St Mary's

A message from the Governing Body

Thank you for visiting the Governor section of our school website. We hope you will find it informative.

A governing body was reinstated in November 2020, following a period of time when a small Interim Executive Board discharged governance oversight.

The school has a new Instrument of Governance, which outlines our membership and has been approved by the Local Authority and the Diocese of Clifton.

For a Copy of Instrument of Governance please click here

Governing Bodies have three core responsibilities as outlined in documentation provided by the Department for Education. The responsibilities are:

Ensuring clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction of the school;
Holding executive leaders to account for the educational performance of the school and its pupils, and the effective and efficient performance management of staff; and
Overseeing the financial performance of the school and making sure its money is well spent.

As a Voluntary Aided school Governors have an additional responsibility for oversight of all aspects of catholicity, which includes religious education and worship.

Please click here for the latest Governors Newsletter.

Name	Responsibilities	Term of Office	Category

Jan Downie	Chair of Governors Nursery and Early Years School Improvement Finance	4 years from November 2020	Local Authority
Vacancy .			Foundation
David Wheat	Catholicity and worship. Safeguarding Finance	4 years from November 2020.	Foundation
Vacancy			Foundation
Liam Stokes		. 4 years from May 2021	Foundation
Vacancy			Parent Governor
Charlotte Hernandez-Larder		4 years from January 2023	Parent Governor
Lucy Smith		NA	Head teacher
Alex Stranks		N/A	Assistant Head Staff Governor

Governor pen portraits

Jan Downie (Chair of Governors)

I am delighted to be appointed as a local authority governor at St Mary's Catholic Primary School. Although this is my first appointment as a school governor my whole working life has been directly connected to education and training at different educational stages. I am committed to the transformative impact of learning. I currently work for the Department of Education on a programme set up to improve the social mobility of children and young people through excellent education.

I am responsible for Nursery and school Improvement.

Dave Wheat

I have been involved in Catholic Youth Ministry and Education for over 20 years, working in the Dioceses of Brentwood, Westminster and most recently as Coordinator of Youth Ministry for the Clifton Diocese, which I held for 9 years. I am currently the Regional Community Fundraiser for Mission, covering the South of England and Wales. We moved to Chippenham in 2011 and our Son went through St Mary’s and is now attending St Augustine’s College, Trowbridge. I am honoured to be appointed as a Foundation Governor by Bishop Declan and I’m looking forward to supporting the students, staff and parents of the St Mary’s community.

Areas of responsibility: RE & Catholicity, school effectiveness including vulnerable groups and SEND, website compliance, and admissions.

Governor Minutes

See separate page

Governor Meetings

As Governors we welcome any comments or suggestions which will help us maintain and improve the school. Please contact the Chair of Governors with your comments:

Mr J Downie

Chair Of Governors

St Mary's Catholic Primary School

Rowden Hill

Chippenham

Wiltshire SN15 2AH

jdownie@sm.thedcet.com

St Mary's Catholic Primary School LGC Register of Attendance 2022-2023

St Mary's Catholic Primary School LGC Register of Interest 2023-2024

Governance | The Dunstan Catholic Educational Trust (thedcet.com)

To view the IEB Closure Report January 2021 click here

To view our Annual Review Statement for 2019-2020 click here