GOVERNORS
St Oswald's Catholic Primary School is a Voluntary Aided Catholic Primary School situated in the Archdiocese of Liverpool and maintained by Lancashire County Council. The Governing body of any Catholic Voluntary Aided School, like St Oswald's, is made up of Foundation Governors appointed by the Archdiocese and elected representatives of Parents, Staff, and the Local Authority.
Lancashire Governor Services - Naomi Savory (Clerk to the Governing Body)
Role of the Governing Body
Governors are the strategic leaders of our school and have a vital role to play in making sure every child gets the best possible education. The effectiveness of school governance is an important part of overall school performance and a key part of the system for school accountability.
The governing body has three core functions:
1. Ensuring clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction;
The governing body is the key strategic decision-making body of our school. It is their role to set the school’s strategic framework and to ensure all statutory duties are met.
2. Holding the head teacher to account for the educational performance of the school and its pupils, and the performance management of staff;
The governing body works to support and strengthen the leadership of the headteacher, and holds them to account for the day-to-day running of the school, including the performance management of teachers. Having advised the governing body, the head teacher must comply with any reasonable direction given by it.
3. Overseeing the financial performance of the school and making sure its money is well spent.
The governing body ensures that resources are allocated in line with strategic priorities, making full use of assets and efficient use of all financial resources. Governors need to make sure that the school achieves good value for money from its budgeted resources.
The headteacher works closely with the governing body as its principal professional advisor. Governing body policy decisions are then implemented by the headteacher in the day-to-day running of the school. Importantly, the governing body is a source of challenge, as well as support to the headteacher.
Composition of the Governing Body
There are 12 governors on St Oswald’s Governing Body, including seven foundation governors, two parent governors, a staff governor and a local authority governor. The Headteacher is also a governor.
A foundation governor is a practicing Catholic who is appointed by the Archdiocese. They have the responsibility of assisting the Bishop, by sustaining and developing the Catholic ethos and distinctive Catholic nature of the school in which they serve. The person is usually a member of the school’s parish community, often a current parent who has offered to be a governor, selected by the Governing body in agreement of the parish priest. A foundation governor is usually nominated by the parish priest, who sends an application to the Liverpool Archdiocese of Catholic Education (LACE), where the position is approved and ratified.
Parent and staff appointments are done by election conducted by a designated officer appointed by the governing body, usually the head teacher. The Governing Body appoints the Authority Governor.
Meetings, committee membership and declared interests
Each governor has a term of office of four years with the opportunity for re-election. The composition of the governing body is reviewed on a regular basis to make sure it has the right balance of skills, experience and perspectives to be effective and meet its statutory responsibilities.
The full governing body meets at least once term. In addition committees, which have specific responsibilities such as Curriculum, Standards, and Resources (R) meet termly before each full governing body meeting.
