Governors

Good governance is vital to any successful school and the Department for Education Governors’ Handbook identifies three core functions for governing bodies:

• Ensuring clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction.
• Holding the headteacher 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 its money is well spent.

The Co-Chairs of St. Joseph’s Governing Body are:  Dr. C Proctor and Mrs. Z. Pollakova and they can be contacted via St. Joseph’s Catholic Primary School, Gipsy Lane, Bracknell, RG12 9AP. Tel: 01344 425246.

The School Governors are volunteers who give their time and expertise free of charge to ensure that the school is run well, within budget and putting the needs and well-being of pupils and staff at the forefront. They come from varied backgrounds and represent different groups within the community. Their brief is to assist the Headteacher with the management of the school and to ensure that the distinctive Catholic nature of the school is maintained. The governing body works in close partnership with the headteacher, staff, the Diocese and the local authority. Whilst the headteacher is, of course, responsible for the day-to-day running of the school, the governors are involved with such things as staffing, curriculum, school buildings, finance and admissions. In addition to attending the full governing body meetings, governors are also expected to join at least one committee. There are three main committees at St Joseph’s:

• Admissions Committee
• Resources Committee
• Curriculum and Standards Committee.

St Joseph’s governing body is made up of 14 governors:

• Headteacher
• One staff governor – a member of staff, elected by the school staff.
• Two parent governors – a parent / carer of a child at the school, elected by parents / carers.
• Eight foundation governors – appointed by the diocese, they have an additional specific role in preserving and developing the religious ethos of the school.
• One authority governor – appointed by Bracknell-Forest Borough Council.
• One Co-opted governor – appointed by the full governing body.

Additionally, associate members may be appointed to join the governing body or committees bringing necessary skills and experience.

The governors of St. Joseph’s School believe it is important that boards reflect the diversity of the school communities they serve. Diverse boards promote inclusive school environments and provide diverse role models for staff and young people.

The governors are currently collecting data on the diversity of the board, including data on age, gender and ethnicity. They will use that data to inform their recruitment and training needs and ensure there is always a diverse range of perspectives around the table to support robust decision making.

Due to our relatively small governing body, we do not publish this diversity data online as individual governors could be identified and we have a legal obligation to protect their personal data.

If you would like to find out more about the role of the Governors or if you wish to contact the governors regarding a particular matter, please feel free to contact the Clerk to the Governing Body, Steph Baumgart via the school office or via email – s.baumgart@stjosephsbracknell.co.uk. Mrs. Baumgart will be able to direct you to the appropriate governor or committee.