Governors

January 2022

Dear Parents, Carers and Children,

I would like to introduce myself as the new Chair of Governors at St John Vianney Catholic Primary School. My name is Catherine Smith and I have been a governor here at the school since 2017. I was previously Chair of the Resources Committee and last year was also Vice Chair of the Full Governing Body.

I have lived in Haringey for nearly 25 years and have been a parishioner at Our Lady of Muswell since 2000. I am a qualified accountant and have 3 grown up children, all of whom were educated at Catholic schools in the Diocese of Westminster.

I am proud to be a part of such a thriving school community with dedicated staff, enthusiastic students, supportive families and hard-working volunteers, of whom the governors are one element. I look forward to working with each and every one of you to achieve an excellent education for our children with special reference to our school’s mission: “Everything we can be, with Christ in our hearts”.

I would like to thank the previous Chair of Governors, Eoin Hourigan, for all his hard work over the last few years – especially through this last difficult period of Covid.

Should you wish to share any thoughts or ideas with us, please contact the parent governors or myself through the school office.

With all best wishes for a healthy and happy 2022.

Kind regards

Catherine Smith

Chair of Governors

The Role of a School Governor The role of the school governor is to contribute to the work of the Governing Body in raising standards of achievement for all pupils. This involves providing a strategic view for the school, acting as a critical friend and ensuring accountability. The individual governor has a responsibility, working alongside other members of the Governing Body, to the staff and pupils of the school, the school’s wider community and where they are representatives, to their particular group (parents; staff; teachers; church; etc).

 Responsibilities include:

• developing the strategic plan for the school;
• determining aims, policies and priorities of the school;
• setting statutory and non-statutory targets;
• monitoring and evaluating the work of the school;
• appointment of staff and ensuring the implementation of a range of personnel procedures;
• management of the budget;
• securing high levels of attendance and good standards of pupil behaviour;
• ensuring that all children in the schools have access to a broad and balanced curriculum which is suitable to age, aptitude and ability, which prepares them for adult life;
• ensuring the health and safety of pupils and staff.

 Tasks include:

• to get to know the school, its needs, strengths and areas for development;
• to attend meetings (full Governing Body, committees and working groups);
• to work as a member of a team;
• to speak, act and vote in the best interests of the school;
• to represent the perspectives of groups, where appropriate;
• to respect all Governing Body decisions and to support them in public;
• to act within the framework of the policies of the Governing Body and legal requirements;
• to commit to training and development opportunities.

Foundation Governors 

Foundation Governors are appointed in the name of the Archbishop and form the majority of the Governing Body. They have a legal duty to preserve and develop the Catholic character of the school. They must:

• Be familiar with and supportive of the policies and procedures of the Diocese;
• Represent those policies to the Governing Body;
• Consider not only the interests of the individual school but the interests of other Catholic schools throughout the Diocese;
• Respond to the needs of the Catholic community as a whole as represented by the Archbishop.

 Local Authority Governors 

Local Authority Governors are appointed by the Local Authority in which the school is situated. All Local Authority Governors are expected to be committed to raising standards at the school to which they are appointed.

Elected Governors 

Parents and staff elect representatives to the Governing Body. Elected Governors although representatives for particular groups are not delegates for that group.

The Governing Body Committees

Committees are set up to deal with the statutory duties of the Governing Body. They formulate policies and are delegated to make decisions on behalf of the Governing Body within their terms of reference.

 The main committees are:

Resources Committee (covering Personnel, Finance, Premises and Health and Safety) 

Chair: Connor McIntyre

Members: Fr. Joe Ryan, Catherine Smith, Stephen McNicholas, Nuala Kennedy, Eoin Hourigan, Victoria Garala, Holly Seabrook (appointment to Governing Body pending).

School Improvement Committee (covering Curriculum, Achievement and Admissions)

Chair: Zofia Wozniak-Rutkiewicz

Members: Siobhan Clarke, Susan Griffin, Stephen McNicholas, Nuala Kennedy, Ola Smuklerz, Zofia Wozniak-Rutkiewicz, Andrea Crosby-Josephs