If you would like to contact our governors, please email Sarah Richardson, Clerk to the Governors, at the following address: sarah.richardson@bristol-schools.uk
Governors
- Bridget Davies – Chair of Governors
- Jema Ball – Co Vice Chair of Governors
- Helena Richards – Co Vice Chair of Governors
- Michael Barnes
- David Forrester
- Isobel Gelder
- Jamie Pirie
- Andrew Quinton
- Rachel Powlesland
- Beverly Richardson
- Helen Rowe
- Sophie Summers
- Cynthia Treharne
- Paul Wake
- James Wiggins
- Barbara Woolwright
What is a School Governor?
School Governors are drawn from all walks of life and play a vital role in promoting high standards of educational achievement. They are interested in the education, welfare and opportunities for children and young people at our school.
Their work includes:
- Promoting high standards of achievement
- Planning the school’s long-term future
- Setting the school’s aims, values and ethos
- Budgetary allocation and control
- Appointing senior staff
- Governors give their service voluntarily and no formal qualifications are necessary although there are eligibility criteria
- Governors are ordinary people, aged over 18, with a special commitment to the education and well-being of children
- Terms of office will be a minimum of one to a maximum of four years
We have four types of Governors:
- Staff Governors
- Parent Governors
- Member Appointed Governors
- Foundation Governors
Staff Governors
Staff Governors fall into two categories: Teaching staff, and Support Staff. Staff Governors are elected by the teaching and support staff who are paid to work at the school. This category also includes a reserved place for the Headteacher.
Parent Governors
Parent Governors, as the title implies, are drawn from parents or guardians of children at our school. Parent Governors normally serve for a period of 4 years and are elected by the parents or carers of children at the school.
From time to time, the school will send home a letter notifying parents that there is a vacancy for a Parent Governor. If there are more nominations than there are vacancies, then there will be a ballot, at which point all of the parents get to vote for the candidate of their choice.
As a Parent Governor, elected by parents, the role is to bring a parental perspective to the Goverining Body’s decision making, rather than represent the parental constituency.
Member Appointed Governors
Member Appointed Governors are people from the local community, elected by the governing body.
If you would like to find out more about being a Member Appointed Governor, either at this school or another, you can contact our Chair of Governors.
Foundation Governors
Foundation Governors are made up of representatives from the local diocese, including staff and church members at St Mary’s. They are responsible for advising on the Christian ethos of our school.
The structure and remit of our Governing Body
Our academy shall have the following trustees, as set out in its Articles of Association and Funding Agreement:
Up to 4 Trustees, who are appointed by members.
Up to 4 Foundation Trustees, of whom one will be the Incumbent (providing that the total number of Foundation Trustees shall not exceed 25% of the total number of Trustees).
Between 2 and 6 Parent Trustees, who are elected by parents of the registered pupils at the academy. A Parent Trustee must be a parent of a pupil at the academy at the time they are elected.
Where a vacancy for a Parent Trustee is required to be filled by election, the Board of Trustees shall take such steps as are reasonably practical to secure that every person who is known to them to be a parent of a registered pupil at the academy is informed of the vacancy and that it is required to be filled by election, informed that they are entitled to stand as a candidate, and vote at the election, and given the opportunity to do so.
Up to 2 Staff Trustees are appointed by the Board of Trustees (providing that the total number of Trustees, including the Head Teacher, who are employees of the academy does not exceed one third of the total number of Trustees).
The Head Teacher, who shall be treated for all purposes as being an ex officio Trustee.
Organisational Structure
The Board of Trustees normally meet six times per year. The board establishes an overall framework for the governance of the academy and determines membership, terms of reference and procedures of committees and other groups. It receives reports, including policies, from its committees for ratification. It monitors the activities of the committees through the minutes of their meetings. The board may, from time to time, establish working parties to perform specific tasks over a limited timescale.
There are 5 committees as follows:
The Finance Committee – this meets four times a year to:
monitor, evaluate and review policy and performance in relation to financial management, compliance with reporting and regulatory requirements, reviewing the risk register, receiving reports from the ‘Responsible Officer’ and reviewing the annual budget including setting staffing levels.
The Quality of Education Committee – This meets six times a year to:
monitor, evaluate and review academy policy, practice and performance in relation to curriculum planning, target-setting, assessments (Key Stage SATS and teacher assessments) and all pastoral issues.
The Strategic Development Group – This meets three times a year to:
act as a think tank, review the effectiveness of the governing body and to review the School Development Plan.
The Leadership and Management Committee – This meets four times a year to:
ensure policies and procedures are in place for effective personnel management, to monitor the Leadership and Management elements of the School Development Plan and manage relationships with the school’s stakeholders.
The Personal Development Committee – This meets three times a year to:
monitor the Personal Development elements of the School Development Plan, ensure that the schools vision and values (including the Christian values and ethos) underpin all aspects of school life and advise on any matters relating to the ethos and spiritual life of the school.
For more information on our governors and Trust members, please see the documents below: