Governing Body

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 school 
1 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 
 

The role of a governoris to contribute to the work of the Governing Body in ensuring high standards of achievement for all children in the school. The main areas of focus are: 

• Setting the school’s vision, ethos and strategic direction; 
• holding the headteacher to account for the educational performance of the schooland 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 a Foundation Governor vacancy (practising Catholic). Please contact the Chair of Governors for more information:

scott.a4@welearn365.com

Governor Code of Conduct:

C (2021 05) Code of Conduct Governors CES

What the Governors did last year:

Governor Impact report 2023-24

Committees

Ethos Performance and Standards:

Oversees curriculum, school improvement (performance data), pupils parents and community. 

Membership: Claire Walsh (Chair), Anne Scott, Jane Lewis,Joseph Olatunbosun, Rachel Heath, Yvonne Clarke, 

Resources: oversees finance, personnel and pay, premises, health and safety. 

Membership: Honor Hynes (Chair),Victor Onwuegbuche, Olga Sawyer, Johnn Jordan, Yvonne Clarke.

Table of Governors