Governors

Cheadle Catholic Infant School is a Voluntary Aided school and its Governing Board consists of both appointed and elected governors. 

Governors generally hold office for a period of four years at a time. During their term, they are encouraged to attend training courses and workshops on a comprehensive range of topics provided by the Local Authority and the Diocese and they receive updates on salient issues from a variety of sources.

Meetings:

The Full Governing Body meets officially once per term. There are also various sub-committees. The Teaching and Learning Committee and Resources Committee officially meet termly, although the Resources Committee have additional meetings to approve the budget and to ensure best practice is being followed in managing the school finances.

Foundation Governors:

Foundation Governors at the school represent the interests of the Diocese of Shrewsbury. The role of the Foundation Governor is to ensure that the school is clearly recognisable as Christian in its ethos and that its role is seen in the provision for Catholic children of the Diocese.

Foundation Governors are appointed by the Bishop specifically to preserve and develop the Catholic ethos of the school and must be practising Catholics. The governors of a Catholic school work as a team, in close co-operation with the headteacher and all the staff. Foundation governors share the responsibilities of all governors.

Our Foundation Governors are: Mrs Anne-Marie Nugnes, Mrs Clare Shaw, Mr Stephen Leatherbarrow, Mrs Rebecca Brooke, Mrs Veronica Martin and  Mrs Claire Ramsbottom.

Local Authority Governor:

Each Governing Body has one Governor representing the Local Authority. 

Our LA Governor is Mr Jo Peters.

Parent Governor:

Parents of pupils registered at the school are eligible to stand for election as one of the two Parent Governors. They are elected by other parents at the school. 

The current Parent Governors are Ms Joanna Kirk and Mrs Laura Quigley

Staff Governors:

The Headteacher is automatically eligible to be a full member of the Governing Body by virtue of the office. Both teaching and support staff who are paid at the school are eligible to stand as the staff governor. This person is elected by other members of the staff at the school. 

The current Staff Governor is Mrs Sue Boardman.

Associate Governors:

Under Reconstitution, Governing Boards may also have a number of Associate Governors. Whilst it has been agreed that these Governors have the right to vote at sub-committee level, they do not have a vote at the Full Governing Board meetings, nor are they required to attend them. 

We currently have one Associate Governor: Mrs Claire Lees.

Governor Impact Statement:

Governors’ Whole School Aim

Cheadle Catholic Infant School is an inclusive school where every child is respected, loved and encouraged to shine in all that they do. We are also a successful school that offers a stimulating environment and high standards of education.

As a Catholic School we place Christ at the very centre of all that we do. We do this by integrating Gospel values and the teaching of the Catholic Church into every aspect of learning, teaching and all of school life. Our children’s journey through school will, therefore,  also be a journey of faith. All staff and the governing body share in this sense of belonging to the family of God and so work together to instil this feeling of love in all our children, parents, carers and families of the community of Cheadle Catholic Infant School.  

We ensure that we live out our Mission Statement as a caring Catholic community, in which all members can love, respect and shine in all that they do.

We work in close partnership with parents and our three parishes, recognising the unique nature of each child and celebrating what every individual adds to our school family. Above all else, as stated in our Mission Statement, we want our children to feel loved and, in turn, to love others.

We are a Catholic School and, as a school community, our aim is to live out the Gospel values daily. We have non- Catholic families in our school community who have chosen Cheadle Catholic Infant School because they share our values and recognise the importance of them for their children. 

Our Vision:

At Cheadle Catholic Infant School we offer a broad, balanced and creative curriculum. Our aim is to provide secure foundations for future learning.

We want to ensure that our children acquire skills, knowledge and understanding through a love of learning.

We want to nurture a belief that nothing is impossible and that all barriers to learning can be overcome.

Our ambition for all our children is for them to be happy, respectful, loving, caring, confident and resilient learners who will grow up to be inspirational adults who will shine in all that they do. 

