Your St Thomas Governing Body

Elizabeth Ashwell -

Kathryn Buxton - Co-Opted Staff Governer, member of Standards and Effectiveness Committee. Prior to retirement, I was the Senior Administrator at St Thomas, having previously enjoyed the same role in Bradley Junior School. It is an honour to be able to continue my involvement with the school as a Governor. In my other life I enjoy singing, gardening, cooking and travel. Being a Governor means: Responsibility, Trust and Support. 

Jon Harris - Parent Governor, member of the Resources Committee. I am a keen photographer and run my own photography business. I have one child currently at St Thomas and another who was Head Boy here until leaving to go up to high school this year. I became a governor to help ensure that the highest quality of education is available for the children in the Bradley area and I firmly believe this school gives its pupils the best start they can have in life. Being a governor means: Support, Involvement and Responsibility 

Dave Hewitt - Foundation Governor, member of the Resources Committee. I have worked for our local Church for over 25 years and been involved in Collective worship in school as well as attending Governor days.  I became a Governor to help the children and give them the best possible start they can have. It is an honour to serve the school. Being a Governor means: Learning, Honour, Trust. 

Amanda Howarth - Co-opted Governor, member of the Resources Committee. I work for a local Huddersfield business Cummins Ltd and as part of our companies ethos to give back and help our local communities I have volunteered to work with St Thomas School Bradley and I am really looking forward to meeting everyone and working with you all. I believe that all children are entitled to the highest quality of education and from what I have seen so far I believe that this school gives its pupils the best start they can have in life. Being a governor means: Responsibility, Involvement and Trust.

Ian Jamieson - Foundation governor and Priest-in-Charge at St Thomas' Church in Bradley. I moved to Bradley in May 2017 and immediately began serving on the governing body at our school. I am a former teacher and, as such, enjoy coming into school each week to lead collective worship, and welcoming the children and staff into Church at times like Harvest, Christmas and Easter and for events like the leavers' assemblies. I became a governor because I think that local schools and Churches share a responsibility to serve the local community and care for the well-being of every child and their family. Being a governor means: Serving, loving, and caring.

Kate Meade- Co-opted Staff Governor, member of Standards and Effectiveness Committee. Working with the Governing Body is integral to my role as Deputy Head teacher. I became a governor to ensure that the children of St Thomas are central to all school wide decision making and so that I could support the Governors in gaining knowledge and understanding about our school - in order to ensure we are working to full capacity! Being a Governor means: Integrity, Support and Challenge.

Sarah Palmer - Co-opted Vice-Chair Governor, responsible for Safeguarding and Child Protection, member of the Standards and Effectiveness Committee. I am an ex-student, currently training as a Primary School Teacher and run my own Tutoring Business. I became a Governor to give something back to the school and to help ensure that the children are accessing an Education that gives them the best start in life and the chance to realise and achieve their individual potential. Being a Governor means: Responsibility, Accessability and Inclusion.

Julie-Ann Roy - Parent Governor, responsible for SEND, and a member of the Standards and Effectiveness Committee. I attend and participate in all meetings, go to Governor Days in School and meet with staff regarding my Governor responsibilities. I became a Governor to help make a positive contribution to our children's education. Being a Governor means  - A Critical Friend.

David Rushby - Head Teacher. I have been at the Bradley schools for some time now and so I can see the great work that governors do. As Head teacher within the group, my job is to support the governors so that they can aquire a real point of knowledge. This means that they can be involved independently, and as a group in the school improvement process. This also means that they can ask me the questions required to secure the right actions.

Silva Scott - L.A. Governor and Chairperson, responsible for Governor Training, member of Resources Committee and the Standards and Effectiveness Committee. I chair the meetings of the full Governing Body which meet 6 times a year. I help the Headteacher with the school's strategy, hold the Headteacher to account for the school's performance, and make sure the school's budget is managed properly. I come into school on a regular basis and I also meet with the Headteacher every week. I became a Governor to help the children in our community to receive the best start in life with an education that helps them reach their potential and that will take them through their life. Being a Governor is - Awesome, Brilliant, Rewarding.

Ben Smith - Associate Staff Governor, member of Standards and Effectiveness Committee. I work as a Year 4 teacher at St Thomas. I have taught in Year 6 and Year 4 at St Thomas in the past. I joined the Governing Body to play a greater role in the life of the school, and to try to give a voice to teaching staff on the Governing Body. Being a Governor means: Responsibility, Accountability and Opportunity.

What is a Governing Body and what do they do?

WHY WE HAVE GOVERNING BODIES

The Education Act 1980 made it compulsory for each school in England and Wales to have a governing body. The Governing Body is responsible for the overall management of the school.

ACCOUNTABILITY

Governing bodies are accountable to:

• the Local Authority (which maintains the school)
• the parents
• the pupils
• the community served by the school
• the staff of the school

WHERE GOVERNORS COME FROM

Members of School Governing Bodies are volunteers and are part of the biggest volunteer force in the country. They include men and women who represent the parents, staff, the local authority and the local community.

CATEGORIES OF GOVERNORS

At St Thomas we have a maximum of twelve governors. This is made up of:

• Two parent governors – parents with a child or children at the school, elected by parents.
• Two staff governors – the Headteacher (if he or she chooses) plus one member of the school elected by school staff.
• One LEA governors – appointed by the Local Authority
• Five Community/Co-opted governors – people who live or work in the community served by the school appointed by the governing body
• Two Foundation governors – appointed by St Thomas Church to which the school is linked because we are a Church of England school.

Governing Bodies are responsible for the overall management of the school and have responsibility for raising school standards by:

• deciding on the strategic direction the school should take
• ensuring accountability
• monitoring and evaluating school performance.

Overall management of the school includes:

• admissions
• complaints about the school
• finance (setting the yearly budget)
• fixing the starting and finishing times of the school day
• agreeing how many children there should be on the roll and the maximum number in each class
• health and safety
• home-school agreement
• links with parents
• staff performance and pay
• school prospectus
• pupil attendance
• pupil behaviour
• school inspections
• safeguarding
• sex education
• staffing
• the curriculum
• the promotion of high standards of educational achievement
• the school’s aims and ethos

HOW GOVERNING BODIES PERFORM THEIR FUNCTIONS

The governing body can perform its duties and use its powers in three modes:

1. itself as a body
2. by delegation to a committee of governors
3. by delegation to the head

We meet regularly, at least twice a term to hear progress reports from the Head and also reports from the various committees on which the governors sit. The governors also regularly attend training sessions.

To maintain links between the governors and staff and children, each governor is allocated to a particular year group in which normally there are two classes. If possible each governor visits classes in their years group once or twice a term to see the work the children are doing and to speak to them and their teachers.

Governors can also, if they wish, volunteer to help children by, for example, hearing them read on a one to one basis, help with after-school extra curricular activities and accompany staff members on educational and leisure visits.

Involvement of the governors in this way is considered very important by the Government-appointed Ofsted teams who carry out inspections at all schools on a regular basis to check the progress being made by the children and they are very keen to know about the work of the governors and their contribution to the life of the school.

We have Governor Days every term, where Governors are invited to spend the day in school and in classes looking at their own responsibility and how it relates to the running of the school and the progress of our children.