School Advisory Board

Welcome to the Advisory Board of Parkland Primary School

At Discovery School Academy Trust the Board of Trustees (sometimes known as the board of directors or governing body) is ultimately responsible for governance of the schools in the trust and is accountable for their performance.  To support effective governance and oversight, the Board has delegated governance function to be carried out through committees, locally through each school Advisory Board and through the central executive team.

The School Advisory Board has a key role in influencing the direction of the school by offering their experience and expertise to strengthen the decision-making process to support the strategic development of the school and ensure it is meeting the needs of the children. The functions of the Advisory Board are set out in the Trust Scheme of Delegation which sets out the requirements of the Trust and details where the Trustees delegate governance functions locally.

The Advisory Board consists of parents, staff and community representatives; the Headteacher is a member of the Advisory Board by virtue of their office. Community Members are appointed by the Advisory Board and are people, who in the opinion of the Advisory Board, have the skills required to contribute to the work of the board; Parent and staff members are elected to the board by the parent and staff body respectively.

Advisory Board Chair's Welcome

Hello and a very warm welcome from the advisory board at Parkland Primary School.

I have been part of the advisory board at the school for some years and I have had the privilege of being the chair.

First and foremost, as a board, we are passionate about wanting every child to succeed here at Parkland. We are committed to working with Mr Hayes and the Senior Leadership team to ensure that we keep pushing our pupils to be their best version, to belong, care, persevere and succeed.

We do this by being a ‘critical friend’ to the school. This means we provide support, advice and challenge to the leadership team to help make our school the best it can be, just like our vision for the children. We are part of the governance for the school and we look at all aspects of school life from attendance, behaviour and curriculum to how well we are preparing our children for secondary school.

Our board is made up of parents, staff and members of the community, all of whom volunteer their time and expertise to support the school. We are always looking to involve more parents in the board as your perspective and opinions are important to the success of the school.

As Chair I will keep you updated on our work throughout the year. However, if you have specific questions or would like to find out more about getting involved please get in touch.

Lauren Charlton
Chair of the Advisory Board
lcharlton@dsatparkland.org

School Advisory Board Members: 2025-26

Get in Touch

If you have a passion for improving outcomes for children and would like to use your skills and expertise to contribute to the governance of our schools please get in touch by contacting the Trust Central team c/o clerk@discoverytrust.org

You can contact our Chair of the Advisory Board, Lauren Charlton (lcharlton@dsatparkland.org) or via the Trust Clerk.

Board meeting minutes are available on request. Requests should be directed to the Trust Clerk clerk@discoverytrust.org

Discovery Schools Academy Trust Website

Governance Strategy

Scheme of Delegation