Welcome to our Governors’ section. 

Please find below details of how our Governing body is structured, including the names, categories, responsibilities and terms of appointment for each Governor.

The Governors at Clyro Church in Wales Primary School welcome prospective pupils and parents. Governors make decisions about how the school is run. They help decide what is taught, they set standards of behaviour, they interview and appoint staff and they decide how the school budget is spent. Governors have legal responsibilities, duties and powers and can only act together, not as individuals. Governors receive training to help with their work. The Chair of the Governors may be contacted through the school.

As you can see from the list below, Governors are parents, teachers and other staff members from the school, representatives of the Church, the Local Authority and the community. Parent Governors must have a child at Clyro, they are elected by parents of the school and they serve, as do other Governors, for four years. Parent Governors bring the views of parents to the Governing body, but they speak and act as individuals supporting the school. They have equal status in the work of the Governing body and they have voting rights. They should be aware of encouraging parent interest and be actively involved in drawing other parents into the work of the school. Governors are encouraged to visit the school and take an interest in school life.

Our Governors

Mr. D. Murphy

Chair & Parent Governor

I’m Damian Murphy, Chair of Governors. 

This is my eighth year as a governor at

Clyro and my first as chair. I was previously

a parent governor with my two girls going

through the school, the youngest now in

Year 6. My wife and I originate from the

Northwest of England and came to this

area for work, originally moving to Hay

and then Clifford (Hardwicke) before

settling in Glasbury. Being from the

Northwest of England, I am a keen

Manchester United fan and love football

(this has been a serious conflict for me

over the last few years!). I have coached

under-13 boys football but would love to

introduce a girls team to compete with

other girls teams in the South Powys

Junior football League. I like to read and

write short stories and poetry (badly).

Rev. D. Thomas

Foundation Governor

I am the vicar of St. Michael & All

Angels Church, Clyro. I play an active

role in the school, including taking Collective

Worship every week as well as welcoming the

children and staff to the church. I have been

a Governor of the school for more than 12 years.

I have been a member of school Governing

Bodies in other parishes before moving to

this area.  (Totalling over 20 years as a governor)

Mr. D. Hassard

Parent Governor

Hi I’m David, I joined the Clyro School

Governors back in 2020 as a Parent

Governor. I run an Outdoor Education

Centre a few miles down the road

called Maes y Lade and I’m passionate

about young people having the opportunity

to spend time learning outdoors

surrounded by nature. I have been

working for a Youth Charity since 2004

in various roles with a focus on Informal

Education and Outdoor Learning.

Mrs. D. Thomas 

Foundation Governor

I am a foundation governor with responsibility

for Safeguarding and I am the ALN link

governor. I have been a primary school teacher

for almost 30 years. Most of my career has been

working at a primary school in Brecon, where I am

the ALN Co with 19 years experience in the role.

I am married to Rev. David Thomas, so I take an active

role in the life of his parishes, including Clyro.

Mr. M. Southcoat

Local Authority Governor (Vice Chair)

I live in the local area, having retired after

working in a variety of roles in Education

across mid and South Wales. My wife and

I have two grown up children, one a teacher

and the other a specialist children’s

physiotherapist. We also have four

grandchildren who take up a lot of our

spare time. I am currently Vice Chair of

the Governing body and have a particular

interest in financial matters and the curriculum. 

Mrs. R. Drysdale

Parent Governor

Mrs. H. Elliott

Parent Governor

Mrs. M. Fforde

Community Governor

I became a parent governor when my daughter,

Tabby started at the school back in 2012 and have

been involved in a variety of governor capacities

ever since. I work at Hay Castle as the Learning

and Activities Manager where I love to engage

children and adults with the heritage and stories

of the site and the locality. I am also a passionate

Welsh language learner and enjoy hearing the

pupils using their Welsh at school.

Mrs. P. Richardson

Community Governor

I am the Community Council representative on

the Board of Governors. I have lived in Hay and

Clyro for the last 17 years. I am a retired civil

servant with a background in Policy, Human

Resources and Operational Delivery.

This is my second term as a Governor,

having previously served as Vice Chair,

which included contributing to our

successful ESTYN inspection. We are so lucky to

have such a thriving and excellent school at the

heart of our community and I feel very privileged

to have been invited to re-join the Board of

Governors. I want to play an active role in school

life and to offer my time, knowledge and skills

to help every pupil achieve their full potential

and become confident and active citizens of Wales.

Miss S. Griffiths

Teacher Governor 

Mrs. S. Groves

Headteacher (Ex Officio) 

(Current vacancies) 

Non-Teaching Staff Governor

office@clyro.powys.sch.uk

Mrs. D. Thomas is our Safeguarding and ALN Governor.