Governors

The Role of the Governors

The Governing Body has eleven members currently, all coming from a diverse background of Education, IT, Social Care and Marketing. All governors are volunteers and are appointed to assist in the strategic direction of the school. The members include the Chair, the Vice Chair, Parent Governors, Foundation Governors, a School Governor and the Headteacher.

The Governors are not involved in the day to day running of the school or in how the school is managed. Their role is to support the Head Teacher and senior leaders in promoting high standards of education, welfare and spiritual wellbeing of all our pupils.

As a team, the governing body works alongside the Head Teacher and senior leaders to promote and support the success of the school - a “Critical Friend” that helps to ensure high standards are maintained and that all of children remain happy and healthy whilst making outstanding educational progress.

The Governors meet on a regular basis in separate committees that focus on the curriculum, school development, admissions, finance, safeguarding, personnel and premises. The full Governing Body meets each term to discuss outstanding issues from the committees and to receive feedback from the Head Teacher and senior leaders regarding the progress of the school.

In addition to this, individual Governors are linked with various aspects of the work of the school and meet with school staff to monitor and promote progress towards targets. Whenever possible, Governors support staff and pupils by attending the many events that take place during the course of the year.

Staff Governor Role

A Staff Governor is elected by the school staff and is a representative, not a delegate of the staff.

As an employee, the Staff Governor has a unique insight into the activities of the school. Therefore, the Staff Governor brings to the governing body an understanding of the school’s ethos and culture as well as a close, professional knowledge of its strengths and weaknesses. The Staff Governor contributes, in partnership with other Governors, to the strategic development of the school. Their role is to present the views of the staff reasonably and faithfully, to seek colleagues’ views and make them known to the governing body, but be free to act in accordance with their own conscience and in the interests of the pupils as they see them. The first responsibility of the Staff Governor is to the school and the governing body. The Staff Governor serves as a useful link between the staff and the governing body. Staff are key stakeholders in the school and as such must have mechanisms for their views to be included in school evaluation and improvement.

Parent Governor Role

A Parent Governor is a representative and not a delegate of parents.

Parent Governors provide a “parental viewpoint”, though they are representative parents rather than representative of parents. To fulfil the role effectively, Parent Governors should:

Make themselves known to the parent body
Try to attend in-service (INSET) sessions
Listen impartially to concerns raised by parents
Guide parents about appropriate lines of action and procedures
Present a balanced view of issues, representing different sections of the community

Parent Governors should establish rapport with other parents. However, they should not become personally involved in any individual concerns as this may jeopardise complaint and appeal procedures. Parent Governors should achieve a balance between impartial representation and the emotional issues relating to a child’s education. The Parent Governor’s role is the same as that of any other governor, and that no specific duties are attached to it.

Foundation Governor Role

At St John’s, a Foundation Governor is appointed by Salford Diocese for the purpose of ensuring that the school’s religious character is preserved and developed.

Foundation Governors have specific functions in addition to the core governor role.

Statutory guidance for maintained schools from the Department for Education (D.f.E.) says:

A Foundation Governor is someone who, in the opinion of the person entitled to appoint them, has the skills to contribute to the effective governance and success of the school, and who is appointed for the purpose of securing:

In all cases, that the school character (including religious character where it has one ) is preserved and developed; and
That the school is conducted in accordance with the foundation’s governing documents

GOVERNOR	TYPE OF GOVERNOR	DATE TERM OF OFFICE EXPIRES
Vacancy	Foundation Governor	Parish Priest
John McGovern	Foundation Governor (Chair)	June 2021
Kevin Garvey	Foundation Governor	November 2022
Claire Facchini	Parent Governor	November 2022
Martin Gibbons	Parent Governor	November 2022
Charlotte Martin	Foundation Governor	November 2022
Saul Quirke	Foundation Governor (Vice Chair)	June 2021
Bronwen O’Donoghue	Headteacher	Statutory Right
Trish Doohan	Staff Governor	June 2021
Shelly Leigh	Clerk to the Governors
Vacancy	LA Governor

FINANCE PREMISES

CURRICULUM, STANDARDS & SAFEGUARDING

ADMISSIONS COMMITTTEE

HEAD’S PERFORMANCE REVIEW

John McGovern

Kevin Garvey

Trish Doohan

Martin Gibbons

Saul Quirke (Chair)

Claire Facchini

Charlotte Martin

Martin Gibbons

Charlotte Martin

Yvonne Joyce (Associate Governor)

Martin Gibbons

John McGovern