Meet the Trustees and Members

Graveney Primary School became an Academy in February 2012.  We are a Single Academy within a Multi Academy Trust (MAT).  Our governing body consists of the Headteacher, 3 x Co-opted Trustees, 3 x Parent Trustees and 1 x Staff Trustee.

Trustees who have resigned in the last 12 months:

• Alison Blackwell resigned as Accounting Officer 07/10/2025
• Shannan Jackson resigned as Co-opted Trustee 10/09/2024
• Barry Snashall resigned as Member 03/02/2025
• Timothy Thomas resigned as Chair & Trustee 01/09/2025
• Rina Kreitman resigned as Member 23/09/2025

Members & the Board of Trustees of Graveney Primary School

Andrew Bowles (Member)

I was born and brought up in Graveney and my children attended Graveney School. I became a Local Authority Governor in 1980 after playing a leading role in opposing a County Council proposal to close the school, as it had less than 20 pupils on role. I am a member of Swale Borough Council and KCC. I no longer sit on the Board as a Governor but remain a Member.

Mary Hewitt (Member)

I have lived in Faversham for well over 30 years and began my teaching career in a girls’ secondary school in Sittingbourne. Following the births of my children, I retrained as a primary teacher and went on to serve as Headteacher in two different Kent Schools. I retired from my post at the end of December 2016. I have been chair of governors at Graveney School. I now look forward to my new role as a member of this board.

Dreena Knibbs

I have been associated with Graveney since 1986 when my children began school.
They have now grown up and moved on, and I am still here. I am currently the staff governor; I have completed my AAT Technician and my diploma in school business management. I have been a governor here for a number of years in various different roles.

Martin Wicks (Chair)

I moved to Faversham 15 years ago and have two children in a local primary school. As a Chartered Accountant with a background in both Internal and External Audit in the public and private sectors, I bring strong financial scrutiny to the Board of Governors along with a real passion to ensure children get the very best from their primary school education.

Charles Rumsey 

While I have only very recently moved to Whitstable, accepting a role as Trustee at Graveney is both a privilege and an opportunity to support my local community. I am a lawyer in the Government Legal Department, and so I have a particular interest in supporting the governance and compliance functions of the Graveney board.  

Carla Hodgson

I have lived in Faversham for the last 13 years, having grown up in Hastings. My older son attended Graveney Primary school and my youngest is currently at the school. My children have had a really positive experience at the school and enjoyed their time there. I really value education and recognise that parents and carers have a large role to play in supporting their children to be happy and achieve as much as possible. Working together with the school is key to achieving positive outcomes.  

I am a social worker and have extensive experience of safeguarding and working with children and families.

Sam Bishop

I've lived in Kent, more specifically Sittingbourne and Canterbury, since birth. I'm currently a University Student at Canterbury. I work part-time as a Door Supervisor for venues, clubs, and bars across Kent. As well as being involved in the British Army locally. I hope to bring my experience in risk assessments and security to the school, as I value the well-being and education of both the children and guardians of schools, and hope to help as much as possible.

Leon Robichaud (Vice Chair)

I moved to Faversham in 2023 and my youngest two children are at Graveney Primary School. I have worked in education for almost 20 years, 10 of which I have been a headteacher. I am passionate about giving all children the best possible school experience and I hope to be able to help the staff and children of Graveney in any way I can. Having been raised in Canada, I am also a big ice hockey fan and I like to skateboard (badly) in my spare time.

Record of Business and Pecuniary Interests (including governance roles in other educational establishments)

• Register-of-business-interests-schedule-2021-22.pdf
• register-of-business-interests-schedule-2022 23.docx

Governor Monitoring Pairs

• 2019-20 Monitoring Pairs
• School Plan Monitoring Responsibilities 2022 23 (1).docx

Funding Agreement, Memorandum and Articles of Association

• Persons with Significant Control
• Graveney - Articles of Association
• Graveney - Memorandum of Association
• Master Funding Agreement
• GPS Scheme of Delegation November 2020

Governor Attendance 2023-24

The Trustees of Graveney Primary School met on the following dates:

P - Present

A - Apologies accepted

Ab - Absent (No apologies received)

The Members of Graveney Primary School met in January 2024.