St Joseph's Catholic Primary, Brighton

                                                                             Our Governors                                                                              

Governing Body – What do our Governors Do?

Governors work with senior leaders in the strategic development of the school and in raising standards of achievement. Duties include setting the school’s vision, aims & objectives, approving the school budget and appointing the Head Teacher.

Governors must both support and challenge the Head Teacher, so need to gain an understanding of the school’s overall performance in order to explain its decisions and actions. They do this by attending regular meetings, carrying out school visits and meeting with senior leaders. They also attend training in order to keep up to date with the requirements of their role. Governors work as a team and make collective decisions.

Your School Needs You:

We currently have vacancies for school governors: two Foundation governors. If you are interested in becoming a school governor, please contact the Clerk to Governors for more information and an informal discussion of what is involved: admin@st-josephs.brighton-hove.sch.uk

If you are a member of the school or local community and are interested in supporting St Joseph’s, please get in touch!

If you wish to contact the governors for any reason, please contact either the Clerk at the email address above, or the Chair of Governors Tad Matus, via the school.

Structure of the Governing Body:

The Governing Body for St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School members are listed below. The Full Governing Body (FGB) meets six times a year and consists of all members. At these meetings, the governing body carries out its three core functions, as identified by the Department for Education in the Governors' Handbook:

- ensuring clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction

- holding the Head Teacher to account for the educational performance of the school and its pupils, and the performance management of staff

- overseeing the financial performance of the school and making sure money is well spent.

                                       The current Chair of Governors is Tad Matus and the Vice-Chair is Alison Childs.

                            The Chair of Resources Committee is Tad Matus and the Vice-Chair is John Parfitt. Chair of CLE Committee: Alison Childs.

There are two Committees of the Governing Body (GB) which meet regularly and report to the FGB. These are the Resources Committee (RES) which meets each half term, and the Catholic Life and Ethos Committee (CLE) which meets once a term. There are two panels: Admissions, and the Head Teacher Review Panel who meet as needed and report back to the Governing Body with recommendations. The GB adheres to the Brighton & Hove Code of Conduct for Governing Bodies. Associate members do not have voting rights on committees but are welcome to attend meetings if they would like to. They can offer advice to the GB if requested.

Staff attendance at meetings: the Resources Committee is attended when needed by the school Business Manager. There is a staff representative on the Governing Body, as well as the Head Teacher. Other guests or staff may be invited to attend a meeting as and when advice or information is required.

Full Governing Body and Committee Minutes are available from the Clerk, or the school Business Manager, Siobhan Justice on request: siobhanjustice@st-josephs.brighton-hove.sch.uk

Governing Body Membership:

Current list of Governors as at October 2022 including names, initials used in minutes, type of Governor and term of office.

Lyndsey Gravenor Chair of Governors Autumn 2018 - RESIGNED Autumn 2022

Emmanuel Nimo Foundation Governor  Spring 2017 - RESIGNED Summer 2018

Edgar Tshuma Parent Governor Winter 2016 - RESIGNED Summer 2018