Meet Our Governors

  • Local Authority Governor & Chair

    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.

  • Foundation Governor

    I was born and schooled in London and moved to Dent in 1990.

    I have always enjoyed being involved in the life of the village and Dentdale and have been a Foundation Governor since 2017 as I care about our local community and the education of our children and their experience of being a pupil at Dent Primary School. My daughter was a pupil at Dent Primary School until 2007 and I was a member of the Friends of Dent School committee for 12 years even after my daughter moved to secondary school and undertook the role of Chair for the last few years that I was on the committee. I have been a trained Community First Responder with the North West Ambulance Service since 2018 responding to 999 calls within Dentdale; a small team of trained volunteers who provide emergency treatment to people in the local area within a few minutes, often before the emergency services arrive. 

    I retired from the Prison Service in May 2023 after 25 years service having reached the grade of Senior Officer in 2005. I have worked with male 18-21yr old Young Offenders, male 15-18yr old Juveniles, male Category C Estate and male Category D Open estate. I now work in the village shop and enjoy talking to and serving both the local residents and the tourists who come to enjoy our beautiful dale.

  • 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!

  • Executive Headteacher

    Mrs Pomfret is the Executive Headteacher on an interim basis, pending the appointment of a permanent headteacher.

    She has previously led our school as an executive headteacher during the Covid-19 period.

  • Staff Governor

    Mandy is a senior teaching assistant, providing specialist one-to-one and whole class support in both Class 1 and Class 2.  She also currently teaches PSHE. Mandy is an experienced, qualified teacher with an expertise in Autistic Spectrum Disorder.

    Mandy holds a national SENDCO qualification and is the school SENDCO. She is contactable for SEND issues through mandy@dent.cumbria.sch.uk Mandy joined the team at Dent in 2016. She is currently the Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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. 

Recent Governors:

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:

  1. Ensuring clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction,

  2. Holding executive leaders to account for the educational performance of the organisation and its pupils, and the performance management of staff, and

  3. 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 Pomfret, Kate Cairns, Mandy Robinson, Ben Maunder and Mark Woof.

Download the Dent CE Primary School – Resources Committee TOR 2024-25 – Signed

The Resources Committee:
Mark Woof (Chair), Emma Pomfret, Kate Cairns and Katie Hunter.

Dent CE Primary School - Governor Attendance Records 2024-25

Download the Dent CE Primary School – Governor Statutory Information 2024-25

Dent CE Primary School – Governing Board Register of Interests 2024 to 2025