On behalf of the Local Governing Body of St Michael’s Church of England Primary School the Governors and I would like to warmly welcome you and and your children to our school.  As a wholly inclusive Church Aided School with a deeply embedded Christian Ethos and Values, St Michael’s is a special place where the individual matters. 

Staff, pupils, parents and Governors work together to ensure that our pupils have the opportunity to learn, thrive, aspire and achieve.  Children are always at the heart of our work as Governors; they are what our school is about! Thank you for taking the time to visit our website today.  If you’d like to know more about our wonderful school or the Governing Body and the work we do, please feel free to contact me at any time. 

Katja Purvis, Chair of Governors

Welcome to our Board of Governors page

Board of Governors Strategic Priorities

Our strategic priorities are set out in our strategic plan and aim to communicate our continued vision, ethos and long-term direction for the school, so that we are all clear on where we are going and what we are trying to achieve.

• Pupils feels accepted, loved, valued within an inclusive Christian community
• Pupils achieve a good depth and breadth of education and develop skills and enthusiasm for ongoing learning
• Active and reflective learners are equipped to realise their full potential

School Governance

In all schools the Head teacher is responsible for day-to-day running and management of the school.  However, Governing Bodies are the key strategic decision-making body of every school. It is their role to set the school’s strategic framework and to ensure all statutory duties are met.

In all types of schools, governing bodies should have strong focus on four core strategic areas:

Four core strategic areas:

• Ensuring clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction;
• Holding the Head teacher to account for the educational performance of the school and its pupils and the performance management of staff;
• Overseeing the financial performance of the school and making sure its money is well spent.
• Effective Governance Practice

Additional responsibilities for Church of England Aided Schools

Governors of Church Aided schools have a particular responsibility for supporting and developing the Christian character of the school as a Church of England School. These functions are to:

• Uphold the Christian character of the school as a Church of England school
• Undertake the role of employer
• Undertake the role of admissions authority for the school, including setting the admissions policy
• Decide whether the diocesan or locally agreed RE syllabus is followed
• Monitor the contribution of RE and collective worship on the spiritual, moral, social, and cultural development of pupils
• Ensure a budget contribution of 10% of the costs of any capital works to the school 

Governor monitoring

Governors use a monitoring plan to schedule a range of monitoring visits over the course of the year with staff that have the lead responsibility for the area being monitored. Monitoring is focused on our priorities within the School Improvement Plan in addition to a range of Statutory Requirements. 

Our Structure

Legislation requires Boards of Governors to meet once each term, however, in practice  we meet more often in order to carry out our duties effectively. In addition the Board of Governors termly meetings we also work in smaller committees and have individual monitoring responsibilities.

The Governing Body is drawn from many aspects of the community. At our school there are 4 types of Governor:

• Appointed Governor (5) –  Appointed by the Trust Board and nominated by the Diocese
• Parent Governor (2) – Parent Governors are elected by parents of children attending the school
• Staff Governor (2) – The role of these governors is to represent the staff at the school, the Head teacher is always a member of the Governing Body
• Headteacher/Principal– Will, with their consent, be a governor. 

“Governors at St Michael’s come from all walks of life.  We all come together to provide a safe and loving environment for our children to grow and learn.  The role of a Governor is incredibly interesting and helps me to fully understand what is involved to give our children the rounded education they enjoy.”

“Being able to play an active part in the life of the school is incredibly fulfilling and rewarding.”

(Appointed Governor)

Governor recruitment

We follow a skills based approach to recruitment, assessing the skills & experience of the Board of Governors regularly and identify where we require additional expertise. Where this is the case, we actively seek Governors with a diverse skillset and various backgrounds in order to link them to areas of school life that best match their knowledge, skills, interests and understanding when we draw up job descriptions for governor vacancies.

If you would like to find out more about our Board of Governors please contact our Chair

Mrs Katja Purvis (acting Chair) or the Head teacher, Mr. Johnston at: adminstm@stmichaels.ncea.org.uk

• Governor Attendance 2022 2023
• Governor Attendance 2021 22
• Instrument of Government pdf
• Governing body statement of Behaviour Principles 2019.docx

The NCEA Trust Board agreed to form a Local Governing Body (LGBs) for St Michael’s Primary School in 2023 when the school joined the Trust. This means that St Micahel’s Primary has a governing body which focuses on the individual school’s needs. The LGB is accountable for their decisions to the Trust Board. The first meetings of the LGB took place in the autumn term 2023.

For more information about School Governance at NCEAT schools (including St Michael’s Primary),  visit www.ncea.org.uk/governance/how-we-govern. 

Key Documents

• Ashington Local Governing Body Governor Register
• Governor Attendance Record
• Declaration of LGB Business/Pecuniary Interests.
• Governance Structure

Meet Our Governors:

Contact the Local Governing Body

The Chair of the Local Governing Body, may be contacted by email at governor@ncea.org.uk or in writing:

Chair of Governors
c/o St Micahel’s Primary School
Howling Lane
Alnwick
Northumberland
NE66 1DJ

Alternatively, Governors may be contacted via Lesley Dalby, Director of Governance on 01670 816111 ext 368.

Governing board membership