Meet the Governors
The Governors at St Patrick's are people who want to make a positive contribution to the education of the children who attend the school.
The Governing Body is made up of 12 individual voting members who are appointed or elected by various parties with responsibility for, or who have an interest in, the school:
7 Foundation Governors, appointed by the Catholic Archdiocese of Birmingham
2 Parent Governors, elected by the parents of pupils at the school1 St Patrick's Staff Governor, elected by all members of the Staff
1 Local Authority Governor, approved by the local education authority
1 Headteacher of St Patrick's
• Setting the school’s vision, ethos and strategic direction;
• holding the headteacher to account for the educational performance of the school
and its pupils through challenging questioning and providing sufficient support;
• overseeing the financial performance of the school and making sure its money is well spent;
Time commitment: Under usual circumstances, governors spend between 10 and 20 days a year on their governing responsibilities; However, there may be periods when the time commitment may increase, for example when recruiting a headteacher.
Under Section 50 of the Employment Rights Act 1996, if you are employed, then you are entitled to ‘reasonable time off’ to undertake public duties; this includes school governance. ‘Reasonable time off’ is not defined in law, and you will need to negotiate with your employer how much time you will be allowed.
Expenses: Governors may receive out of pocket expenses incurred as a result of fulfilling their role as governor. Payments can cover incidental expenses, such as
travel and childcare, but not loss of earnings.
To perform this role well, a governor is expected to:
• get to know the school by visiting the school occasionally during school hours, and
gain a good understanding of the school’s strengths and weaknesses;
• attend induction training and regular relevant training and development events;
• attend meetings (full governing body meetings and committee meetings) and read
all the papers before the meeting;
• act in the best interest of all the pupils of the school;
• behave in a professional manner, as set down in the governing body’s code of
conduct, including acting in strict confidence.
Associate Members: occasionally to fulfil a specific skill need on the FGB, an appropriate individual can be invited to join.
Please contact the school office for further information if you are interested in becoming a Governor at St Patrick's. We currently have two Foundation Governor vacancies (practising Catholics) and two Parent Governor vacancies. Please contact the Chair of Governors for more information: scott.a4@welearn365.com
The information below is due for update, awaiting decisions to be made at FGB on 28/9/22.
Governor Code of Conduct
What the Governors did last year
Committees
Ethos Performance and Standards: oversees curriculum, school improvement (performance data), pupils parents and community.
Membership: Claire Walsh (Chair), Anne Scott, Jane Lewis, Rakesh Lal, Yvonne Clarke, (observer Rachel Heath)
Resources: oversees finance, personnel and pay, premises, health and safety.
Membership: Ann Allison (Chair), Victor Onwuegbuche, Olga Sawyer, Rachel Heath, Yvonne Clarke.
Name | Governor Status | (1st appt’d) App’tment start date | Term of Office | Duties 2021-22 | Declaration of interests Sept 2021 | Attendance at meetings 2020-21 |
Mrs Ann Allison | Foundation | (11.08.10) 11.08.18
| 4y | Chair of Resources Committee
| nil | 10/10 |
Mrs Olga Sawyer | Foundation | (Previously served until 09.2016) 11.02.20 | 4y | Resources Committee | nil | 9/10 |
Mrs Anne Scott | Foundation | 16.11.18 | 4y | Chair of Governors *EP&S Committee | nil | 11/12 |
Mr Victor Onwuegbuche
| Foundation | (09.01.2017) 09.01.21 | 4y | Resources Committee | Nil (2020) Update awaited | 9/10 |
Miss Claire Walsh | Foundation | (09.01.2017) 09.01.21 | 4y | *EP&S Committee Chair | Chair of Governors at Our Lady and St Teresa’s Catholic Primary | 8/10 |
Vacancy | Foundation | Candidate applying |
|
|
| n/a |
Vacancy | Foundation | Candidate applying |
|
|
| n/a |
Mrs Yvonne Clarke | Ex officio | 01.09.18 |
| Headteacher Attends all meetings | Husband self-employed in outdoor groundworks | 13/13 |
Vacancy | Local Authority | Candidate applying |
|
|
| n/a |
Ms Jane Lewis | Staff | 12.09.18 | 4y | *EP&S Committee | Nil (2020) Update awaited | 8/10 |
Mr Rakesh Lal | Parent | 07.10.19 | 4y | Vice-Chair of Governors *EP&S Committee | nil | 8/10 |
Vacancy | Parent |
|
|
|
| |
Mrs Rachel Heath | Associate Member | 26.09.18 | 4y | Resources Committee, Observer at *EP&S | nil | 12/13 |
Mrs Liz Mottram | Clerk | March 2002 | employee | Clerk at all meetings | Clerk to Governors at St Mary Immaculate School Warwick | 13/13 |
Governors who have resigned within the last 12 months | ||||||
Mrs Jo Gooch | Parent | 07.10.16 | Term ended 06.10.20 | EP&S Committee | nil | 1/1 |
Fr Benedict Skipper | Foundation | 04.11.20 | Resigned 31.08.21 | Resources Committee | Assistant Priest at Catholic Leamington, St Patrick’s School Chaplain |
|
Miss Mary Wilde | Foundation | 03.11.17 | Resigned 31.08.21 | EP&S Committee | nil |
|
Mr Mike Gooch
| Local Authority | (1.11.10) 27.03.19
| 4y | Co-Chair of Governors, Resources Committee Chair | nil | 9/10 |
*EP&S = Ethos Performance and Standards | ||||||