Governor Information

What do Governors do?
The governing board is responsible for the strategic management of the school and for determining its aims, objectives and policies in accordance with all the relevant legislation. The Head manages the school from day to day and is the governing board's professional adviser who assists it with the formulation and implementation of its aims, objectives, policies and plans.

The Governors are responsible for fulfilling the three core functions:
  • Ensuring clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction; 
  • Holding the Headteacher to account for the educational performance of the school and its pupils, and the performance management of staff 
  • Overseeing the financial performance of the school and making sure its money is well spent
School governors also help schools provide the best possible education for their pupils:
  • thinking and working strategically to help raise standards; 
  • monitoring and evaluating progress towards the school's priorities and targets; 
  • supporting the head and staff as well as challenging their expectations; 
  • accounting to all stakeholders for the school's overall performance and for the decisions they have made. 
 
Foundation Governors
As a Catholic School, we have Foundation Governors on the Board. Foundation Governors are personally appointed by the Bishop to represent his interests and those of the Catholic community as a whole. As well as sharing the responsibility of the three core functions, Foundation Governors are appointed specifically to ensure:
  • the religious character of the school is preserved 
  • the school is conducted in accordance with its trust deed 
  • that the religious education curriculum is in accordance with the Bishop's policy for the Diocese.
St Mary’s Governor Terms of Office

The term of office for all categories of governor is a fixed period of four years, but:

  • The instrument of government may specify a shorter term of office (being at least one year) for a particular category of governor;
  • A headteacher, staff governor or an ex-officio foundation governor ceases being a governor when the position which entitles them to be a governor comes to an end;
  • An additional governor appointed to a school requiring special measures, designated as having serious weaknesses or subject to a formal notice holds office for such period as the appointer determines, up to a maximum of four years; and
  • A substitute governor’s term of office is dependent on the return or replacement of the original governor.

A governor may be elected or appointed for a further term.

Associate members are appointed for a period of between one and four years, as determined by the governing body upon appointment, and may be reappointed.

Any governor may at any time resign by giving written notice to the clerk or if the resignation takes place at a meeting it must be recorded in the minutes. A verbal resignation is not acceptable.

Governors will be expected to comply with the requirement of St Mary’s Governing Body Code of Conduct which provides information on best practice and describes the appropriate relationship between individual governors, the whole governing body and the leadership team of the school.

In particular:

  • Pecuniary or other business interests will be recorded (including those related to people we are connected with) in the Register of Business Interests, and if any such conflicted matter arises during a meeting the governor will offer to leave the meeting for the appropriate length of time. Governors should be mindful that the Register of Business Interests will be published on the school’s website.
  • Governors should declare any conflict of loyalty at the start of any meeting and this conflict will be recorded in the minutes of the meeting.
  • Governors will act in the best interests of the school as a whole and not as a representative of any group, even if elected to the governing board.