Our Governors

Mrs Maria Williams

Foundation, Chair

Mr Albert Wilson

Foundation, Vice Chair

Mr Ben Wright

Foundation

Mrs Rachael Mason

Parent

Fr Richard Hardstaff

Parish Priest

The Governing Body at our school

At Holy Cross Primary Catholic Voluntary Academy, our governors are volunteers from our parish, school and local community. They are each responsible for providing strategic leadership and accountability in our school.  We currently have 5 governors comprised of; Three foundation governors, appointed by the Diocese of Nottingham, One parent governor, elected by parents of the school and the Parish Priest.

School governors are volunteers with varied skills who have an interest in our children’s education and the smooth running of the school.  Governors meet regularly to monitor strategic development, religious education, health & safety and progress within the school. We also spend time in school working with the children and the staff to support our high standards.  We ensure that the school maintains our distinctive Catholic ethos and the link between the Parish and the school.  If you have any questions or would like to meet with me, then please email (mwilliams@holycross.notts.sch.uk) or contact me via school office.

Mrs Maria Williams (Chair of Governors)

Governance in a Catholic School

Governing bodies help schools and academies to fulfil their mission. All schools have governing bodies made up of different categories of governors. All Catholic school governing bodies are made up of foundation governors, and parent governors, along with the Headteacher.

The role of the Governing Body

The main role of the governing body is to operate at a strategic level, leaving the Headteacher and senior leaders responsible and accountable to the governing body for the operational day-to-day running of the school. As such, the three core functions of the governing body are:

• Ensuring clarity of the Catholic vision, ethos and strategic direction;
• Ensuring standards and progress in school;
• Ensure the safeguarding and health & safety standards are met;
• Holding the Headteacher to account for the educational performance and Catholic character of the school and its pupils; and
• Monitoring the financial performance of the school and making sure its money is well spent.

Foundation Governors

Foundation governors are specifically appointed by the Bishop or Religious Order to ensure the preservation and development of the school’s Catholic character, to ensure that the school is being conducted as a Catholic School, and to represent the Bishop’s (and the Religious Order’s) education policy to the governing body. However, all categories of governor in a Catholic School are required to preserve and develop the Catholic character of the school in addition to their other legal duties. Foundation governors always outnumber all other governors by at least two so as to ensure a majority vote where matters of particular Catholic importance arise.