On behalf of the Governing Body I would like to welcome you to our school website.
As a Church School, 7 of the 12 governors are known as Foundation Governors, and are appointed by the local Parish,the Diocese of Durham or the rest of the Foundation Governors.
The Head Teacher and all staff are the backbone of the school and it is they who make the school what it is on a day-to-day basis however the Governing Body has an important role to play.
The members of the Governing Body come from all walks of life and each person makes a contribution to the functioning of the Governing Body and through that to all aspects of school life. Governors are responsible (as a whole) for many different parts of the running of the school from appointing staff to monitoring how the school is educating your children. Meetings of the full Governing Body are held once a term but there are also sub-committees covering Finance, Children and Community and School which also meet once or twice each term.
Anyone who is interested in making enquiries about becoming a governor should contact the school so that we can arrange for a governor to have a chat with you about what is involved.
If you become a governor you will be fully supported and a Mentor will be assigned to you to help you through the first year or so.
We hope your child enjoys their time at St. Francis and that you will take every opportunity to become involved in their education.
There is a full list of governors below. If you wish to contact a governor please contact the school in the first instance and they will get a governor to contact you, if appropriate.
Governing Body Membership
Foundation
Mr David Bowes - English, Humanities, Computing, Safeguarding, Catch-up Premium, Pupil Premium, PE, MFL, Health and Safety
Mrs Debbie Ingram
Mr Stuart Shields
Miss Wendy Boulton
Mr Stephen Ingram
Mr Ian Shaw
1 Foundation Governor vacancy
Headteacher
Mrs Lisa Lakey
Staff
Mrs Brooke Pickett
Associate Member
Miss Melody Hockaday (no voting rights)
LA
Mr Craig Brown
Parent
Mr James Naden
Vacancy
Changes in the last 12 months
Mrs Deborah Ingram - resigned 25 October 2023
Mr Simon Clayton - resigned 1 November 2023
Reverend Ann Anderson - 31 December 2023
Reverend Jeff Anderson - 31 December 2023
Mrs Helen McCormick - 23 April 2024
Miss Naomi Lanham - 7 April 2024
Governing Body Diversity
As a school we recognise that a diversity of thought, voices and perspectives is essential to good governance and the effective running of any organisation. We regularly collect diversity information from our governors and, depending on current data, can use this to:
- target recruitment to address gaps in experience and diversity
- develop and adapt practices to ensure full participation
- prioritise training and awareness-raising in identified areas
- address potential 'blind spots' through seeking wider advice and perspectives on current and upcoming opportunities, challenges and risks
However, we are unable to publish this information as it would mean that individual members of our Governing Body are identifiable.
