Governors are one of the largest volunteer forces in the country and have an important part to play in raising school standards. The role of the governing board is absolutely key to the effectiveness of a school. Ofsted (the national inspection body for schools) has noted that the most effective schools demonstrate effective leadership and management - including by the governing board.

School governors provide strategic leadership and accountability in schools. Governors appoint the head teacher and deputy headteacher. It is governors who hold the main responsibility for finance in schools, and it is governors who work with the headteacher to make the tough decisions about balancing resources.

Each individual governor is a member of a governing board, which is established in law as a corporate body. Individual governors may not act independently of the rest of the governing board; decisions are the joint responsibility of the governing board.

The Governors at St Lawrence Catholic Primary School, chaired by Tom Gallahue, are responsible for working with the Headteacher and senior leadership team to set the strategic priorities for the school. As a Catholic school, most of our Governors are Foundation governors appointed by the Diocese of Westminster. We also have representatives from parents, staff and the local authority. The Headteacher is a permanent member.

We have specific responsibilities - some of which are to:

• Ensure clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction
• Holding leaders to account for the educational performance of the school and its pupils
• Holding leaders to account for the effective and efficient performance management of staff
• Overseeing the financial performance of the school and making sure its money is well spent
• Ensuring admission arrangements are fair and transparent, admission decisions are open and fair and appeals are in accordance with the school admission code.

We are a very active group and our meetings are always well attended. Governors have to declare annually if they have any business interests with companies which may have dealings with the school and sign a disqualification form. (No Governors currently have any business interests which could disqualify them)

Please find detailed below how our Governing Board is structured, including the names, responsibilities and terms of appointment for each Governor. Governors meet three times a term and, at this time, the GB has not appointed any committees.

Tom Gallahue can be contacted via our school office.

Attendance for Full Governing Board Meetings 2024-2025

Attendance for Full Governing Board Meetings 2025-2026

Y - Attended / N - Apology Accepted / NS - No Apology Given