All of the staff work very hard to make lessons interesting and to help every child find their best way of learning. As a result we have a wonderful school full of happy, well behaved children who are a pleasure to teach.

Governors’ Role

The role of the Governing Body is an intrinsic part of the leadership of the school.

This impact statement is one way in which the Governing Body articulates their role in school leadership and the impact we have had on school improvement.

The Governing Body is made up of a group of dedicated volunteers, who invest a huge amount of good will, hard work and time for the sole purpose of improving the education of every child in our school. The Government expects us as your Governing Body to be a dynamic group of highly skilled individuals who focus on supporting the Headteacher and all the staff to shape the strategic direction of school. As Governors, we are accountable for the performance of our school and we are measured by three core strategic functions:

•         Ensuring clarity of vision, ethos, and strategic direction

•         Holding the Headteacher to account for the educational performance of the school and its pupils

•         Overseeing the financial performance of the school and making sure the money is spent well

Governors work co-operatively with the Headteacher and senior management in the writing and monitoring the School Improvement Plan. The School Improvement Plan (SIP) sets aims for the forthcoming year. The current SIP is based on priorities identified from data, school self-evaluation and Ofsted priorities. The SIP is set out with clear aims, the key tasks that will be completed in order to achieve these aims and the success criteria in order to measure outcomes. The SIP is monitored and review termly, with an evaluation overview being completed and presented to governors as part of the Headteacher report.

Training:

All members of Governing Body have and continue to have significant training. The impact of this is that the Governing Body are kept abreast of their responsibilities regarding the latest requirements and expectations.

Recent whole governing body training has included, ‘Governors and Ofsted’ and annual safeguarding training. Alongside the whole governor body training, governors attend individual courses and training.

 Impact of Full Governing Body Meetings

Governors attend two full governing body (FGB) meetings each term. In addition, some governors meet three times a year as a Finance and Resources Committee. Governors are linked to areas of the School Improvement Plan and have regular visits and meetings with staff to monitor progress against the SIP objectives. Governor visit reports, which are supported by an agreed report form to help Governors maintain and appropriate focus, are written and presented at full governing body meetings. The visits and reports impact greatly on the governing body’s ability to effectively ask important questions, support but also hold senior leaders to account.

Governors provide strong support for the Headteacher. We have a strong senior leadership team leading high quality teaching and learning throughout the school.

The wellbeing of staff has been a priority and this has remained positive throughout the pandemic. This has resulted in children feeling happy and settled at school and able to focus on their learning at school or with home learning.

Impact of Finance and Resources Committee Meetings:

The school budget is scrutinised and reviewed in detail at these meetings. On this committee, we have governors with strong finance skills who review end of year budgets, attend pre-budget meetings and question deficit/surplus balances. Using benchmarking information, the committee scrutinise the effect of pupil numbers on the budget and how this impacts on staffing and resources.  

 Through working closely with the School Business Manager and Headteacher, the Finance and Resources Committee has supported the school and held it accountable to ensure effective budgeting. 

Careful monitoring and planning of the budget by the Finance and Resources Committee has impacted positively on subsequent years where budgets have enable the school to have a strong and effective staffing structure to drive school improvements.

 The Finance and Resources Committee ensure ‘best value’ when purchasing items or services. The governors ensure that the school provide three quotes for items or services over £1000.

Best value practices have also been used for photocopying contracts and cleaning contracts, again ensuring the school is getting a good service and good value for money.

Pupil Premium Funding:

In comparison to other schools, Cheadle catholic Infant School  School receives a low percentage of Pupil Premium (PP) Funding.

The Finance and Resources Committee approve the planned spend of PP funding each year and challenge the Headteacher and senior leaders on the impact of the spending. Governors scrutinise evidence of impact on the outcomes for PP Children. Details of the impact of Pupil Premium spending can be found on the website under ‘Key Information’ tab.

