Governors
Governors at Barrowford St Thomas (as with all voluntary aided Church of England schools) are volunteers who offer strategic guidance and support to their school communities. Anybody over-18 can be a governor and it is a great way to give your skills back to the community. The Education Office, working with diocesan education teams, supports the training, resourcing and development of governors in Church of England schools.
If you have any questions concerning governance issues, becoming a governor, or are looking for training as a governor in a Church of England school please contact the diocesan education office. We are part of Blackburn Diocese.
Message from the Chair of Governors: Mrs Cath Ogden
Dear Parents and Carers
On behalf of all of the Governors, I would like to offer you a very warm welcome to Barrowford St Thomas’ Church of England Primary School.
As a Governing Body, we are very proud of our children and our friendly and caring school. The Governing Body work hard to support the Headteacher, teaching staff and pupils with the aim of ensuring that all of our children reach their full potential in a nurturing Christian environment.
The role of the Governing Board is to ensure the schools statutory obligations are met in addition to reviewing and monitoring objectives, planning for the future, and to make sure the vision for the school is both challenging and realistic. It is the responsibility of the Headteacher to run the school, however, it is the role of the Governing Body to support and strengthen the Headteacher’s leadership, and to hold her accountable for the performance of children and staff.
All of our Governors bring with them a wide range of different skills and expertise to enhance the leadership and management of the school. Decisions are taken by the whole Governing Body which meets once every term, whilst sub-committee meetings consider the more specific areas of curriculum, staffing & finance, health, safety & buildings, and ethos.
We feel extremely privileged to be part of the life of our successful and vibrant school, and appreciate the active and enthusiastic role our parents play, not only in the development and growth of the children, but also through the fundraising activities of FOSTS.
Mrs. Catherine Ogden
Chair of Governors
Contacting the Chair of Governors
Chair of Governors: Mrs Cath Ogden
Governor Diversity
The Governors of Barrowford St Thomas CE Primary School believe it is important that boards reflect the diversity of the school communities that they serve. Diverse boards promote inclusive school environments and provide diverse role models for staff and young people.
As a school we collect data on the diversity of the board, including data on age, gender and ethnicity. We use this data to inform recruitment and training needs and ensure there is always a diverse range of perspectives around the table to support robust decision making.
Due to the relatively small size of our governing body we do not publish this diversity data online as individual governors could be identified and we have a legal obligation to protect their personal data.
Governor Committees 2023 - 24
Our three committees are:
- Ethos Committee: We focus on issues that are relevant to our school as a church school, for example worship and prayer, the teaching of religious education, our vision and mission statement.
- Resources Committee: This committee focuses on finance, staffing, health and safety and buildings
- Curriculum and Standards: This committee focuses on the quality of education in our school.
These committees take place every term in addition to the full governing body committee meetings.
We also have other committees which take place annually:
- The admissions committee
- Pay committee following teacher appraisal
- Headteacher appraisal
There are other committees which are only called if necessary:
- Staff discipline and dismissal
- Complaint review
- Pupil discipline
