Welcome to St Peter's CE (Aided) Primary Cowfold

GOVERNORS

Governors

Our Members

Who are we? The Governing Body of St. Peter’s CE (Aided) Primary School is a group of volunteers made up from various parts of the community served by the school. We come from a variety of backgrounds and have a wide range of skills and experiences. We are committed to ensuring that all pupils receive high quality education to enable them to fulfil their potential and to ensuring the ongoing success and continuous improvement of the school.

Mr Bryan Martin - Chair

Mr Martin is a Co-Opted Governor and is Chair of the Governing Body. He was appointed on 18^th November 2015. He serves on the Finance & Resources and Admissions Committees.

Mr Darren Humphreys - Vice_Chair, Safeguarding Governor

Mr Humphreys is a Parent Governor and Vice-Chair of the Governing Body. He was appointed on the 18th November 2018. He serves on the Finance & Resources Committee.

Mrs Becky Francis

Mrs Francis is a Foundation Governor. She was elected on 19^th October 2015. She serves on the Finance & Resources, Ethos & Curriculum and Admissions Committees.

Mr Giles Kolter

Mr Kolter is the Headteacher and Staff Governor by virtue of his post. He was appointed as an ex-officio member on 1^st September 2012. He attends all Committee meetings as an advisor.

Mrs Sarah Vaughan-Turner

Mrs Vaughan-Turner is a Foundation Governor and Chair of the Admissions Committee. She was appointed on 1^st April 2010. She also serves on the Ethos & Curriculum Committees.

Mr Lee Cornwell

Mr Cornwell is a Parent Governor. He was appointed on 16th January 2018. He serves on the Finance & Resources Committee.

Mrs Katie Finch

Mrs Finch is a Staff Governor. She was appointed on 25th September 2018. She serves on the Ethos & Curriculum Committee.

Mrs Emma Harsum

Mrs Harsum is a Foundaiton Governor. She was appointed on 29th April 2019.

Mrs Nichola Favell

Mrs Favell is a Foundation Governor. She was appointed on 2nd April 2019.

Mrs Adam Charlton

Mr Charlton is a Foundation Governor. He was appointed on 2nd April 2019.

Mrs Jo Ball

Mrs Ball is an Associate Member of the Governing Body. She was appointed on 6^th January 2020. She attends the Finance & Resources and Admissions Committees as an advisor. Mrs Ball does not have any voting rights.

Mr Clive Newman

Mr Newman is now an Associate Governor but has previously served as a Foundation Governor. He was appointed on 12^th March 2007. Mr Newman does not have any voting rights.

N.B. Mrs Favell & Mrs Finch are related. Mother & daughter respectively.

An Introduction from the Chair

Thank you for your interest in St Peter’s Church of England (Aided) Primary School. Our school aims to create a happy, stimulating learning environment which encourages children to do their very best, and supports them in achieving and exceeding their own expectations. We provide excellent facilities in which the children can feel safe and nurtured by caring and professional teaching staff, who embrace our Christian ethos and focus on every child as an important and valued individual.

These are bold statements that set a vision of high expectations on everyone in the school. So the obvious question is do we achieve this vision? This year the governors have initiated a new project called Pupil Voice. This extends the good work the school has started through the parent questionnaire. Our first task was to capture the thoughts of our Year Six leavers last July. Many of the pupils had entered the school in Reception so they had a unique insight of what it is like to be a pupil at St.Peter’s. I am delighted to share with you the conclusion of this process.

‘In conclusion the questionnaire and interviews described children who have had a tremendous experience at St. Peter’s. They communicated their feeling that St. Peter’s is a happy, fun place to learn that provides positive Christian values. They view the teachers as being kind and supportive and they expressed respect for all members of staff. This is a great credit to Giles and the team.’

I thank Father Martin for assisting in this project.

This initiative was also replicated by a teacher and governor asking similar questions to a random sample of children across the school. It was pleasing that the results were similar to the Year 6 pupils. Our future plan in this area is to continue with the Year 6 exit interviews, extend the collation of views from across the school and to enhance the parent and carer questionnaire. We want to hear from our children, parents and carers on what we do well and how we can improve.

Prompted by the results of last year’s parent questionnaire it was clear to us that our vision for the school was either unclear or not properly communicated. We feel that our vision for the school is important and it guides us in our decision making. We therefore set about the task of revising and redefining our Vision statement. Again, we took a collaborative approach which included teachers and governors with assistance from Father Martin and Mary Chamberlin. I am aware that Giles has communicated this to our existing parents and carers but I feel this is another place to share Our Vision:

We are St Peter’s, a Christian village school rooted in our community.

We strive to create an inclusive, caring environment where our learners grow to enjoy life in all its fullness.

Just as St Peter himself was entrusted to be the rock on which Jesus founded his church, we develop firm foundations for life within our pupils on Jesus’ teachings.

We have three key aims:

To LOVE one another in the way God loves us.
To inspire children to love to LEARN; and equip them with the skills and attitudes to do so all their lives.
To AIM HIGH so every child achieve their full potential.

