Welcome to our Governors’ section. 

All governors are volunteers who bring a wide variety of skills, expertise and experience to their roles. They do not pretend to be experts in what is very much a 'minefield' of jargon and legislation, but there is a strong commitment to serve the interests of the school in the best way possible.

Our current Governors are: 

• Claire Cowking (Chair)
• Cathy Taylor (Interim Headteacher)
• Christine Seward
• Joanne Breaks
• John Sharp
• Janet Haigh
• Reverend Karen Herschell
• Helen Murray
• Clare Hardcastle

The School is represented by:-

• Cathy Taylor (Interim Headteacher)
• Helen Murray (Staff Governor)

All governors serve for four years and can be re-elected.

The positions of Chair and Vice Chair are elected annually at the Autumn meeting of the governing body.

Governors that have served over the past 12months

Name	Date of Appointment	Term of Office	Roles
Claire Cowking - Chair	11th Nov 2024	4 years	Chair, PSHE, Safeguarding, Wellbeing
Christine Seward	21st May 2024	4 years	SEN
Clare Hardcastle	12th June 2026	4 years
Joanne Breaks	2nd Feb 2026	4 years	EYFS
John Sharp	18th Feb 2026	4 years	Numeracy
Janet Haigh	16th Mar 2026	4 years	Literacy
Reverend Karen Herschell	Feb 2025	4 years	RE & Worship
Helen Murray	22nd June 2066	4 years

 

The Work of the Governing Body

Unlike community and voluntary controlled schools, where the Local Authority is the employer of staff, in a VA school the governing body takes on that responsibility. The overall responsibility for staffing matters includes decisions about the number of staff (both teaching and non teaching).  In reality the decisions about staff appointments outside the leadership group are delegated to the Headteacher with some input from the Chair or staffing committee members. The appointment of the Headteacher is a full governing body responsibility. The full governing body meets three times per year in Autumn, Spring and Summer and the minutes of those meetings are available for inspection at the school. The agenda covers many issues of educational policy that governors have to familiarise themselves with and to incorporate within the school. We employ the services of a very able Clerk, Gerard Keane, from Governor Services who is a valuable interpreter of 'jargon' and protocol that enables us to carry out our duties effectively.

In addition there are a number of sub-committees with delegated responsibilities, as listed below. Some of these, most significantly the Resources Committee and Curriculum Committee, meet on a regular basis and have a set membership. Others, such as the various appeals committees, meet on an ad hoc basis to ensure that relevant governors are performing their roles unaffected by prior knowledge or involvement.

The current Governor Committees are:-

• Curriculum – Claire Cowking, Karen Herschell, Joanne Breaks, Christine Seward, Cathy Taylor
• Resources – Claire Cowking, Janet Haigh, Clare Hardcastle, John Sharp, Cathy Taylor
• Strategic – Claire Cowking, Joanne Breaks, Janet Haigh, Karen Herschell, Christine Seward, John Sharp, Cathy Taylor
• HT Performance – Claire Cowking, Christine Seward, John Sharp
• Pay – Joanne Breaks, Clare Hardcastle

Governor Roles

As well as being members of the various sub-committees, some governors have an area of special responsibility as listed above in roles.

Contact with the Governing Body

Governors work as a corporate body irrespective of the group that has elected them. Therefore, there is a correct procedure that should be followed regarding issues that are put before the governing body. If it is a school issue, depending on the nature, it follows a clearly defined line of class teacher, Assistant Head, and Headteacher. Governor issues must always be in writing to the Chair of Governors and not through individual governors. The Chair then makes the decision about the next step in dealing with the issue, which may be such that the rest of the governing body cannot be involved at this stage and could be compromised at a later date.

It can be confusing, especially for parents who see the Parent Governor as their line of contact.  In reality, they have merely voted to have a representative member on the governing body in the same way that teachers, non teachers and parochial church councils do.

Agendas at full governing body meetings are decided at least two weeks beforehand and do not have 'Any other Business', therefore any item that needs to be added must be sent to the Chair in good time.

Governor Attendance at meetings

Attendance at Governor meetings for the academic year 2025-2026

Term	SEC  committee	Resources committee	Full Governors
Autumn 2025	Sarah White Cathy Taylor Claire Cowking Joanne Hall Christine Seward Clare Hardcastle Apologies: Anita McEntyre Karen Herschell	Sarah White Cathy Taylor Claire Cowking Joanne Hall Christine Seward Clare Hardcastle Apologies: Anita McEntyre Karen Herschell	Sarah White Cathy Taylor Claire Cowking Joanne Hall Christine Seward Clare Hardcastle Anita McEntyre Karen Herschell
Spring 2026	Sarah White Joanne Hall Christine Seward Clare Hardcastle Anita McEntyre Apologies Cathy Taylor Claire Cowking Karen Herschell	Sarah White Joanne Hall Christine Seward Clare Hardcastle Anita McEntyre Apologies Cathy Taylor Claire Cowking Karen Herschell	Sarah White Joanne Hall Christine Seward Cathy Taylor Claire Cowking Karen Herschell Janet Haigh Apologies Clare Hardcastle Anita McEntyre
Summer 2026