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
Chris Fairclough, LAB Chair and Safeguarding Lead
Chris was born in Whitehaven and was educated and lives in Carlisle where he attended Newtown Primary School in the 1990’s and Trinity School in the 2000’s.
Chris has worked in the nuclear industry as a Technical Support Engineer at Sellafield Ltd for 8 years working on complex decommissioning and reprocessing projects and is an Incorporated Engineer (IEng) with the Society of Operations Engineers and the Institute for Plant Engineers.
For the past 8 years, Chris has worked in the further education sector and is currently the Curriculum Operations Leader for Higher Engineering, Science and Nuclear at Lakes College West Cumbria and the National College for Nuclear. In this role as Head of Department, he is accountable for the delivery of the new T-Level qualifications in Engineering and Science, as well as a suite of Engineering and Science Degrees covering Chemistry, Electrical and Mechanical Engineering, Civil Engineering and Nuclear Decommissioning. He holds degree-level qualifications in Nuclear and also holds a PGCE qualification.
Chris is a passionate professional who believes in the development of the next generation and specialises in Curriculum design, development and operations. He champions the use of Experiential Learning as a pedagogy at all levels of education and this can be seen through the work he has completed on national projects with the Association of Colleges and through being awarded a Technical Teachers Fellowship in 2021 for his work in this area. This now means that he is a Fellow of the Society for Education and Training and is now an Alumnus of the Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851.
In his spare time, he enjoys spending time with his son, attending Carlisle United matches and watching Rugby Union.
Jemma Nicholson – Executive Headteacher at Longtown Primary School and Petteril Bank School
Jemma is a passionate educator with over 16 years of experience in Cumbrian schools. Her ambition is to ensure that children love school as much as she does, and she enjoys nothing more than thinking of creative and memorable ways to achieve this.
After a successful headship, where she earned one of the first ‘excellent’ SIAMS inspections under the new framework, she has joined CET as Headteacher of Longtown Primary School. Jemma is committed to making school a safe, happy, and aspirational environment, working closely with the local community to continue Longtown’s high standards following their first ‘Good’ Ofsted rating.
Deborah Kavanagh, LAB member and SEND Lead
Born in Manchester, with close family connections in Carlisle, Debbie started school here before emigrating to Australia to complete her primary school education. She returned to the UK to live in Carlisle completing her education at Newman School followed by HE/FE with Carlisle College and University of Cumbria. While raising her two children in the south of the city, Debbie was closely involved with primary education as a volunteer for St Margaret Mary’s Primary School. Encouraged by the school and parish, Debbie completed a post grad cert in Religious Education through Lancaster University. For over 12 years Debbie developed and delivered community-based programmes, working in partnership with St Margaret Mary Primary School, parents and the parish with collaboration and inclusivity at the heart of everything. More recently, Debbie took on the role of Enterprise Advisor for Cumbria Careers Hub, initially supporting Caldew Secondary School and now Newman School career lead.
Debbie has a passion for the development of young people and has a proactive role in Young Carlisle Ambassadors, Skills Fairs and the Teenage Market initiatives, providing enthusiasm and energy to these projects on a voluntary basis. As grandmother of primary school children, Debbie sees every day as a learning day and collaboration between home and school is vital to delivering the best outcomes for young children.
Antonette Falloon, LAB member
Rebecca Crellin, Parent LAB member
Carla Taylor, Staff LAB member
Carla was born and raised in Manchester. After completing her degree at Manchester Metropolitan University, she started her career in a private school in Rochdale, Manchester. Over the last twenty years, she has taught in a variety of schools around Manchester and Lancashire, specifically teaching Early Years and Key Stage One. Five years ago, she relocated to Cumbria, due to her husband’s job in retail.
Carla joined the Trust in September 2020 when she was employed as the Early Years Leader at Petteril Bank School. Carla has a real passion for Early Years education and making sure that all children, no matter their background, are introduced to an exciting, engaging curriculum. She strives to develop children’s confidence, independence and a love for learning which she believes are the building blocks in which the rest of their education can be built on.
In her spare time Carla enjoys reading, making resources for her classroom and walking with her husband and her two pug dogs, Bella and Bertie.
LAB members in the previous 12 months:
- Anne Ferguson – resigned 04/09/2025
- James Stedman – resigned 17/11/2025
- Sue McDonald – resigned 30/01/2026
LAB Meeting Minutes and other information
2025/2026
If you cannot see any downloads below, it is because the LAB have yet to meet this academic year. Once the minutes are available, they will display below.
2024/2025
If you would like any meeting minutes from previous years, please email governance@cumbriaeducationtrust.org or telephone 016977 45300.
