Governing Body Structure

Governing Boards of Catholic voluntary aided schools are the employers and the admissions body for the school. The board consists of members drawn from a range of backgrounds including parents, staff, the local authority, the parish and wider school community.

Foundation Governors are appointed in the name of the Bishop by the Episcopal Delegate for Education and they form the majority of the Board. They have a legal duty to preserve and develop the Catholic ethos of the school and to ensure that it is conducted in accordance with its Trust Deed.  Their responsibility is not only to consider the interests of their individual school or college but also the interests of other schools and colleges and Catholic education in general across the Diocese.

Parent Governors are elected by other parents at the school, except in certain circumstances where they are appointed by the board, for instance, when the number of vacancies is greater than the number of parents standing for election. Any parent or person with parental responsibility, or a carer, of a registered pupil at the school at the time of election can stand as a parent governor. Parent governors can remain in office until the end of their term of office, even if their child leaves the school.  The board must include at least two parent governors.

Staff Governors Teaching and support staff who are employed by either the board or local authority to work at the school under a contract of employment, at the time of election, are eligible to stand for election to the governing board. Staff governors are elected by the same category of school staff e.g. those who are also employed in the same school by the school or the local authority. Their role will end either at the end of their term of office, or if they leave the school. The board must have one staff governor.

Local Authority Governor A LA governor is nominated by their LA to the governing board, but it is for the governing board to agree whether to appoint them. It is for the governing board to decide whether the LA’s nominee has the skills required to contribute to the effective governance and success of the school and meets any other eligibility criteria they have set. An individual eligible to be a staff governor at the school may not be appointed as a LA governor. An individual does not need to work for the LA to be eligible to be nominated. LA governors may be removed from office by the LA that nominated them. A governing board must have one LA governor.

The Governance Statement

In accordance with the Government's requirements for all governing bodies, the three core strategic functions of the Our Lady & St. Gerard's Primary School Governing Body are:

1. Ensuring clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction and ensure all statutory duties are met;

2. Holding the Headteacher to account for the educational performance of the school and its pupils and the performance management of staff;

3. Overseeing the financial performance of the school and ensuring its money is well spent.

The Governing Body have two working committees:

• Resources Committee
• Standards and Effectiveness Committee

The terms of reference for each committee can be obtained by clicking the documents below.

Foundation Governor Vacancy July 2023

We have one vacancy for a Foundation Governor in our school.  Please see the information below with details of the role of the Foundation Governor and criteria.  Those interested in this role should contact Fr Mark Harold via the details below:

Our Lady of Lourdes & St Gerard Majella RC Church

Lourdes Avenue

Lostock Hall

Preston

Telephone: 01772 335387

office@saintgerards.org.uk

Governing Board Membership 2022-2023

Chair of Committees:

The Chair for each committee is as follows:

Mr J Kingswood - Chair of Governors

Mrs K Walton - Chair of Resources

Mr E Taylor - Chair of Curriculum 

Mrs R Ballard - Chair of Standards & Effectiveness

Link Governors

Each governor at Our Lady & St. Gerard's is linked to a curriculum area.  They meet regularly with the Subject Leader(s) of their curriculum area(s) to discuss policy, standards, aims and vision.

Some Governors are also linked with specific focus areas.

SEND: Rachel Ballard

Pupil Premium: Rachel Ballard

EYFS: Rachel Ballard

Prevent: John Kingswood

Safeguarding: John Kingswood