Our governors perform vital, legal functions and also do a lot more to help and support our school.
The governing body is made up of parents, staff and representatives of the church, diocese and local authority. They make decisions about how the school is run in consultation with the headteacher; they have legal duties, powers and responsibilities which include appointing staff and deciding how the school budget is spent.
Governors meet as a full group twice a term and the minutes of these meetings are displayed outside the school office. Parent governors can contribute the views and ideas of other parents to the governing body but they are not there to act as a channel for complaints or to address any issue affecting an individual child or parent. There are clear policies and procedures for such situations and parents are encouraged to select the more formal route or perhaps use the Parent Council for more general topics, as appropriate.
Governors are elected or appointed for four years and serve on one or more committees to carry out their various duties.
Please find below the details of our school governors currently in post:
| Name | Appointing body | Term of office | Committees |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rev’d David Munchin (Chair) | Ex Officio – Rector | N/A | Personnel |
| Mr Stuart Whiteland | Ex Officio – Headteacher | N/A | Admissions, Finance & Fabric, Curriculum & Standards (“C&S”) (Chair), Personnel |
| Mrs Sam Branch | Co-opted (staff) | 01.09.22 – 31.08.26 | C&S |
| Mr Chris Clements | Parent | 25.01.24 – 24.01.28 | Finance & Fabric |
| Ms Caroline Griffiths | Foundation (St Mary’s PCC) | 15.05.24 – 14.05.28 | |
| Mr Chris Harvey | Foundation (St Mary’s PCC) | 20.09.23 – 19.09.27 | Finance & Fabric, Personnel |
| Mrs Liz Hesketh (Vice Chair) | Foundation (St Mary’s PCC) | 01.07.24 – 30.06.28 | Finance & Fabric (Chair), C&S |
| Mr Stuart Jenkin | Foundation (St Mary’s PCC) | 18.01.23 – 17.01.27 | Finance & Fabric, C&S |
| Mr Adrian Lofty | Local Authority (Governing Body) | 13.07.23 – 12.07.27 | Finance & Fabric, Admissions |
| Mrs Emma Phillips | Staff | 01.09.23 – 31.08.27 | C&S |
| Ms Kat Pugh | Foundation (St Mary’s DBE) | 01.10.24 – 31.08.28 | |
| Mrs Corinna Semon | Parent | 01.02.23 – 31.01.27 | Finance & Fabric, Admissions |
| Mrs Evelyne Welch | Foundation (St Mary’s PCC) | 17.09.22 – 16.09.26 | Safeguarding Link, C&S |
| Ms Kayleigh Kingsland (HfL Clerk) | Governing Body | N/A |
Please find below the details of our school governors whose terms expired during the last 12 months:
| Mr Bill Morris | Foundation (St Albans DBE) | 09.09.20 – 08.09.24 | Admissions (Chair), Personnel |
| Mrs Irene Mackie
(Vice-Chair) |
Foundation (St Albans DBE) | 09.11.21 – 31.08.2024 | Admissions, Finance & Fabric, C&S, Personnel |
| Mr Paul Castle | Parent | 17.03.23 – 17.11.23 | Fabric (Chair) |
Associate members
Curriculum and Standards Committee – Lunda David, Emma Harrison and Natasha Lewis (Senior Leadership Team).
Admissions Committee – Julie Noakes (Office Manager).
Finance and Fabric Committee – Annie Ragless (Finance Officer) and Phil Stockton (Site Manager).
No associate members have voting rights.
Notes:
In compliance with the government direction, the School’s Instrument of Government provides for one staff governor. The governing body consider that their collective skill set is enhanced by the inclusion of a further member of staff and have agreed that such a person should be co-opted to the governing body. The member of staff holding the staff governor vacancy will be appointed via an election of all staff; should that person be a member of the teaching staff, then the co-opted person will be a member of the non-teaching staff (and vice versa) also appointed by an election by all staff.
Register of interests
In accordance with legislation, the following table records the register of interests of governors (covering relevant business interests, details of any other educational establishments they govern and any relationships between governors and members of the school staff including spouses, partners and relatives), which may conflict with the individual’s duties and authority
| Name | Business | Financial | Personal | Relationships | Governorships |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sam Branch | None | None | None | None | None |
| Chris Clements | None | None | None | Children at school | None |
| Lunda David | None | None | None | None | None |
| Emma Harrison | None | None | None | None | None |
| Caroline Griffiths | None | None | None | None | None |
| Chris Harvey | None | None | None | None | None |
| Liz Hesketh | None | None | None | None | None |
| Stuart Jenkin | None | None | None | Spouse is a Trustee of St Mary’s School Trust | None |
| Natasha Lewis | None | None | None | None | Governor of Commonswood Primary School |
| Adrian Lofty | None | None | None | Child at school | None |
| Rev David Munchin | None | None | None | None | Governor at St Michael’s JMI School Woolmer Green |
| Julie Noakes | None | None | None | None | Chair of Governors at Commonswood Primary School |
| Emma Phillips | None | None | None | None | None |
| Kat Pugh | None | None | None | None | None |
| Annie Ragless | None | None | None | None | None |
| Corinna Semon | None | PTFA treasurer | None | Children at school | None |
| Phil Stockton | None | None | None | None | None |
| Evelyne Welch | None | None | None | None | None |
| Stuart Whiteland | None | None | None | None | None |
Governors’ attendance record
| Name | Attendance at GB meetings during term of office in last 12 months |
|---|---|
| Rev’d David Munchin (Chair) | 5/6 |
| Mrs Emma Phillips | 6/6 |
| Mrs Sam Branch | 6/6 |
| Prof. Paul Castle | 1/1 |
| Mr Chris Clements | 3/4 |
| Ms Caroline Griffiths | 3/3 |
| Mr Chris Harvey | 3/6 |
| Mrs Liz Hesketh | 5/6 |
| Mr Stuart Jenkin | 5/6 |
| Mr Adrian Lofty | 5/6 |
| Mrs Irene Mackie | 5/5 |
| Mr Bill Morris | 4/5 |
| Ms Kat Pugh | 1/1 |
| Mrs Corinna Semon | 5/6 |
| Mrs Evelyne Welch | 5/6 |
| Mr Stuart Whiteland | 6/6 |