Governors

We are the governing board of St Andrew's CE Primary School: parents, staff, church appointees and people from the wider community. Apart from the headteacher, we are all volunteers.

Our job is not to run the school day to day. That is the headteacher's. Ours is to make sure the school knows where it is going, that it keeps its promises to children, and that public money is spent well. The Department for Education sets three core functions for every governing board:

• Vision, ethos and direction. We agree where the school is heading and what it stands for. As a Church of England school in the Diocese of Manchester, that includes protecting the Christian character at the heart of St Andrew's.

• Holding leaders to account. We ask for evidence about how well children are learning, and we examine it properly. Support and challenge in equal measure.

• Overseeing the money. We approve the budget, monitor spending through the year, and satisfy ourselves that it is spent on things that make a difference to children.

A few things sit with the board alone: appointing the headteacher, overseeing safeguarding arrangements, and hearing certain complaints and appeals. On safeguarding we keep strategic oversight and check the arrangements are working, while day to day responsibility rests with the headteacher and the Designated Safeguarding Lead.

In law we are a corporate body, so no individual governor has authority alone. Decisions belong to the board as a whole.

How we work

The full governing board meets once every term. Between those meetings, three committees do the detailed work and report back.

• Resources looks after the budget, staffing and the school buildings, and monitors spending against the School Improvement Plan. It meets three times a year. Chair: Mr J Mangas

• Curriculum, Standards and Ethos looks at how well children are learning, the breadth of what they are taught, and the Christian character of the school. Chair: Mrs K Heywood

• Pay applies the school's pay policy and considers staff pay recommendations. Chair: Mr J Mangas

We form additional committees when we need to, for example to hear a complaint or an appeal.

How the board is made up

There are eleven places on our governing board and each category exists for a reason. Most governors serve a four year term. The headteacher and the incumbent of the parish hold their places for as long as they hold those posts.

• Parent governors are elected by the parents of children at the school, and are parents themselves, so a family's point of view is always in the room. Like all governors, they act in the interests of the whole school rather than as a representative for individual parents.

• The staff governor is elected by the staff. The headteacher is a governor by virtue of the post.

• Foundation governors are appointed by the Church. As a voluntary controlled Church of England school in the Diocese of Manchester, their particular responsibility is to preserve and develop the Christian character of St Andrew's. One place is held by the incumbent of the parish.

• The local authority governor is nominated by Bury Council.

• Co-opted governors are appointed by the board itself, usually to fill a gap in the skills we need.

The table below shows who currently holds each place. We have three vacancies: one foundation place, one parent place and one local authority place.

You do not need a background in education to be a governor. If you are interested, please contact the Clerk to the Governors through the school office.

Contact the board

To contact the Chair of Governors, please write to them care of the school office. Please do not contact governors at home or through personal social media accounts.

Chair of Governors: Mr J Mangas

Vice Chair: Mrs K Heywood

Clerk to the Governors: Ms K Ashworth

By post: c/o St Andrew's CE Primary School, Nuttall Lane, Ramsbottom, Bury, BL0 9JD

By email: School Office, marked for the attention of the Chair or Clerk

Terms of office