MEMBERS 

The Members of the company are as follows: - 

Monsignor Matthew Dickens, Vicar General 

Mr. Paul Mc Callum 

Archbishop John Wilson 

CHAIR OF GOVERNORS 

The Chair of Governors is Mr Frank Kunna. 

HEADTEACHER 

The Headteacher is Mr Jonathan Sims. 

GOVERNING BODY 

The Governing Body consists of the eight Foundation Governors appointed by the foundation trustees, one local authority governor, two Staff Governors appointed after election by members of the school’s staff, two Parent Governors appointed after election by parents of children at school and the Head Teacher, Mr Jonathan Sims, as an ex officio member. All of these appointments are in accordance with the Articles of Association (articles 50 - 58). Details of appointments, categories and term of office can be found on the page dedicated to our Governors 

Please note that we use the terms "school" and "academy" interchangeably in context and they relate to the operation and activity of St Anthony’s Catholic Primary School. Also, the governors act as the trustees for the charitable activities of the school and as directors of the charitable company for the purposes of company law. Similarly, these terms are used interchangeably: "governor", "trustee" and "director". 

The governing body’s responsibility is to approve the strategic vision for the school working in partnership with the Headteacher, promoting continuous improvement in the performance of the school whilst adhering to the Catholic ethos of the school. This involves the following: establishing a development plan; setting challenging, but achievable targets; interpreting information to assess progress and to determine appropriate action; and, to support Christ-centred and Christ-like teaching and learning for all. 

The governing body has statutory responsibility for overseeing the school's financial viability. 

The governing body is the employer of all of St Anthony’s staff. 

Aligned to its improvement role, the governing body is there to be a ‘critical friend’ providing the right balance between supporting and challenging the performance of both the Head Teacher and the school. 

There are different routes by which different types of governors are appointed and there are rules regulating the composition of the governing body, including, in St. Anthony’s case, the ratio of various types of governor. These are all set out in the Articles of Association. However, once appointed, all governors have equal status, regardless of the category under which they have been appointed. 

The role of governor is a voluntary one: it is unpaid. 

The Head Teacher 

Under a scheme of delegation, approved by the full governing body, the Head Teacher is delegated total responsibility for the running of the school and all associated operational matters. Governors are not involved in the day-to-day operation of the school. 

The Head Teacher is appointed by the governing body in co-operation with the Archdiocese of Southwark. 

Governors’ responsibilities

Because of the legal status of the school as an academy trust a governor is also a director and a trustee as the academy has charitable status. 

The key responsibilities of the governing body include: - 

• Ensuring the quality of the educational provision; 
• Challenging and monitoring the performance of the academy; 
• Ensuring good financial health and probity; 
• Supporting the SLT in management of the staff. 

Governor Categories 

As a governor of an academy trust one is a school governor, a company director and a charity trustee. These are not different positions as the terms are interchangeable, but reflect the origins of the various legal duties. For all intents and purposes we always use the term “governor” at St Anthony’s to recognise our roles as being part of a Catholic school. 

The types of governors are stipulated in the Articles in paragraphs 51 to 58. The main types and those represented on the current governing body are as follows: - 

• Foundation governors: these are appointed by the Archbishop to ensure the school’s particular character is preserved and developed. 
• Local governor: this individual is appointed by the governors. 
• Staff governors: two individuals, who are employed by the school, are selected by election by the teaching and support staff. Volunteers are not eligible. 
• Parent governors: these are two parents of children at the school who are eligible to stand for election to be governors by other parents and carers. Parent governors are 'representative parents' rather than 'representatives of the parents', and in common with other governors, are concerned with the welfare of the school as a whole. 
• Associate members can also be appointed. They are not governors but are able to attend committee meetings and full governing body meetings because of the particular skills or experience they possess. They can only vote on certain issues and only if the governing body gives them the power to do so. 
• The Head Teacher is a full member of the school’s Governing Body. 
• The Chair and Vice-Chair of Governors are elected annually by the governing body. 

Governors of any category are eligible to serve a term of four years and for a maximum of three terms in total. At the end of each term of office a Parent or a Staff governor must stand for re-election. 

When a parent governor vacancy arises, this will be communicated to parents and an election will take place for which any parent with a child at the school will be eligible in accordance with the relevant Articles. Similarly, if a vacancy for a staff governor arises members of staff will be advised and an election held. 

Training is available to governors, to ensure they have the right knowledge and skills to be able to carry out their duties. 

All this takes place in accordance with St. Anthony’s Equality Policy which contains the following provisions: 

• Treating all those within the whole school community (e.g. pupils, staff, governors, parents and community) as individuals with their own particular abilities, beliefs, challenges, attitudes, background and experiences 
• People from minority ethnic communities are encouraged to become school governors. 
• Governors are encouraged to play an active role in the life of the school in order to fulfil their monitoring duties. 
• The school seeks to support all governors in performing their role, for example, through school induction procedures for new governors 

In accordance with the Articles of Association the full governing body meets twice each a term. Each meeting has an agenda and associated papers distributed at least a week before the meeting. Standard items are likely to include a report from the Head Teacher, updates from the main committees, items from the DfES and issues raised by any correspondence received by the chair of governors. For binding decisions to be made a full governing body meeting must be quorate. Associate members do not count towards the quorum. 

Other Matters: 

Most decisions the governing body makes relate to the strategy of the school. However, there are a number of instances where governors will need to make judgements on other issues, including such matters as: 

• Staff disciplinary matters 
• Exclusion of pupils 
• Participation in the escalation stages of the Complaints process 
• Staff, employment and disciplinary matters 
• Safeguarding 
• Health and Safety 
• Capital & Investment