The full Governing Body meets four times a year - generally for no more than two hours.

A wide variety of other subjects are considered at each meeting, including the Headteacher’s report, reports from sub-committees and, very importantly, the approval of all major policies which underpin the running of the school.

Most Governors, in addition to sitting on the main Governing Body, attend the meetings of at least one of the committees so that each Governor attends a meeting at least six times a year, together with visits to the school for other reasons.

More detailed discussions are held in committees that generally meet prior to the full Governor Body meetings. There are three main committees: Admissions; School Improvement; and Resources.  Each of these committees meet at least once a term and more often when needed.

We also try to attend public events such as school play performances, music concerts, the advent service and sports events.

In addition, individual Governors take a special interest in specific areas of school activity such as Child Protection, SEN and the More Able Student programme.

The composition of the Governing Body is of 18 Governors. The various types of Governors at St Mary’s Catholic School are:

Allocation	Category	Actual
10	Foundation	9
2	Parent	2
1	Staff	1
Total:18		Total:12

The Governing Body consists of both elected and appointed Governors. These positions are described below. For a list of the current Governors see below Types of Governor

Irrespective of how they became Governors, all members of the Governing Body work in the best interests of the school.

Parent Governors

The Instrument of Government have determined that St Mary’s School will have four Parent Governors, and these are nominated and elected when vacancies arise.

Parent Governors are parents or carers of children enrolled at the school at the time of their appointment. Should their child(ren) leave St Mary’s School during their term of office, they may continue on the Governing Body until the end of their four-year term. Vacancies for Parent Governors must be notified to all parents and nominations requested. A ballot of all parents is held if there are more nominations than posts available. The retiring Parent Governor(s) can stand for re-election if they still have a child at the school, but not otherwise.

Staff Governors

The Instrument of Government limits the number of elected Staff Governors to one. 

Foundation Governors

Ten foundation governors are appointed in the name of the Archbishop of Westminster and form the majority of the governing body. They have a legal duty to preserve and develop the Catholic character of the school and to ensure that the school is conducted in accordance with its trust deed which is issued by the Westminster Diocesan Trustees. All Governors have the same status.

All Governors serve a four year term of office, but may be reappointed. The Members have a responsibility to ensure that the Governing Body has an appropriate balance of experience and skills to maximize benefit to the school, and filling of any identified skill gaps will be an important element in future appointments.