With a vision to: Be an outstanding education provider | Promote wellbeing for staff, students and the community | Bring industry into the classroom
Within a culture of: Excellence | Support | Collaboration
To achieve: Skills | Integrity | Networks
Big Creative Academy Governance
Develop Talent Transform Lives Create Careers
Big Creative Academy Governing Body
Governors have an important role in schools and academies, working alongside the Principal and senior leaders as vision setters and strategic decision makers. They are responsible for ensuring the best possible education for our learners and that the needs of the community are met.
The Department for Education set out three core functions of a governing body:
- Ensuring clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction
- Holding executive leaders to account for the educational performance of the organisation and its learners, and the performance management of staff
- Overseeing the financial performance of the organisation and ensuring money is well spent
Governors have been working behind the scenes for the Academy over the last academic year and have influenced the Academy’s direction in many areas:
- Governors monitor the Academy’s financial strategy, budget, income and expenditure via dedicated meetings and monthly management accounts. The financial position of the academy continues to improve with year-on-year improvements in reserves.
- Governors monitor the quality of teaching and student experience at the Academy via an annual self-assessment report and ongoing quality improvement plan. Most students are progressing to their favoured destination with a high proportion progressing to Higher Education. Achievement rates are excellent, in most cases well ahead of the relevant national averages.
- Governors have considered and laid out the principles for setting executive pay, including that of the Principal. Details are documented in the Academy’s Pay Policy.
- Governors considered and approved a staffing restructure to create a new directorate for Careers, Research and Partnerships.
- Governors have provided support for the Principal and senior team in assessing measures taken to comply with health and safety arrangements in light of the coronavirus pandemic. Governors have specifically approved the Academy’s risk assessment.
- Governors have completed a self evaluation to ensure governance is effective.
- Link governors for safeguarding, careers, wellbeing and whistleblowing have supported the Academy and reported back to the full governing body.
- With the recent move to a new purpose-built facility substantial increases in student numbers governors have overseen the achievement of the vision for the first phase of the Academy’s development.
Mark Shaw the Governance Professional can be contacted by email on mark.shaw@bigcreative.education
Academy Trustees (Governors)
- John Stone
- Sacha Corcoran MBE
- James Salmon
- Ian Morton
- Sarah Gregory
- Adam Taylor
- Tracy Ward
- Amani Simpson
- Sherilee Charles
- Lee Chalkley
Chair of Trustees and Governors
Link Governor Safeguarding
Appointed 31 May 2019
John Stone brings over 40 years experience in education to the governing body at Big Creative Academy. His career started in South London where he was appointed as a ‘Lecturer with an interest in Music’ charged with setting up a new course in Music Instrument Technology which is still in operation today. Since then he has held a variety of senior roles which include Principal of Ealing Hammersmith and West London College, before moving to be Chief Executive of the Learning and Skills Network and latterly Principal of Treloars, a residential school and college for young people with complex physical disabilities. Throughout his career John’s focus has been on improving the quality and range of educational opportunities for students. He is a strong believer in promoting technical innovation and the power of Education to support regeneration.
John is also Chair of the Learner Experience Committee and link governor for safeguarding, PREVENT, LAC and SEND.
Academy Principal
Sacha Corcoran MBE is Principal of Big Creative Academy and also sits on the governing body. A single mum and homeless at 16, Sacha’s own success story is inspirational. She started as a PE teacher and has now been involved in education for more than 20 years. Sacha assisted in establishing BSix College and was Deputy Director for Learning at City and Islington College. She also had a three-year sabbatical at the Sector Skills Council developing the national Creative Apprenticeship project.
Sacha’s place on the governing body is an ex-officio post in accordance with the Academy’s Articles of Association. She is also the Accounting Officer for Big Creative Academy.
Chair of Finance and General Purposes Committee
Appointed 18 February 2020
Finance professional with 15 years of experience across professional services, banking and social impact investing. As a Director within the Shawbrook financial sponsors business based in London James supports management teams of SMEs raise funding to support buyouts and acquisitions. As a fund manager at the Big Issue Invest, James worked with social enterprises seeking to raise funding to invest in new projects and assets to grow impact and build financial resilience.
Appointed 28 November 2022
Link Governor Careers
Appointed 11 September 2022
Sarah has significant senior project and relationship management experience in addition to eight years of governing body experience. Sarah has led partnership projects with world-leading organisations including the Burberry Foundation, KPMG, RADA, Roundhouse, Barbican Centre, Law Society and Bar Council and secured valuable employer contributions for events including National and London Skills Shows, Leicester City’s Fashion & Textiles Showcases, Screenskills Open Doors and Kickstarter recruitment events.
She is passionate about helping young people develop creatively, and brings with her a solid understanding of the education and skills landscape and the routes students can take beyond BCA whether that be moving into work based apprenticeships, continuing their studies at university or training to be the creative entrepreneurs of tomorrow.
Local Champion
Link Governor Marketing
Appointed 25 January 2018
Adam Taylor is a local champion for Big Creative Academy with networks across the creative arts sector in Waltham Forest. He is a Marketing Manager for John Lewis. He has a keen sense of the requirements of the industry and joins up the work done by students with local businesses and volunteers.
Parent Governor
Link Governor SEND
Appointed 11 July 2022
Tracy brings several years of governing experience having held positions as a governor at other schools.
She is passionate about ensuring all children can access the same educational and wellbeing opportunities and for this reason she has been appointed as the link governor for SEND.
Link Governor Wellbeing
Appointed 21 October 2020
Amani Simpson is an award-winning social entrepreneur, coach, activist and filmmaker. At the age of 21, he was stabbed 7 times after intervening in a robbery attempt.
Since then he has dedicated his life to empowering young people through digital media, events and personal development under his social enterprise Aviard Inspires CIC. In January 2019, he produced a powerful, now award-winning short film called ‘AMANI’ about his life experiences starring Hollywood actor Joivan Wade (DC’s Doom Patrol, Shiro’s Story & The First Purge) which amassed 1 million views in just 4 days. It has now been viewed over 3 million times!
Amani is using his short film and story in schools, alternative provisions and events as a tool to transform the lives of young people across the country. He was named as the North London Ambassador for the Mayor of London’s ‘London Needs You Alive’ campaign and was shortlisted from 28,000 candidates as a positive role model at the 2019 National Diversity Awards.
Amani is a former BCE student and is the Academy’s link governor for wellbeing.
Appointed 1 November 2022
Staff Governor
Appointed 8 February 2020
Company Roles
Alexis Michaelides
Appointed 17 July 2013
Ian Morton
Appointed 17 December 2012
Ben Jolly
Appointed 17 December 2012
John Stone
Appointed 31 May 2019
Sacha Corcoran
Appointed 1 September 2014
Muna Whitaker
Appointed 8 February 2022
Mark Shaw
Appointed 1 November 2022
Trustees who have resigned from Office in the last Year
Appointed 17 July 2013
Resigned 16 September 2022
Appointed 15 June 2018
Resigned 31 October 2022
