Governors work closely with headteachers, school staff and representatives from the local authority (LA). Click the names of each Governor to find out more about their roles and responsibilities:
Governing Body Committee Structure
| Name | Representing | Term of Office | Committee | Register of Interests | Relationship to Staff |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Deacon Peter Lavery | Foundation (Clergy Representative) | 01/09/2016 - 31/12/2020 | Admissions | Deacon -Parish of St Joseph's, Birtley | Deacon at Parish Church |
| Mrs Bernadette Davison - Chair | Foundation | 14/12/2017-13/12/2021 | Resources First/Pay Review Head teacher's performance (Chair) Curriculum | Education (retired) | Grandparent of the school Music player within Masses/Liturgies Chair of Governors |
| Mrs Bernadette Bartlett | Foundation | 09/05/2016-08/12/2020 | Resources First/Pay Review (Chair) Head teacher's performance | Human Resources | Previous parent of the school Governor |
| Miss Patricia Jenner | Foundation | 09/05/2017-08/05/2021 | First/Pay Review Curriculum (Chair) Admissions | Education (retired) | Previous teacher of the school Governor |
| Mrs Angela Garrity | Foundation | 19/11/2019 - 18/11/2023 | First/Pay Review | Education | Previous parent of the school |
| Mrs Victoria Burrell | Local Authority | 02/01/2017-01/01/2021 | Admissions (Chair) Appeals Head teacher's Performance Curriculum | Local Government | Parent of the school Governor Member of Friends of St Benet's |
| Dr Sam Elkington | Parent | 09/03/2019-09/03/2022 | Appeals Curriculum | Education (higher education) | Parent of the school Parent governor |
| Mr Martin Cottle - Vice Chair | Parent | 28/01/2020-27/01/2024 | Admissions Appeals (Chair) Curriculum | Safeguarding | Parent of the school Parent governor Safeguarding governor |
| Miss Sophie Loughlin | Staff | 01/09/2017- 31/08/2021 | Resources Curriculum | Class teacher | Staff member (teacher) Staff governor |
| Mrs Claire Canham | Staff - non elected governor | Resources Admissions Curriculum | Deputy head teacher | Staff member (deputy head teacher) | |
| Miss Catherine Harper | Head Teacher | All Committees | Head teacher | Head teacher | |
| Mrs Monica Kelsey | Foundation | 07/01/2020- 06/01/2024 | Curriculum | Education | Parent of the School |
Statutory Guidance for Governing Bodies
St Benet’s RCVA Primary School adhere to the statutory guidance from the Department of Education. This means that governing bodies must have regard to it when carrying out duties relating to the constitution of governing bodies in maintained schools.
The Constitution of Governing Bodies of Maintained Schools (2017)
How To Become A School Governor
If you require further information on the roles and responsibilities of School Governors or you are interested in becoming one, visit the Durham County Council website School Governor section.
Governor Attendance
Schools are now required to display a record of Governor attendance at meetings for each school academic year.
KEY
✓ – Attended meeting
A/A – Apologies sent and accepted by meeting
N – Did not attend
n/a – Not a member of the committee
Record of Attendance 2020- 2021
| Name | Meeting [add date] | Meeting [add date] | Meeting [add date] |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deacon P Lavery | |||
| Mrs B Davison - Chair | |||
| Mrs B Bartlett | |||
| Miss P Jenner | |||
| Mrs Angela Garrity | |||
| Mrs V Burrell | |||
| Mr M Cottle - Vice Chair | |||
| Dr S Elkington | |||
| Miss S Loughlin | |||
| Mrs C Canham | |||
| Miss C Harper | |||
| Mrs M Kelsey |
Archived Attendance
You can also view previous years attendance on our website.
Committee Terms of Reference
First / Pay Review Committee
CHAIR: Mrs Bernadette Bartlett
Terms of Reference:
- Annually agree the Teachers’ Pay Policy.
- Act in accordance with the Teachers’ Pay Policy when carrying out the annual review of teachers’ salaries.
- Report to the Resources committee on pay review related expenditure.
- Consider any requests made in accordance with personnel policies e.g. flexible working, leave of absence etc. (unless delegated to the Headteacher).
- Make any decisions relating to … the personnel procedures adopted by the Governing Body e.g. disciplinary, grievance, ill-health, capability etc.
- Make any decisions relating to a member of staff (other than the Headteacher) under the personnel procedures adopted by the Governing Body (unless delegated to the Headteacher).
- Deal with matters relating to staffing reductions.
