The Role of the Governing Body

Dear Parents and Carers,

My name is Anne Rogowski and I am proud to be the Chair of the Governing Board of St Paul’s.  I am a retired Deputy Headteacher of another school and now, as Chair, I am very pleased to be able to support the Headteacher and staff of this school, who, every day, try to live out the vision for the school that we all share.  I am also supported by other governors and together we try to work as a team to enable improvements.

Unique and precious in God's eyes, be the best that you can be.

Jesus said, "I have come in order that you may have life - life in all its fullness."                      John 10:10

The life of the school displays a particularly Christian ethos which includes reaching out and supporting all our families and also the wider community.  This was extremely evident during Covid but it is still maintained now.  I am confident that the Headteacher, Miss Harrington, is a dedicated professional who will always put the needs of the children and their families at the heart of everything the school does.  This includes being aspirational for all of your children to inspire them to excel in whatever ways they can and to reach for their dreams.

Our last Ofsted inspection confirmed what we had expected, that the school was and continues to be “GOOD”.  We were also pleased with the SIAMS (Statutory Inspection of Anglican and Methodist Schools) inspection recently, with the Church of England inspectors who also rated the school as “GOOD”.  They noted that as a result of the variety of worship styles in use that all felt welcome and included.  On a recent visit that I made to the school and chatted with pupils, they all said that the best part about the school for them was “Everything”…maths also got a special mention! St Paul’s is a very inclusive school and I have seen the efforts made to support the most able to the most vulnerable in the school.

As a Governing Board we will never become complacent as the world is moving very quickly and we will support the school to prepare the children for their futures.  We are also there to provide challenge and will sometimes have to ask difficult questions and make sure that we obtain best value for the finance available.  Each term we look at the progress that the children are making and it is evident that the children of St Paul’s are well served by the education provided.  I am also happy that the school demonstrates a very high standard of Safeguarding in all its aspects and each individual child is well cared for.

We are there to scrutinise policies and proposals and I would invite any of you who feel you could spare some time, to join us for meetings just to observe and then hopefully to become governors yourselves.  Please contact me or the Headteacher if you might be interested.  We are particularly interested in extending the diversity of members so that other points of view are not overlooked.

Our governors come from a range of backgrounds and circumstances, including employed, retired and unemployed.  We welcome all ages over 18 and training is provided.  We work via three sub-committees for Steering, Resources and Teaching and Learning.  Each one then feeds into the Full Governing Board.  We are also supported by three governors who are appointed by the Diocese of Chester as Foundation Governors.  This ensures a strong Christian ethos in the school.

Parents and Carers always have an instinct for what their children need, but may not always know how to ask for it.  It is important to everyone at St Paul’s that you communicate with us and we will do our best to meet your needs.  I know that Miss Harrington has an open door and my email is at the bottom, so please keep in touch.  If you see me around school or at events, please don’t hesitate to say “Hello”.  I look forward to meeting you.

Sincerely,

Anne Rogowski, Chair of Governors

email: cog@st-pauls.stockport.sch.uk