Sports Premium Funding:

Alongside the PP funding, the Finance and Resources Committee monitors how the schools spends the Sports Premium Funding. The Primary PE and Sport Premium is ring-fenced and must only be spent on physical education and sport provision in schools. The funding aims to achieve improvement in all areas of PE, from the standard of physical education to introducing health focused physical activities and after school sports. At Cheadle catholic Infant School governors agreed it would be beneficial to use the sports premium to employ a part time sports coach and to subscribe to Stockport SHAPES to not only work with pupils but to also up skill teaching staff so that all teachers are able to deliver quality PE lessons. We win numerous awards for our high quality PE including ‘Stockport Smile for a Mile School of the Year’ for the third year in a row and achieving Gold Sports Mark.

Capital Projects:

More recently, security at the school has improved, with new high level fencing around the whole school site. The hall roof has been relined and new fire doors and security gates are due to be installed this year. Children and staff are proud of their school and feel safe.

General Data Protection Regulation:

Governors are responsible for ensuring the data protection policy is in place and being followed. Governors ensure the school has a Data Protection Officer (DPO) and that they attending regular refresher training.

Safeguarding:

The monitoring of safeguarding practices is a key priority for governors and is ongoing throughout the year. Along with the Headteacher governors conduct an annual safeguarding audit and monitor the actions identified from the audit. Safeguarding reports presented at FGB meetings provide an opportunity to challenge the safeguarding culture of the school and ensure robust procedures and practises are in place. Safeguarding questions are asked during governor visits through pupil conferencing. The impact of this challenge and monitoring is a confidence in the strong safeguarding ethos at Cheadle Catholic Infant School.

Recruitment:

Members of the governing body have completed “safer recruitment” training and have contributed to the successful recruitment of a strong senior leadership team. The governing body have successfully recruited the current Headteacher in 2019 and supported the Headteacher with the appointment of the Deputy Headteacher. With a strong leadership team, Cheadle Catholic Infant School has the skills to be self-improving and continue to raise standards and outcomes for pupils.

School Improvement Plan and Governor Visits:

Link governors have responsibility for specific areas of the SIP. Each governor has conducted monitoring visits to review their area. Reports are shared in full governor body meetings and result in greater accountability of staff. Action plans are updated regularly and success criteria is met. This is shared with governors during their visits.

Progress and Attainment:

Data is made available to governors through termly meetings with verbal and written presentations followed by question and answer sessions with the headteacher and members of the senior management team. Governors will ask questions to ensure the schools standards and expectations are high. Governors challenge the Headteacher and Senior Leadership Team on the data, holding them to account, especially for pupils or groups of learners who may have lower attainment. Particular scrutiny is placed on pupil progress across all ability groups including vulnerable groups and on the effective use of the Pupil Premium Funding.

School Policies:

Governors review and approve policies annually. This takes place throughout the year in FGB meetings and Finance and Resources Committee meetings. Policies are updated on the school website.

 More recently, the governors have reviewed the Equality Policy and have ensured the policy includes a more detailed action plan. A senior member of staff, who is also a staff governor, is working alongside the Headteacher to ensure actions are implemented and outcomes are achieved.

Performance Management:

Governors are responsible for undertaking the Headteacher’s performance management review each year. Governors, supported by the local authority, set annual targets, which are reviewed at points throughout the year.

The Headteacher completes an annual performance management report for the governors evidencing that performance management has been completed for all staff and that staff have meet performance management targets. Governors scrutinise the report and use evidence to approve pay recommendations given by the Headteacher. Pay recommendations follow Stockport Council Pay Policy adopted by governors at Cheadle Catholic Infant School.

Governor-Register-of-Business-Interests-2024.pdf

Governor-Code-of-Conduct-2024-25.pdf

Governor-Roles-Link-teachers-202425.pdf

Governors-Committee-list-202425.pdf

Please find below details of how our Governing body is structured, including the names, categories, responsibilities and terms of appointment for each Governor.

Governors Meeting Attendance

Governor-Attendance-202324.pdf

Governors-Attendance-2022-23.pdf

Meetings-2021-22.pdf