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 Cathi if you have any governance-related queries, or would like to contact one of the governors.
Our Governors
Tina Alexandrou
Tina Alexandrou is Chair of the Ark Schools Board and currently undertakes a number of trustee roles within the Third Sector, including Clore Social Leadership and Pilotlight, an organisation that brings together business people to work with small to medium sized charities to help them develop their strategic and business plans. Tina was involved in the formation of the Resolution Foundation and is now a Trustee; the Resolution Foundation is an independent research and policy organisation whose focus is to improve living standards for the 15 million people in Britain on low and middle incomes. Prior to working in this sector her career was spent in the banking and insurance industry. Tina lives in Fulham and is keen to continue to be involved in the local community.
Tanika Cato
Tanika Cato is a Production Specialist/Producer with over 7 years experience, who has proven experience in Digital Production, Talent Management, and Campaign Execution. She has led on key projects and believes in the power of storytelling, creating strong content and always looking out for commercial opportunities, with a strong track record of goal achievement driven by organisational and interpersonal skills. Tanika is eager to leverage her expertise to contribute positively to the governance role and foster a collaborative, dynamic environment where every student thrives.
Sheila Nakiliza
Sheila is a dynamic and compassionate individual with a degree in theology and a solid foundation in biblical studies which equips her with a unique perspective and values-based approach to decision-making. Through Chaplaincy training Sheila has developed the skills necessary to provide spiritual care and emotional support to individuals and to foster a sense of belonging to others within a diverse community. Sheila has received leadership and mentoring training from Dr Myles Munroe and understands the importance of empowering others to create a positive and inspiring environment. Sheila brings these skills to the Local Governing Body allowing her to advocate for the needs of the whole academy community and has dedicated herself to ensure that this community thrives and the individuals within reach their full potential.
Reena Pandit Armour
Reena is a Food & Drink Partner for UK's largest hospitality company. She currently oversees 72 sites, ensuring all businesses are safe and legal, comply with laws and legislations, audit compliance and coaches and supports the front line teams. Reena has worked in the hospitality industry for 20 years and has a great business acumen and a wealth of experience in people management. She has managed teams of two to up to seventy people. She has a great ability to communicate to all stakeholders and has a natural passion for people development. Reena is a mother first and she supports all her children and is very present in all school activities. Becoming a Parent governor at her children’s school enables her to support the children, parents and teachers, giving a parent’s perspective and enables her to make a difference within the community.
Hannah Plimmer
Hannah is part of the Recruitment team at Ark and oversees recruitment and attraction of teachers into the network. She has worked in various roles in the education industry for the past 12 years, including education recruitment and EFL. She also has family links to education, with her mother owning an Early Years provision for over 20 years.
Usama Yusuf
Usama is an Investment Associate at Fair4All Finance, where he is responsible for managing and supporting several investments in the community finance sector. Usama is also involved in the due diligence of new investment proposals. Usama is the first generation of his family to go to university and wholeheartedly believes in the opportunities that education delivers. Prior to joining Fair4All Finance, Usama was a Senior Investment Banking Analyst at Citi in the EMEA Industrials Team. Usama holds a BA (Hons) in History, Politics, and Economics from UCL and is currently a Trustee at London Sport. He also serves as a Governor on the Local Governing Body of Ark Academy, where he holds SEND Link Governor responsibilities.