MEETINGS: at least annually during the Autumn term
QUORUM:
DISQUALIFICATIONS: Headteacher; Chair of Governors (if have prior knowledge); where there may be a conflict of interest; any Governor whose spouse/partner is involved; staff (annual pay review and matters relating to staffing reductions)
Appeals Committee
CHAIR: Mr Martin Cottle
Terms of Reference:
- Consider any appeal against a decision made under the personnel procedures adopted by the Governing Body.
- Consider any appeal against a decision to dismiss a member of staff made by the First/Pay Review Committee (or Headteacher if delegated).
- Consider any appeal against a decision made by the First/Pay Review Committee during the annual review of teachers’ salaries.
- Consider any appeal against selection for redundancy through a staffing reduction process.
- Consider complaints against the school in accordance with the agreed school Complaints Procedure.
MEETINGS: as and when required.
QUORUM: Must have at least the same number of Governors as were present at the original hearing.
DISQUALIFICATIONS: Headteacher; Chair of Governors (if have prior knowledge); any Governor involved in the original hearing; where there may be a conflict of interest; any Governor whose spouse/partner is involved; staff (appeals in relation to salary or staffing reduction decisions)
Admissions Committee
Chair: Mrs Victoria Burrell
Terms of Reference:
- To determine within statutory guidelines and the School Admission Policy whether any child shall be admitted to the school.
- To adopt a School Admission policy in line with diocesan guidelines and review admission arrangements annually.
- To adopt a Nursery Admission Policy and review admission arrangements annually.
- To set a planned admission number (PAN) considering infant class size legislation.
MEETINGS: at least annually during the Spring term.
Headteacher’s Performance Review Committee
LEAD GOVERNOR: Mrs Bernadette Davison
Terms of Reference:
- Set, with the support of the Education Development Partner (EDP) Headteacher’s annual performance objectives.
- Monitor throughout the year the performance of the Headteacher against agreed performance objectives.
- Review, with the support of the Education Development Partner (EDP) achievement of performance objectives.
- Make recommendations to the First/Pay Review Committee in respect of the Headteacher’s annual pay progression.
MEETINGS: Autumn Term plus monitoring meetings
DISQUALIFICATIONS: Headteacher and staff
Resources Committee
CHAIR: Mrs Bernadette Bartlett
Terms of Reference:
- Elect Chair (if delegated by full Governing Body).
Finance:
- In conjunction with the Head teacher to draft and propose the first formal budget plan of the financial year for approval by the full Governing Body.
- Establish and maintain an up-to-date three year financial plan.
- Ensure that priorities detailed within the School Improvement Plan are appropriately costed and are reflected in the annual budget.
- Monitor the budget position statement to identify and address any anomalies from the anticipated position and report termly to the full Governing Body.
- Review and monitor Direct School Meals Provision by income and expenditure statements.
- Monitor and approve virements and expenditure over the Head teacher’s delegated limit.
- Ensure the school operates within the financial regulations of the Local Authority and the requirements of the DfE Schools Financial Value Standard (SFVS).
- Approve annually the Schools Financial Value Standard (SFVS) submission prior to the 31 March deadline and monitor the implementation of any identified actions.
- Monitor expenditure of all voluntary funds held on behalf of the Governing Body by review of an audited annual statement of income and expenditure including the Friends of St Benet’s.
- Annually review the outcomes of the asset register stock check and approve the disposal of obsolete items.
- Ensure appropriate use of the Early Years Premium, Pupil Premium and Sports Premium.
- Review and monitor all financial policies including lettings, charging and remissions and expenses policies.
- Annually review income generated from contracts and lettings; oversee the use of premises by outside users.
- Monitor service level agreements annually and make decisions in respect of service level agreements ensuring value for money.
- Ensure as far as is practical that health and safety issues are appropriately funded in accordance with agreed priorities.
- Monitor the implementation of actions arising from the Internal Audit report or of a financial nature from other inspection regime reports.
MEETINGS: Termly (before the Full Governor Body meeting)
QUORUM:
DISQUALIFICATIONS: where there may be a conflict of or a pecuniary interest
| Virement Limits | Expenditure Limits | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Limit set for Headteacher without prior written approval of Chair of Governing Body Where the cumulative effect of multiple virements on the same budget heading exceeds this limit, details are to be reported to the next Resources Committee meeting for information and retrospective approval | £1000 | Any items of expenditure up to | £5000 |
| Limit set for Headteacher with approval from Chair of Governors A log of these approvals will be maintained and details reported to the next Resources Committee meeting. | £1000 to £5000 | Above this limit if item was previously notified to the Governing Body. | |
| Prior Resources Committee or Chair of Governors approval (whichever is the soonest) to be sought outside of these limits and reported to the Resources Committee at the earliest opportunity. | |||
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