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St James Hatcham

Governors

Governors

Our school governors aim to continue and develop for the 21st Century, a tradition which goes back to the foundation of the school in 1851.

The original school building was opened by Lord Shaftesbury who is commemorated by the statue of Eros in Piccadilly for his pioneering work in the championship and protection of children – a commitment we are proud to maintain.

Governor roles and responsibilities

The Governing Body of St James Hatcham CE Primary School consists of 12 Governors drawn from the wider community that the school covers, including parents, staff, the local churches, Southwark Diocesan Board of Education and the Local Authority. The Governors are responsible for policy and strategy and the Headteacher is responsible for the day to day running of the school. The individual members bring a diversity of knowledge and experience to our school.

The government is encouraging Governors to focus on 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 its money is well spent

The Governing Body has a number of legal responsibilities. It is required to meet at least once a term and is legally responsible, amongst other things, for:

  • Arranging for the National Curriculum and its assessment procedures to be carried out
  • Arranging for religious education to be carried out
  • Deciding how to spend the delegated budget
  • Staff appointments, staff pay and grading and other aspects of staff management
  • Sex education policy
  • Discipline (or behaviour and relationships) policy
  • Health and safety policy
  • Determining the policy for charging for school activities (e.g. educational visits)
  • Determining the admission policy.

The Governing Body works in partnership with our Headteacher, the staff, parents, Local Authority and the Diocese towards the continuing improvement in standards and achievements at our school. Much of the work is carried out through the sub-committees which meet termly. We also have a Faith Group which includes parent and church representatives which ensures that our focus, as a church school is regularly reviewed.

Some Governors take on the responsibility for a specific area such as Mathematics, Special Educational Needs and Safeguarding. This allows the nominated Governor to focus on a particular area, work closely with the relevant staff, and feed back to the full Governing Body.

All Governors are expected to visit the school regularly to get to know the staff and pupils and observe our school at work. The visiting Governor reports back to the full Governing Body to help with the strategic role and future direction for our school.

The school is very fortunate in having a committed and supportive Governing Body that is actively involved. We have also worked hard to make the partnership between home and school a valuable one and to make the school approachable and welcoming.

Our Governors

As at November 2022 onwards 

Governor Class Subject Other individual responsibility Committees/ Working Party

Mr Malcolm Edwards

Foundation Governor

Term expires:

01/09/2026

Pupil Premium

Creative arts; Music; Art; P.E.

DT

Chair of Governing Body.

Establish/maintain strong working relationship with HT. Discuss major operational/staffing strategic issues with HT on a regular basis. Fortnightly coffee meeting with HT; Performance Management of Head Teacher New governor roles and responsibilities; Liaise SDBE/LA; representing the school interests Pupil Exclusion Review; Governor self-evaluation
Strategy Committee

Mrs Christine Price

Foundation Governor

Term expires

24/04/2024

Year 2

RE

Gifted and talented

Vice Chair of Governing Body

Establish/maintain strong working relationship with HT. Pastoral support of Headteacher and staff.

Strategy Committee

Faith Group

Mrs Sharon Gayle

Local Authority Governor

Term expires:

12/12/2025
Year 1

Safeguarding,

PSHE, SEND, EAL, LAC

Wellbeing & Mental Health

Health & Safety

Safeguarding including Single Central Record

Health and safety checks; supporting and liaising with School Business Manager meeting with building consultants.

Performance management of Headteacher

Strategy Committee

Premises and Health and Safety Committee

Safeguarding & Mental Health Group

Mrs Marion Williams

Foundation Governor

Term expires:

20/05/2023
Year 3 Science Induction and supporting any Governor encountering difficulty in fulfilling their role

Learning, Achievement & Curriculum Committee

 

Admissions Committee

Ms Precious Nas

Parent Governor

Term expires:

27/06/2025

Year 4 Maths Parent Forum/ community engagement link governor Faith Group

Mrs Christine Hever

Foundation Governor

Term expires:

07/05/2026
Year 6 Reading Twitter feed and publicity

Learning, Achievement & Curriculum Committee

 

Admissions Committee

Ms Katherine Wolicki

Foundation Governor

Term expires:

29/01/2027

Year 6 English Dragon's Den; Business links; Lifesavers Publicity Group

Revd Capt. Kingsley

Foundation Incumbent

Term expires:

18/10/2026

Reception RE Rights Respecting Schools, Edible Playgrounds, Sustainable Development Goals, Quality Air Eco Committee

Ms Sonia McFarlane

Headteacher

Mrs Charlie Fabian

Deputy Head

Ms Marcia Miller

Staff Governor

Term expires:

23/05/2026

Mrs Shazia Malik

Parent Governor

 Term expires:

22/02/2027

Faith Group
The DfE encourage schools to collect and publish governing board members' diversity data. We strive to ensure that our governing board reflects the community it serves.
Group Number & Percentage
Black Caribbean Heritage 3  (25%)
White British 5 (42%)
Pakistani 1 (8%)
African 3 (25%)