Governors
Whole School Aim
Governors at St Mary of the Angels Primary School believe in our school mission statement,
“Love Jesus, Love Learning, Love Life.”
Our mission is to nurture our children, through an excellent education and our core values reflecting our identity as a Catholic community, to reach their full God-given potential. The effectiveness of this has this year been seen in the awarding of Outstanding by the Catholic School Inspectorate.
Governors’ Role
The role of the Governing Body is an intrinsic part of the leadership of the school. In our strategic role, we monitor and support the school ensuring that:
- pupils enjoy school, feel valued and part of the school community
- ensure clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction
- pupil attainment is monitored and maximised
- oversee and approve the school's budget
- ensure systems are in place to support the staff as needed
- approve policies and procedures
- work co-operatively with the Headteacher and senior management in writing of the School Development Plan
A majority of our governors are called Foundation Governors; they are appointed by our Bishop, Mark Davies, to uphold the Catholic ethos of the school. Parent Governors are nominated and elected by parents. More information for prospective parent governors can be found in the attachments below. We do not work with sub-committees, other than the statutory pay committee, instead we meet as a full board every half term.
The school building itself is owned by the Diocese of Shrewsbury and managed by the governing body. Catholic schools' governors have to find an extra 10% of all building costs. So we ask for a voluntary parental contribution to the School Building Fund every year.
The headteacher in a Catholic school is employed by the governing body to ensure the smooth day to day management and running of the school. We all work in partnership with Cheshire West and Chester Local Authority, to ensure high standards, a sound Catholic education and most of all a safe environment for learning.
Local Authority Governors are appointed by Cheshire West and Chester Council.
Statement from the Board
By carrying out our strategic monitoring role, the Board have enabled the Senior Leadership Team to focus on the day to day running of the school and fully supported its vision for the continuing improvement of St Mary of the Angels. In this capacity, we were pleased to engage with the Catholic Schools Inspectorate’s two-day inspection; attending meetings, submitting a range of evidence and being present for the formal feedback from the Inspectors. We were delighted with the award of “Outstanding”. Post COVID, it has been positive and beneficial for us as a Baord all to fully participate in person once again- having face to face meetings and attending events in school. We have accessed training in many areas to enhance our experience, knowledge and skills and have recruited new members to the Board who again bring valuable experience. Much of our work is centered on the SDP and this year we have reviewed some of our roles in relation to this. We now have a Mental Health and Wellbeing Governor as we recognise Post-Covid, how much of a priority pupil and staff wellbeing is in school, and how this has developed in response to increasing need over recent years.
We also have an Attendance Governor to monitor and evaluate the new attendance tracking and analysis system. This is to maintain our good attendance, and ensure we have a secure grasp on absentees, patterns, trends and individuals and have effective safeguarding procedures in place for pupils who may be vulnerable through working closely with the SBM and the Headteacher, we’ve monitored the school budget to ensure the school can meet the constant challenge of rising costs. Governors have ensured that best value has been applied and this has seen the successful installation of the IT/Audio system in the school hall, new ipads and chromebooks and additional reading books across school.
We have continued to approve Capital Projects and, using Diocesan Building funds, the new canopy was erected, increasing outdoor learning space for four classrooms. Funds from the DFE have been used to improve energy efficiency and a major overhaul of the heating control system has been carried out. The strong and effective staffing structure in place has continued to drive the progress and attainment of our children and the Board have fully supported the End Point tracking system which holds teachers to account for the progress children make. We have also fully supported the Post-Covid Recovery Plan which has enabled school to recognise and inform provision and intervention and close any gaps in learning.
This year Governors have continued to scrutinise the evidence of impact on the outcomes for Pupil Premium children- details of this can be found on the website. The Board also monitor the Sport Premium funding which aims to achieve improvement in all areas of P.E and provides the Forest School experience for all pupils. This year school has once again achieved the Gold Sports Mark. Details of the impact of Sports Premium spending can also be found on the website. The successful tree planting and the creation of the Sensory Garden also highlights the provision of good LOTC learning opportunities for the children. As a Board, we continue to review policies and procedures to ensure these are fit for purpose and not only meet our legal requirements but also our vision and aims for the school and our pupils. We are grateful to all stakeholders for their continued support as we endeavour to provide the best educational and pastoral environment for them at St. Mary of the Angels.
Governor Priorities for 2024/2025
- 360 degree self-evaluation process with associated target areas for growth.
- Researching and engaging with the academisation roadmap for Shrewsbury Diocese
- Continued challenge and monitoring of the SDP and SEF and Head teacher's performance management
Who are our governors at St Mary of the Angels?
Governance in action
As governors at St Mary of the Angels, we are proactive in our approach to the day to day running of the school. As outlined above, each governor has their own areas of responsibility to contribute to the wider school community and is actively involved in the facilitation of outdoor education, trips and visits and whole school initiatives.
