The Governing Body

Governors

In addition to their statutory duties, our Governing Board likes to get stuck in!

Top L-R: 1. Working party digging our new pond (Cropper's Pond) 2. Children pond-dipping in Cropper's Pond 3. New poly tunnel "A Place To Grow", part of the facilities for our Gardening Club

Bottom L-R: 1. Rev'd Rebecca and the Mayor of West Lancashire planting a tree for the Queen's Green Canopy 2. The Governors' Christian Values Trophy, awarded each week to a child who has demonstrated a Christian Value in action 3. Governors accompanying school visits

Mr G Allen	Headteacher
Mr R Sharples	Chair/Parent Governor
Mr T Cropper	Foundation Governor
Mr C Abram	Local Authority Governor/Vice Chair
Rev R Clarke	Foundation Ex-Officio, Foundation Governor
Mrs F Clague	Clerk/Member of Lancashire Governor Services
Miss A Wallbank	Foundation Governor
Mrs M Mussell	Deputy Head/Observer
Miss E McQuirk	Staff Governor
Mrs J Hodgkinson	Parent Governor
Mrs C Kessler	Co-opted Governor
Mrs S Robinson	Co-opted Governor
Mrs L Marsden	Parent Governor
Mrs H Fearn	Co-opted Governor
Mrs L Thomas	Parent Governor

Banks St. Stephen’s CE Primary School

“Belonging, Serving, Succeeding”

Banks St Stephen’s is a VC (Voluntary Controlled) Church of England primary school within the Diocese of Liverpool. We are maintained by Lancashire County Council and, as a voluntary controlled school, a minority of our governors are Church of England Foundation governors.

Vision for Banks St. Stephen’s Church of England Primary School

“We actively promote a sense of pride in belonging to this community. Leading by example, we seek opportunities to serve God by serving others. We are ambitious for each individual and determined to enable every member of the school community to flourish and succeed.”

What Governors Do

The School Governance (Roles, Procedures and Allowances (England) Regulations 2013 state that:

“The board should avoid its time being consumed with issues of secondary importance, and focus strongly on three core functions:

setting the vision and strategic direction of school;
holding the headteacher to account for its educational performance;
ensuring financial resources are well spent.”

We work in partnership with the Headteacher and staff, being supportive and encouraging, but challenging when necessary. We meet together termly as a governing board, and also in committees. Our Full Governing Board, Curriculum and Recources Meetings are all professionally clerked by LCC Governing Board Advisor Mrs F. Clague.

Governorship is a demanding role and all governors undergo regular training. A comprehensive training programme is provided by the local authority. For example, before completing SFVS (Schools Financial Value Standard), four governors attended SFVS training. For further details of the governor training programme please contact Mrs L Marsden, the training link governor, via the school office.

Full Governing Board Meetings

All the governors meet each term to receive reports from the Curriculum Committee and the Resources Committee. We review key policies, discuss the implementation and impact of the school’s Christian vision and set the strategic direction of the school.

MAIN COMMITTEES

Resources

The Resources Committee meets each term. We scrutinise the school budget for approval by the Full Governing Board. We ensure that public money is spent wisely, n line with the school's Christian vision and for the benefit of the children at Banks St. Stephen’s.

Curriculum Committee

The Curriculum Committee is responsible for monitoring the quality of the school curriculum. We ensure that the school fulfils its requirements to deliver a rich and ambitious curriculum, giving all pupils the opportunity to flourish and succeed according to our Christian vision.

We also scrutinise key data and monitor standards, including pupils’ progress and attainment. We aim to ensure that all children have the opportunity to succeed, regardless of their starting points.