Governing Board

GOVERNING BODY ANNUAL STATEMENT 2024-25

What is a Governor?

This short video produced by the National Governance Association helps to explain:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mRqJ_bFipHk&ab_channel=NationalGovernance

Role of the Governing Body

As the Governing Body of a Catholic school, our overarching responsibility lies in ensuring that the School is conducted in accordance with its Catholic character at all times, and this overriding duty (which is also a legal duty) permeates everything that we do. As our legal obligations make clear the Governing Body operates at a strategic level leaving the Headteacher and senior school leaders responsible and accountable to us for the operational day-to-day running of the school. It is by achieving these aims that we can be sure that our school has effective governance.
The three core functions of the Governing Body are:
• Ensuring clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction;
• Holding the Headteacher to account for the educational performance of the school and its pupils, and for the internal organisation, management and control of the school, including performance management of staff; and
• Overseeing the financial performance of the school and making sure its money is well spent.

As governors our highest priority is the safeguarding of the young people in our care. We regularly review our Safeguarding & Child Protection policies and procedures to ensure they take account of all the latest local and national advice and legislation.

As an integral part of the vision for the holistic formation of children and young people Canon law (Church law) also requires that Catholic schools are at least as academically distinguished as other schools in the area and the Governing Body are mindful of this in all that we do.

Our Mission
Our mission was reviewed in 2018 by a group combining governors, teaching and non-teaching staff, pupils, parents and clergy. The result was a brand new Mission Statement which we believe truly represents what it means to belong to St. Joseph’s school community.

Jesus Christ is our family role model
Opening our hearts and minds to dream the impossible and achieve beyond our wildest imagination.
Everybody is valued, nurtured and respected.
Young and old will journey together to build God’s Kingdom.
Striving for academic excellence and celebrating success in all we do.

Our vision (The following is subject to formal ratification at our Spring Term GB meeting) 

Ambition Statement

"We can do all things through Christ who strengthens us"  Philippians 4:13.

With God, we are unstoppable.

We are an unstoppable people. It’s just what we do around here. Because of God’s power, in His Kingdom things are different.

Moses was born a Hebrew adopted by an Egyptian and became a powerful leader. He led the Israelites through the wilderness for forty years, received the Ten Commandments and guided God’s people to the edge of the Promised Land.

David was a shepherd boy who defeated a giant and became King,

Joseph was slave who became a leader of God’s people.

Abraham was an old man who became the father of a nation.

As a young lady, Ruth lost her husband and made the decision to look after her mother-in-law Naomi, who was also a widow. God rewarded her for her loyalty and kindness, and she later married an Israelite and so began the unstoppable family tree that led to the birth of Jesus.

These role models exemplify the power of divine intervention and human resilience. These lives exemplify what will happen when we have faith, courage, and unwavering commitment to God’s plan. That’s why things are different around here.

We will be unstoppable in improving lives and achieving beyond our wildest imaginations…

God's Kingdom is unshakeable.

This year our community will see a vision of what is possible when ordinary people catch a glimpse of God's radical call to follow the Lord Jesus.

“Our ambition is for St Joseph’s to offer an outstanding experience for our young people. It will be a place where, due to a strong sense of belonging young people achieve beyond their own imaginations. Our nurturing approach will gradually reverse the impact of trauma in the lives of young people. Progress outcomes for all students including those most vulnerable; the most able, disadvantaged and those with SEND, will be above national through the delivery of a curriculum which is ambitious, inclusive, diverse and enriching. Our inclusion practice will be so strong that we won’t need a SEND department...but rather a network of professionals meeting a child’s needs. The RAISE network will support all students to access an inclusive and enriching curriculum through adaptive teaching and inclusive practice. There will be stability in staffing as staff members enjoy good job satisfaction and gain from the school's commitment to career development for all. St Joseph’s will be a desirable place to work and learn as Learning and Teaching will be characterized by practitioners who are hungry to grow, learning from each other and developing practice to have more profound impact on the lives of young people. The school environment will be increasingly inspiring and will be the school of choice as parents see the life changing opportunities available to every young person through the curriculum, the bucket list and extracurricular activities such as trips and other experiences. St Joseph’s will promote academic excellence and will be an experience that enables the young person to grow into an adult who can have a positive impact on the world. Our mission will be lived not laminated as faith and spiritual experiences change lives. We are found for our purpose; our mission is to live the values of the Upside Down Kingdom of God and because of this we are unstoppable. The whole school will be a mission team as we look to live out the God ordained purposes in our lives. Being part of our community will be a life changing adventure.”

We are unstoppable. We will create people of faith. This faith will be palpable by their smiles. They will be a people who will change the world for the better.

Through our meetings, both full Governing Body & committee, we regularly review the progress being made towards achieving this vision.

At both the Student Support Committee meetings and meetings of the full Governing Body governors also hold the school to account for the religious education and religious life of the school through the Catholic Schools Inspection Framework Self Evaluation process.

Plans for 2024-25

At our full Governing Body & committee meetings for this year we will monitor progress made in all the key areas highlighted in the School Improvement Plan, which can be found on the school website.

