Local Advisory Board

What is a Local Advisory Board (LAB)?

The Cumbria Education Trust Board Directors delegate to the Local Advisory Board (LAB) members its responsibility and powers as the Governing Body of the school. These responsibilities are discharged by the LAB members in accordance with its constitution, any Cumbria Education Trust Policies and advice from the Department for Education (DFE) and Ofsted.

View the Trust Board members here.

View the Structure Of The Trust Board & LABs And Associated Information here.

The LAB is crucial to helping the school to raise standards.

Some of the roles of the LAB are to:

provide the information required by the Trust and not to withhold any information which the Trust reasonably requires;
refer certain decisions to the Trust for approval as set out in the Scheme of Delegation;
report to the Trust Board Directors on the outcomes and progress within a one-week period of each meeting;
act in accordance with the LAB Protocols.

If you have any queries for the LAB or would like to contact the Chair, please email governance@cumbriaeducationtrust.org or telephone 016977 45300.

Composition of Local Advisory Board (LAB) members:

Type of member	Number	Term of office	Elected by who
Chief Executive	1	Indefinite	N/A – by appointment as Chief Executive
Headteacher	1	Indefinite	Appointment as Headteacher by Chief Executive/Trust Board
Sponsor Board member (including Chair and Vice Chair)	Max 7	4 years	By the Cumbria Education Trust Board resolution
Parent Board member	2	3 years	Seconded parent volunteer -applications to be considered by Cumbria Education Trust Board Directors.* *If there are more than 2 applications, an election will take place with all parents eligible to vote
Staff Board member	1	3 years	Staff election If only one member of staff is nominated they are automatically elected

LAB Members

Mary-Ann Lancaster – Acting Chair

Matt Butler – Director of Primary Improvement and Professional Development

Matt has responsibility for all the primary schools in the Trust and for designing and implementing the School Improvement Framework across those schools. He also leads on the Professional Development across the Trust, specifically the overall blueprint for ensuring that professional development in CET is a sector-leading offer. Matt has a wealth of experience in the sector, having previously worked for two national trusts as a Regional Director and Director of Curriculum and Subject development.

In his spare time, Matt enjoys exploring the Lakes, either cycling or running. When he is not out and about, he is usually busy shuttling his two boys to their football and rugby matches or spending quality time with his wife.

Cate Floyd – Executive Principal

After 12 years in education, working across the country in a variety of settings and alongside national bodies such as the North West Maths Hub, Cate moved from Accrington to join the CET Leadership team to take on her first headship at Longtown Primary School in 2017. She believes that all children are entitled to the very best education and that it is important to work within a school improvement model to develop sustainable change, for the benefit of young people.

After successfully securing their first ‘Good’ judgement at Longtown Primary School, she then took on her second headship within the Trust. At Yanwath Primary School, she ensured that they, as a leadership team, continued to provide a sustainable school improvement model where the mental health and wellbeing of both children and staff were at the heart of all decisions being made.

Vicky’s teaching career began in a primary school near London over twenty years ago and, since then, she has worked in the South and North of England in various teaching and leadership roles. She was also appointed as the first Vice Chair of the Chartered College of Teaching, a national organisation created to develop professional standards for teachers. Most recently, she has served as Regional Headteacher of schools in the independent sector across the North-West.

As a parent herself, Vicky is passionate about creating a collaborative working environment where children can grow, develop their self-esteem and the skills fundamental to their education.

Mark Bedford – Headteacher at Workington Academy

Before becoming Headteacher, Mark was the Deputy Headteacher of Workington Academy and, prior to this, he worked as a middle and senior leader at William Howard School. He is an experienced Science teacher and has worked in schools in Yorkshire, Lincolnshire and Cumbria.

Mark has significant experience in post-16 education, having built up over 25 years working in leadership roles in a variety of sixth forms.

Gill George – LAB member (Joint Safeguarding Lead)

Gill used to teach full-time in a large infant school, most of the time in Early Years, and she loves working with children. Gill has three children and six grandchildren who do not live in the area, so is always interested to see their schools or settings when she visits them.

Having been invited to join the Governance team at Northside, Gill has enjoyed getting to know so many delightful people, both adults and children at this schools. It is Gill’s firm belief that if we get social, emotional, communication and physical skills embedded in the early years of a child’s life, then everything else will follow.

Gill’s hobbies include walking, cycling and dancing – she loves to be outdoors. Gill has also volunteered at her local arts centre for 25 years and has met a huge variety of really interesting people with diverse skills. Now that she have more time, she would like to learn a new skill – but always seems to be busy!