primary in January 2026.
She has come full circle, as she undertook her teacher training placement here in 2017 and feels it is an honour to return to where her teaching career began.
Emma is an experienced teacher and leader, having taught all age-groups, including leading the Nursery at St Mary’s Catholic Primary school in Ulverston. Emma specialises in music and has started to run our all-new ukulele club in school.
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Staff Governor
Lisa and her husband moved from Boston, Massachusetts to Dent in the summer of 2023 and instantly became involved in the community. Prior to moving to the UK, she worked for 16 years in higher education at one of the most diverse universities in the US, where she was an Assistant Dean in the Honors College, where her duties included managing the budget and other operational tasks, advising students about their academic plans, and teaching a course on memoir. Lisa currently works in the Dent Primary School as the Midday Supervisor, as well helping in the nursery. She hopes to utilize her experience in education and her organizational and practical skills in her position as staff governor.
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Ex-Officio Foundation Governor
I am very glad to be able to serve as a foundation governor for the school. As the Vicar of St Andrew’s Dent, I aim to encourage the school in its Christian ethos, as being a place of learning, hospitality, and generosity. Dent Primary School is a place where each pupil is encouraged to learn, grow, and discover their place in this wonderful world, and I am glad to be able to support this.
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Parent Governor
Mark has worked in secondary and further education for nearly 20 years, with much of that time spent as Network Manager at a local college, supporting the technology that underpins teaching, learning, and day-to-day operations. He now works as an IT consultant within the education sector, while also supporting his father on the family farm.
Having attended Dent School himself as a child, Mark is delighted to have returned to the village with his own family. His child now attends the school, and he is pleased to have the opportunity to support the school community as a governor.
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Foundation Governor
Katie is a Rural Practice Chartered Surveyor specialising in Estate Management in the North West of England.
She lives in Dentfoot on the family beef and sheep farm along with her husband, David, and their two young daughters.
Katie’s background is in farming and following leaving Harper Adams University moved back home to the Lune Valley to work in mixed rural practice.
In 2015 Katie moved to Dent when she married her husband and finished her MRICS qualification to become a qualified Chartered Surveyor.
Katie joins the Governing Board as a Foundation Governor.
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Foundation Governor
We currently have one vacancy for a Foundation Governor. If you are interested in becoming a Foundation Governor, please speak to the Chair of the PCC/Andy Burgess.
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Foundation Governor
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Parent Governor
Hello, my name is Harvie, and I moved to Dentdale eight years ago in pursuit of the ‘good life’! I spend my time looking after my three children and a small collection of animals, while also attempting to bake bread, keep bees and grow anything other than weeds.
Professionally, I hold a degree in psychology, a postgraduate diploma in counselling, and a master’s in psychotherapy. I have spent the last two decades working predominantly in primary schools, helping children, parents and teachers across the North West. I hope to bring my experience, enthusiasm and positivity to the role, as I am acutely aware of how important Dent Primary School is to our lovely community.
Recent Governors:
Mandy Robinson, Staff Governor - Term of office expired October 2025
Helen Corpe, Foundation Governor - Term of office expired October 2025
Andy Allison, Parent Governor - Term of office expired September 2025
James Fraser, Parent Governor - Resigned summer term 2025.
Governor Information
The Governing Board of Dent C of E VA Primary School has three core functions:
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 performance management of staff, and
Overseeing the financial performance of the organisation and making sure its money is well-spent.
The constitution of our school’s Governing Board is as follows:
2 Parent Governors
1 Local Authority Governor
1 Head Teacher
1 Staff Governor
7 Foundation Governors.
The terms of office for all governors is 4 years, except for when a governor is a governor by virtue of their position (Ex-officio), i.e. the Head Teacher and the Vicar.
Foundation Governors are appointed by the Diocese of Carlisle.
Parent Governors are elected by parents for a fixed term of 4 years. Parents are advised in writing when a vacancy for a Parent Governor arises. This could be because a Governor completes their term of office or because they stand down. Full details of the eligibility criteria and the process for nominations and any election are provided at the time.
Local Authority Governors (L.A. Governors) are nominated by the Local Authority and appointed by the governing board.
Staff Governors are members of the School staff who are elected by the staffing body (both teaching and non-teaching).
Associate members are appointed by the governing board to help or advise on a specific matter (recent associate members have been appointed to assist with health-related matters during the Covid pandemic). Associate members do not have voting rights at governing board level (because they are not a governor). However associate members can be appointed to committees and the governing board can delegate them voting rights at committee level.
We currently have vacancies for Foundation Governors. If you are interested in becoming a Foundation Governor, please speak to the Chair of the PCC/Andy Burgess.
Governing Board Committees
Download the Dent Primary CE School – Education committee TOR 2024-25 – Signed
The Education Committee:
Diana Bucknall (Chair), Emma Farrell, Kate Cairns, Ben Maunder and Mark Woof.
Download the Dent CE Primary School – Resources Committee TOR 2024-25 – Signed
The Resources Committee:
Mark Woof (Chair), Emma Farrell, Kate Cairns and Katie Hunter.
Dent CE Primary School - Governor Attendance Records 2024-25
Dent CE Primary School - Governor Statutory Information 2025 - 2026
Dent CE Primary School - Governing Board Register of Interests 2025 - 2026