Our pupils are nurtured to develop their self-confidence, spirituality, personal well being, respect for others and their own talents in a broad curriculum.

When our pupils move on to the next stage of their education, our aspiration is that we have developed ‘Life-Long Learners’ who have a strong appreciation of their role in; and responsibilities towards; the local community, our country and the changing world.

“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for The Lord”. COLOSSIANS 3:23

I thank everyone who participated in the creation of the new Vision statement. I feel it truly reflects the place of St.Peter’s in our community and reinforces our expectations we have for our pupils and ourselves.

In the next twelve months the governors will be assisting Giles and the senior teachers in initiating a project on Well Being. We will also review the planning on the new enhanced curriculum.

I look forward to providing you with an update at the end of the school year.

Bryan Martin - Chair of Governors – November 2019

Further Details

Please find below further details about the members of the governing body at St. Peter’s School including appointment information, attendance and business & pecuniary interests.

The governing body of St. Peter’s (CE) Aided Primary School is constituted under ‘The School Governance (Constitution) (England) Regulations 2012’. There are 14 governors consisting of;

8 Foundation governors – Appointed by the Church Parish / Diocese 1 Co-opted governor – Appointed by the Governing Body 1 Local Authority Governor – Appointed by the Local Authority 2 Parent Governors - Elected by the Parents/Carers of pupils at the school 1 Staff Governor – Elected by the Staff of the school 1 Headteacher – An ex-officio member by virtue of their role

All governors serve a 4 year term except the Headteacher and the Parish Priest, who are governors by virtue of their posts.

Apologies for absences by governors at meetings are reviewed and approved by the governing body.

What do we do? Our role is a strategic one, with the day to day running of the school the responsibility of the Headteacher and senior school leaders. We have 3 core functions;

To work with the Headteacher to set the vision and strategic direction of the school
To ensure the accountability for the educational performance of the school through searching questioning of the Leadership Team
To ensure the best use is made of the school’s financial resources

The full governing body meets in full on a monthly basis and, at different times in the school year, rotates the main area of focus between the topics outlined below:

Finance & Resources – Review all matters concerning finance including the annual budget, staffing , premises, safeguarding and health & safety.

Ethos & Curriculum – Ensure all aspects of school life reflect the Christian ethos and ensure a broad and balanced curriculum is delivered to all pupils.

Pay – Has fully delegated powers to implement the school’s pay policy including annual reviews of performance related pay.

Admissions – Has fully delegated powers to implement the school’s admissions policy.

Please see the link below for further information regarding the role of school governors in West Sussex;

https://www.westsussex.gov.uk/learning/west_sussex_grid_for_learning/support_for_school_staff/information_for_governors.aspx

We currently have two vacancies for Foundation Governors and 1 vacancy for a Co-Opted Governor. Please contact the school office if you are interested in becoming a Governor.

Our Previous Members

Mrs Nicola Rudling (stood down 23rd October 2019)

Mrs Rudling was an Associate Member of the Governing Body. She was appointed on 4^th December 2014. She attended the Finance & Resources and Admissions Committees as an advisor. Mrs Rudling did not have any voting rights.

Mrs Stephanie Lewis (stood down 9th July 2019)

Mrs Lewis was a Local Authority (LA) Governor and Vice-Chair of the Governing Body. She was appointed on 1^st January 2010. She served on the Finance & Resources, Pay and Admissions Committees.

Father Keith Littlejohn (stood down January 2019)

Father Keith was a Foundation Governor by virtue of his post. He was appointed as an ex-officio member on 23^rd November 2007.

OUR CLERK

Mrs Angie Bell

Mrs Angie Bell is the Clerk to the Governing Body. She clerks all full governing body and committee meetings.

For further information regarding the Governing Body, please contact the Clerk via the School Office.

Governing Body of St. Peter’s CE Primary School - Information for Academic Year 2018/19

Governor	Attendance FGB	Attendance Committee	Roles	Committee(s)	Interests - Business / Pecuniary / Governorship
S Lewis	7 of 9	3 of 3	Vice Chair	F&R, Pay, Admissions	None
C Newman	3 of 9	0 of 3		F&R, Pay, Admissions	Yes
L Cornwell	7 of 9	2 of 2		F&R, Pay	None
B Francis	7 of 9	1 of 3		F&R, E&C, Admissions	None
D Humphreys	4 of 7	1 of 1		F&R	None
K Finch	7 of 9	0 of 1		E&C	None
A Charlton	4 of 4	n/a			None
G Kolter	9 of 9	4 of 4		Advisor on: F&R, Pay, E&C, Admissions	None
Rvd Littlejohn	1 of 4	n/a	RETIRED		None
B Martin	8 of 9	3 of 3		F&R, Admissions, Pay	None
N Favell	2 of 4	n/a			None
E Harsum	3 of 4	n/a			None
N Rudling	1 of 3	1 of 2		Advisor on: F&R, Admissions	None
S Vaughan-Turner	6 of 9	1 of 1		E&C, Admissions	None