A major theme within staff professional development in recent years was ‘think me’, encouraging all staff to consider the individual needs of each student in their lessons, ensuring everyone is supported to make the progress of which they are capable. We know that a child should not be defined by having special educational needs but that every adult in school has the duty to enable every learner to overcome any barriers to be equipped to access learning.  Every member of staff is a triage nurse for additional needs and as such our SEND team is known as the RAISE Network.

During 2023-24 staff and governors increased their understanding of ASD (autism spectrum disorder). We were very proud to be awarded the Inclusion Quality Mark and continue to hold Inclusion as a key element of our plans for the future. During 2024-25 ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) will be a focus in CPD sessions.

We continue to respond to the impacts of the pandemic on members of our community.  We have begun to introduce the concept of ‘trauma informed practice’ to support those in our community who have been affected by adverse experiences at any point in their lives. Our vision is that any young person in our community who is suffering the impacts of a trauma, whatever that may have been, will be supported and enabled to recover from those experiences, to achieve well in school and go on to live fulfilling lives.

Key to this will be robust monitoring systems, training & resources to ensure that learners’ needs are met, barriers are removed and that learning is scaffolded for all to ensure that they achieve their best possible outcomes, in line with the Think Me strategy.

  

Mental health of us all continues to be a priority and with this in mind students receive regular support. Sessions promote health and wellbeing by increasing their resilience and developing trusting relationships where they can talk honestly and openly about their feelings. 

The environment is very high on our agenda, and we take seriously our responsibilities as stewards of creation.  Together with support from Salford Diocese and Bolton LA we plan to reduce waste, improve recycling rates, make use of our site to improve biodiversity in the local area, reduce our energy use and source more environmentally responsible sources of energy. Together with our student Eco team, we are currently focusing on educating our school community on correct recycling.

As a Governing Body we are well aware that the current economic environment will have impacts on the school budget and will also place a heavy burden on members of our community. In accordance with our school’s mission, we will look for opportunities to do all we can to support those in need in our community.

Governors have also reviewed our practices and adapted them for the current circumstances. Our meetings are now a blend of face to face and virtual. We have also reviewed our special governor link roles, to ensure we are focusing on key areas. The link roles we have in place for this year are; Safeguarding, RE & Catholic Life, RAISE Network, Students in Care, Attendance, Behaviour, Wellbeing, EDI (Equality, Diversity & Inclusion), Sustainability, Careers, Pupil Premium/Catch-Up funding, Literacy, Early Career Teachers, Health & Safety, Data Protection, Governor Training & Development, Bolton LA Partnership, Schools Forum.

Governance Arrangements

Our Governing Body is made up of
2 staff governors (including our Headteacher),
2 elected parent governors,
8 foundation governors,
1 co-opted governor
1 local authority governor

I associate member (Parish Priest of our nearest parish)

Foundation governors are appointed by the Bishop of our Diocese of Salford and have a particular responsibility to preserve and develop our religious character in accordance with the rites, traditions and practices of the Roman Catholic faith.
Our co-opted governor is appointed by the Governing Body and is someone who we believe has particular skills which contribute to the effective governance and success of the school.

Our Associate Member, who is Parish Priest of our nearest parish, attends the Student Support Committee meetings, to offer advice and guidance regarding our mission as a Catholic school.

All governors serve on the Governing Body voluntarily, giving their time free of charge.
The full Governing Body meets at least once each term and Governors also meet as committees to consider various aspects of the school in detail.

Following an NLG (National Leaders in Governance) review of our Governance procedures, we continue to review our committee structure and practices to enable us to carry out our duties in the most focused and effective way.

Our structure consists of the following committees-

Student Support (incorporating mission, wellbeing, personal development, behaviour, community)

Standards (incorporating curriculum, progress, outcomes)
Finance & Resources
Performance Management of the Head Teacher
Admissions (As a voluntary aided school, the governors of St Joseph’s have responsibility for decisions regarding admissions of pupils to our school)

Staff Pay

There are also committees that meet, if needed, to consider matters such as pupil discipline, staffing appeals issues and complaints.

Governors have excellent attendance at meetings and we have never cancelled a meeting because it was not “quorate” (the number of governors needed to ensure that legal decisions can be made). You will find a link on the school website, in the section headed ‘Our school’, under ‘Governing Body’ giving full details of the names of all our governors and their attendance at meetings.

Governors have recently completed a skills audit, which confirmed that we have a really strong mix of skills on our Governing Body, however we are not complacent and are very keen to ensure that we always stay abreast of the latest developments in education both locally and nationally. To this end, we are members of the National Governance Association and The Key for School Governors which provide us with regular news updates. Governors also undertake training in a wide range of areas, covering many aspects of our work, through our membership of the above 2 organisations as well as both Salford Diocese and Bolton Governance Services.

Scope of Governing Body’s Responsibilities
The Governing Body acknowledges that we have overall responsibility for ensuring that St Joseph’s has an effective and appropriate system of control, financial and otherwise. However, such a system is designed to manage rather than eliminate the risk of failure to achieve our objectives, and can provide only a reasonable (as opposed to absolute) assurance against material misstatement or loss.
A Governing Body delegates the day-to-day responsibility to the Headteacher for ensuring financial controls conform with the requirements of both propriety and good financial management.