Governors

St. Catherine’s Church of England Primary School is a member of The Bishop Fraser Trust

The Local Governing Body with responsibility for providing focused governance for St. Catherine’s CE Primary School

The Local Governing Body

Chair: Christa Norton

Local Governors contribute to the strategic direction of the academy and Trust by contributing to discussions at local governing body meetings which consider:

vision and values;
clear and ambitious strategic priorities and targets;
access of children, including those with special educational needs, to a broad, balanced and engaging curriculum;
ensuring all groups and individuals are making good or better progress; the quality of teaching;
the implementation of the Trust’s policies;
the development of links with the local community; and
the establishment of mechanisms to promote good parent/carer/family relations
Hold the senior leaders to account by monitoring the academy’s performance.

This includes:

agreeing the outcomes from the academy’s self-evaluation and ensuring they are used to inform the priorities in the academy’s action and improvement plan;
considering all relevant data and feedback provided on request by academy leaders and external sources on all aspects of academy performance;
asking challenging questions of academy leaders;
ensuring senior leaders have implemented the required policies and procedures and the academy is operating effectively according to those policies;
acting as a link governor on a specific issue, making relevant enquiries of the relevant staff, and reporting to the governing body on the progress on the relevant academy priority; and
listening to and reporting to the academy’s stakeholders: pupils, parents, staff, and the wider community, including local employers.

Our Local Governing Body

All governors can be contacted through email via the main school office who will forward your message.

Local Governing Body:

Name: Rev Michael Behrend
Appointed 15.02.18
I was brought up in the North West of England, but taught maths in a secondary school in Essex for ten years before training to be a vicar. I have been a vicar in Horwich and a governor of St.Catherine’s School since 2002. My association with the school became even stronger when the older of my two children started at the school in 2010, and I took over as chair of governors in 2015. I can be contacted via the school.

Name: Mrs Janet Adamson
Appointed 15.02.18
I have been a Foundation parent Governor of St Catherine’s School , elected by the parochial church council of St Catherine’s Church since 2008, before becoming a Foundation governor. I have a long standing connection with the school as I am a past pupil and have been a member of St Catherine’s Church all my life. My son spent all his primary education years at the school as do other family members. I have worked within the NHS for 29 years and have always lived in Horwich. I serve on various governor committees at the school and feel very passionate about St Catherine’s. In my role as governor I believe in having a positive and sensible outlook and I hope I am able to contribute to the school community and its commitment to ensuring that every pupil both learns and shines at St Catherine’s.

Name: Mrs Karen Graham
Appointed 15.02.18
I am thrilled to be the headteacher at St. Catherine’s Church of England Primary School and have been here since 2008. It is a real privilege to work in such an incredible school with a dynamic staff team. I am committed to ensuring that our school can provide the very best opportunities for all of our children and I encourage us all to ensure that we continue to be amazing in all aspects. I particularly value our Christian ethos and warm family atmosphere.In addition to my work as headteacher I am an member of the Horwich and Blackrod Learning Collaborative, a highly effective and active group, as well as representing our cluster of schools at Staying Safe consultation group and at Primary Executive meetings. I also chair a Bolton Multi-Academy Trust’s Teaching School Board.

Name: Mrs Carol Parry
Appointed 15.02.18
I have worked within the Criminal Justice System for the last 20 years. For the last 16 years I have worked for the Crown Prosecution Service based in Manchester, but my work requires me to attend Crown Courts in various locations throughout the whole of the North West. I have been a resident of Horwich all of my life, with the exception of a brief spell in Worsley many years ago. I attended the original St Catherine’s school until 1984 and this was followed by secondary education at Rivington and Blackrod High School. My two children attend St Catherine’s Primary School and we are regular attenders at St Catherine’s Church. I am an active member of the PCC (Parochial Church Council) and assist the church by being the resident Child Protection Officer.I have been part of the governing body at St Catherine’s for 4 years and, together with my fellow governors, work hard to ensure I contribute to the efficient and smooth running of the school.

Name: Christa Norton, Chair of Governors

Appointed: 15.02.18

Name: David Harrison

Appointed: 01.07.21

I am an experienced site-manager with excellent people skills to work with staff at all levels, a creative approach to problem solving and excellent organisational and planning skills. With the ability to take on responsibility and make decisions, an in-depth knowledge of building methods and the ability to motivate myself and others, I also possess a high level of health and safety awareness. Previously a time-served tradesman, I have practical, hands-on skills and a thorough understanding of on-site activities. I am a parent of a child at St. Catherine’s and enjoy swimming and spending time with my family.

Name: Kate Mills

Appointed 22.01.22

I am an expereinced teacher at Bolton School Boys’ Division and am passionate abut provising postitive and engaging exxperienes for pupils in all aspects of school life. Although my daughter only started St. Catherine’s in September 2021, I have seen how it is a school that is excellent at supporting students in their educational needs and how the school community and ethos supports in the pupils’ development.

Name: Jacquie Birks

Appointed 21.01.22

I have an extensive and varied background in education, as a nursery school teacher, primary school volunteer and secondary school teacher. I worked for over 14 years in 5 different secondary schools as a sciene teacher. For 9 of these years, I had a leadership and management role. In my role as Science subject lead, I developed a vision for the department, by choosing different curriculua to address the needs of different pupils.

As a volunteer, I have supported St. Catherine’s by helping to support children throughout the school with reading, phonis and maths.

Name: Adele Leather

Appointed 15.07.22

Adele is a teacher at St Catherine’s and a member of the school’s Senior Leadership Team. She has expert knowledge in leading English across the school, and has worked externally within the local authority on projects such as the Cross-Phase Reading Project. Adele has successfully achieved the National Professional Qualification for Senior Leaders.

Governors

2022-23 LGB Meetings-StCatherinesPrimary.pdf

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Overview of LGB as at June 2023.pdf

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Who can be a Governor?

You don’t have to have children at the school to be a governor. However, you do have to be over 18, and pass a formal check for your suitability to be within a school. No specific qualifications are required but there are certain expectations. What’s really important is that you have energy, enthusiasm, time and a real desire to help provide children with the best possible education.

Governors come from all sections of the community, and all walks of life. Our Governors are a range of parents, staff at the school, representatives of St. Catherine’s church and residents in the locality. Two governors are elected by parents, with the remainder appointed by the Trustees who try to ensure our Governing Body reflects the community they serve. Our Governors work as part of a team, and give total commitment to our school.

Term of office and meetings

The term of office for a school governor is normally four years. Our Local Governing Body meets once a term (for approximately 2 hours). Most of our Governors find they usually attend meetings or visit a school three or four times each term. They are invited to special occasions such as assemblies, sports days, plays and presentations.