The Governing Body at St Joseph's
Our Governors are drawn from the local community and freely give their time and expertise in order to support the work of the school.
Governor Duties
Some of the main duties carried out in conjunction with the school leadership team are:
- Setting targets for pupil achievement
- Managing the school’s finances
- Making sure the curriculum is balanced and broadly based
- Appointing staff
Governor Committees
At St Joseph’s the governors are organised into five committees to manage this:
- Resources
- Strategy
- Ethos, Discipline and Relationships
- Admissions
- Curriculum
Governor Types
There are several different categories of Governor:
- Foundation Governors are appointed by the Diocese;
- Parent Governors are appointed by self-nomination and parent vote where necessary;
- Staff Governors are appointed by self-nomination and staff vote where necessary;
- Local Authority and Co-opted Governors are appointed by the Governing Board.
We are blessed to have a committed and multi-talented Governing Board with a wide variety of experience and expertise.
Useful Links
Contact our Chair of Governors
Our Governance Statement - A Summary
During the year 2022/23:
- We continue to be committed to school success and governors are focussed on working with staff to improve and build on the wider curriculum. To achieve this we have expanded the SLT with an Assistant Headteacher co-ordinating a school wide approach. Teacher subject leads have commented on the success and positive impact of the new post AHT Wider Curriculum on pupil learning.
- The board have taken the decision to explore conversion to Academy status and the option to join the Xavier Catholic Education Trust. We are currently in the consultation period with parents, staff and all who are interested in our school.
- We are committed to enhancing RE learning and have introduced a new curriculum as we prepare for the Catholic Schools Inspection in early spring 2024.
- We work with external advisors to guide us on teaching, testing, leadership and performance.
- We have supported staff training in Talk for Writing, an engaging Teaching Framework resource and the investment has seen a positive impact across the school.
- We have spent time in school in May 23 for Governor’s Day. The programme included attending a Year 1 Assembly, Forest School, 6 classroom visits focusing on RE, Maths and English ending with the May procession and Mass. Governors enjoyed joining the children for lunch and the opportunity to chat informally with both pupils and staff.
- We have continued to monitor the effectiveness of subject leadership via yearly meetings between subject leaders and link governors. We have been able to pick up on the action plans from the previous academic year and looked for evidence of impact of changes made. The focus is always on looking for evidence of a positive impact on children’s learning.
- We have continued to focus on the use of targeted funding such as pupil premium, covid catch-up and sports premium. We review evidence of how the funds have been spent and question senior leaders to ensure we are satisfied that money is being spent in a way that maximises the benefit to children.
- Through regular meetings and monitoring we have ensured stewardship of the budget and awareness of the school’s financial position.
Our future priorities are:
- To ensure that safeguarding is front and centre of all that we do and to ensure effective implementation of the changes to Keeping Children Safe in Education.
- To support the school as it undergoes a spring CSI inspection under the new framework and to ensure that the new RE curriculum is embedded.
- To lead the current consultation process as we consider becoming part of the Xavier Catholic Education Trust and to ensure that the outcome decided upon is in the best interests of the pupils of St Joseph’s School.
- To ensure effective leadership and management of the school with review as necessary of the current structure; governors to impact on the strategic direction of the school and to hold leaders to account through the implementation of the School Development Plan.
- To ensure the quality of teaching and learning in all school years; governors to ensure an ongoing commitment to the OFSTED 2022 recommendation regarding the effectiveness of individual subject area teaching.
- To monitor the implementation of the new Sustainability Strategy, an initiative in which pupils play an integral role.
- To check the effectiveness of the PSHE curriculum in meeting children’s needs & general wellbeing, and to focus on staff wellbeing.
- To continue to ensure that the new early years curriculum is effectively implemented.
- To ensure that the funds allocated to the school are spent in a way that maximises the benefit to children’s learning and to navigate through the challenges of higher overall costs.
Meet our Governing Body
Eveline Fredericks
Chair of Governors
Barbara Barrett
Deputy Chair of Governors
Elaine Jones
Clerk to the Governing Body
Tamsyn Lawlor
Headteacher
Gerry O'Dwyer
Foundation Governor
Anthonia Funge
Co-Opted Governor
Nicky Park
Nominated by LA
appointed by GB
Natalie Carroll
Foundation Governor
Joanne Løvbakke
Foundation Governor
Robert Sanders
Foundation Governor
James Hart
Parent Governor
Katie Costello
Parent Governor
Kevin Pullar
Staff Governor
| Name | Type |
|---|---|
| Barbara Barrett (Chair) | Foundation |
| Tamsyn Lawlor | Headteacher |
| Nicky Park | LA |
| Gerry O'Dwyer | Foundation |
| Eveline Fredericks | Foundation |
| Natalie Carroll | Foundation |
| Anthonia Funge | Co-opted |
| Kevin Pullar | Staff |
| Elaine Jones | Clerk |
