"We adore you, most holy Lord Jesus Christ, here and in all your churches throughout the world, because through your holy cross, you have redeemed the world."

St Francis of Assisi

As a Voluntary Aided school under the umbrella of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Westminster, we have our own Governing Body which comprises Foundation Governors nominated by the Diocese and elected Parent Governors. The Board of Governors meet regularly each term.  

The Governing Body is committed to developing the building and grounds further. Each year the Governing Body seeks a contribution to their Building Fund of at least £100 per child. We value greatly the generosity of parents in this area many of whom contribute over and above this figure to the fund.

What is a Governing Board?

The governing board exists to make sure that the school runs effectively. It is a strategic role and the governing board performance manages the headteacher, who runs the school on a day-to-day basis. The core functions of the governing board are:

1. Ensuring clarity of vision, ethos, and strategic direction.
2. Holding the Senior Leaders to account for the educational performance of the organisation and its pupils, and the performance management of staff; and
3. Overseeing the financial performance of the organisation and making sure its money is well spent.

Types of governors on the governing board

The school is a voluntary aided school in the trusteeship of the Diocese of Westminster; it is conducted as a Catholic Church. Governing boards of voluntary aided schools are made up of specific types of governors. Listed below are the different categories of the governors and the roles that they play in the governance of the school. Governors' attendance at meetings this year may be viewed on the school website (under Governing Body).

Foundation Governors

Foundation governors represent the historic link with the original establishment of the school and its distinctive religious ethos, it is one of the distinguishing characteristics of a church school. There are no restrictions on who to appoint. This is usually the diocese in our case, the school's founding body, or a trust.

There are 2 types of Foundation Governors:

• Appointed - the appointing body selects them from the governing board
• Ex officio - they're appointed by virtue of their office, e.g. clergy members, Headteacher

Their Role

Whether appointed or ex-offcio, their role is the same. Foundation governors are appointed specifically to "preserve and develop the character of the organisation, including any religious character", according to the Governance Handbook, (pages 14-15) published by the Department for Education (DfE) in March 2019. They are also responsible for making sure the school operates as required by the foundation's governing documents, including the trust deed where appropriate. 

Parent Governors

Parent governors are elected by other parents in the school. All parents or carers of registered pupils at the school are eligible to stand in a parent governor election. A parent governor provides a parent's views to the governing board but is not there as a parent representative nor as an advocate for their own child. The next parent governor election is due to take place in the Spring 2021 and there is a Parent Governor Election Procedure document on the school's website.

Staff Governors

Staff governors are elected by other staff members. All staff who are employed at the school at the time of election are eligible to stand for election as the staff governor. This includes teaching staff, support staff, senior leaders and part-time staff. Staff governors should be elected for the skills they can bring to the governing board, rather than their perspective to the governing board, but they do not represent the staff. They are also not there to be held account by the board.

Local Authority Governors

Local authority (LA) governors are nominated by the LA. LAs set their own eligibility criteria, but the governing board can either accept or reject that nomination based on whether they have the skills required to contribute to the effective governance and success of the school. The LA governor serves as the link between the LA and the school but isn't a political appointee.

The Role of Link Governor

The role of the Link Governor is to provide a link between the Governing Body and the school. When Link Governors visit the school and report back to the Governing Body they help to deepen all governors' understanding of how the school operates, how the strategic objectives are being pursued, how financial resources are being used and what extra support the school may need to meet its objectives.

Without Link Governors, the Governing Body is totally reliant on the Headteacher, or the staff Governors, for their understanding of the school. The presence of Link Governors provides and additional source of evidence upon which governing decisions can be made. This additional evidence should enable the Governing Body to better challenge information presented by the school and better support the school to meet its strategic objectives.

Governors agree our link areas and nominate governors at the first meeting of the academic year in September. This should be promptly followed up with an agreed timetable for visits. Once the agreement has been reached as to appropriate links it should be made clear what it expected, and activities identified. A record of any visit or activity should be kept by the Headteacher and the Clerk to Governors.

Their Role

The role of link governor will vary according to the nature of the appointment. However, in general a link governor role involves the following tasks:

• Making pre-arranged visits to the school, with a clear focus.
• Keeping the governing board informed about the area for which they are responsible and acting as a link between governors and staff.
• Supporting the member of staff who is responsible for the subject or aspect.
• Developing knowledge in the specialist area and taking part in relevant training.
• Ensuring the school has relevant policies in place.
• Monitoring the implementation of the school's strategy in the specialist area. 
• they provide OFSTED with concrete evidence about the involvement of the governors in the school.
• They contribute to inform the school self-evaluation process.
• They allow governors to see first-hand the resources used in school, the fabric of the building etc. So that they can make informed decisions about future budget allocations.
• They constitute part of a strategy to monitor and evaluate regularly the progress of the School Improvement Plan.

Committees

All the committees are required to keep abreast of current developments and the implications of the new legislation. They study and evaluate documents and polices emanating from both central and local government authorities. Committees must report to the full Governing Body, although those with delegated powers are able to make certain decisions in their own right. All committee meetings are minuted and minutes circulated to all governors.

Curriculum and Catholicity Committee 

This committee meets to debate curriculum, assessment, teaching and learning developments in the school. All governors are linked with Subject Leaders who make recommendations and offer explanations to the members of this committee. Link Governors make their own presentations and write Curriculum Reports. This committee evaluates Data, Standards, Curriculum Policies, the School Improvement Plan and the School Self Evaluation.

Finance and Resources Committee

This committee is responsible for overseeing the school's budget and deciding where expenditure would be most effective. In addition, the committee is concerned with Health and Safety and Premises, which includes maintenance, and ensuring the Health and Safety regulations are observed. This involves careful monitoring and regular site inspection.

Governors Meetings 2022-2023

The Full Governing Body met 3 times during the year 2022/22 and in addition held 2 extraordinary full governing board meetings. It is important to mention that in addition to these meetings, all governors have additional and varying responsibilities as members of sub-committees; Link Governors to curriculum subjects; and as a Link Governors for specific statutory requirements and will also have undertaken a range of training in their role as governors during the past year.