What does the governing body (or ‘GB’) do?
The GB is responsible for making sure that the school performs effectively. It does not ‘run’ the school – this is clearly the job of our headteacher – but it is responsible for making sure that it is run as best as it possibly can.
How does it do this?
It does this by working closely with the head-teacher and other key stakeholders such as the local authority (HCC), Ofsted, the parents and the community. It meets regularly and makes decisions collectively as a team. Our GB delegates much of its work to committees, who review areas in much greater detail and then make recommendations to the GB. Throughout, it makes use of relevant guidance, papers, observations and input from stakeholders and, most importantly, on the professional guidance of the headteacher and the school’s senior management team.
Our responsibilities may appear onerous and complicated (they are!), but, by approaching them in a structured and appropriate way, your GB is confident of success. In particular, we like to describe our role as being on three different levels:
What Committees do we have in place at Our Lady?
We have three committees. These are:
In addition, the GB appoints a panel in order to objectively consider any complaints which may be made to the school (Complaints Panel). A further panel to assesses the performance of the headteacher (Performance Review Panel).
How are governors appointed at Our Lady?
There are a maximum of 14 governors in your GB. At any point in time, the appointments can be as follow:
From time to time, the GB will ‘co-opt’ (or appoint) a governor because it is made aware of a particular expertise or interest which is made available.
Our Current GB
Detailed below is our current GB arrangements:
FGB | Governance Roles | |||||||
2018/19 | in Other Educational | |||||||
Term Start | Term End | Committees | Link Role(s) | Attendance | Institutions / Other Material Interests | |||
Foundation Governors | ||||||||
Jessica Wall (Chair of the GB) | 01.09.2016 | 31.08.2020 | R&GP | Maths, Modern Foreign Languages | 4/5 | N/a | ||
Fr. Norbert Fernandes | 01.09.2017 | 31.08.2020 | R&GP, L&T | R.E., Safeuguarding, Pupil Premium | 5/5 | Chair of Governors Holy Family School, WGC | ||
Chair of Stevenage Deanery | ||||||||
Kate Walsh | 26.02.2019 | 25.02.2023 | R&GP, Admissions | SEN | 3/3 | N/a | ||
Keelin Keogh | 01.05.2019 | 30.04.2023 | L&T, Admissions | English / Literacy | 2/2 | Staff Governor at St. Albans Girls School | ||
Parent Governors | ||||||||
Edmondo Gallucci | 12.01.2018 | 11.01.2022 | L&T | Governor Training, Science | 5/5 | N/a | ||
Natalie Atkins | 20.02.2018 | 19.02.2022 | R&GP | EYFS, Health and Safety | 4/5 | N/a | ||
Neil Hubbard | 26.02.2019 | 25.02.2023 | R&GP | P.E. | 3/3 | N/a | ||
Local Authority Governor | ||||||||
Vacant | ||||||||
Headteacher | ||||||||
Richard Curry | R&GP, L&T, Admissions | 5/5 | N/a | |||||
Staff (Teaching) Governors | ||||||||
Dan Abrahams | 24.09.2019 | 23.09.2023 | R&GP, L&T | N/a | N/a |