Meet Our Governing Body

The Role of the Governing Body at

St Peter’s Church of England Primary School.

The Governing Body of St Peter’s Church of England Primary School makes decisions which are in the best interests of the children. The role of governor is enormously rewarding. Not only do governors bring their own knowledge and skills to the role, but, in learning how schools are run, they often develop their understanding of leadership. The majority of employers appreciate this and are supportive of their staff taking on the responsibility. In addition, contributing to the growth and development of a school and seeing tangible improvements in the attainment and well- being of the children is a satisfying and important contribution to the local community.

The governing body is responsible for the conduct of the school and we aim to promote high standards of educational achievement. It is the school’s accountable body and as such:

• provides a strategic view of the school by establishing a vision and setting the purpose and aims of the school within an agreed policy framework. It appoints and appraises the Headteacher and agrees the school’s improvement plan.
• monitors and evaluates the work of the school by reviewing the performance of the headteacher, the effectiveness of the policy framework, progress towards targets, and the effectiveness of the school improvement strategy;
• signs off the self-evaluation process and responds to Ofsted reports as necessary. In addition it holds the headteacher to account for the performance of the school and ensures that parents are involved, consulted and informed as appropriate, with information to the community being made available as required.
• monitors the schools effectiveness through targeted committees which meet three times within the academic year. These committees are: Standards and Effectiveness Committee (SEC), Resources, Curriculum and Vision and Values.

In order to do this, governors need to gain knowledge of how their school operates through training, by attending meetings, and by getting to know their school community, for example through a visits to the school during the school day. Governors need to work together as a team under the leadership of the Chair of the Governing Body. There are different types of governor and so that staff, parents, pupils and members of the community can get to know governors each governor has provided a brief pen portrait detailed below.

Our Governors

My name is Louise Benney.  I am Chair of the Governing Body and a Foundation Governor at Chorley St Peters. I sit on the Resources Committee and am also Pupil Premium Governor - responsible for ensuring that the Pupil Premium funding is spent wisely and helps the children reach their potential. Over the years my children have attended St Peters so I am actively involved in school life, and I know quite a few of the parents and children across school. I enjoy being able to support the school that is shaping my children's lives for the future and as such I have volunteered as a school governor for a number of years both here and elsewhere. I work full time for Lancashire County Council and have experience of working with councillors, in change management and more recently as BSF Service Delivery Manager. Together I feel that my broad range of experience has equipped me well to help guide the school towards excellence. I have a passion for learning and strongly believe that children should be given the opportunity to pursue their dreams whether that be music, languages, sport or something entirely different. How do you know what you are good at unless you get the chance to try? I am very proud to say that St Peters provides those opportunities through lessons and it's range of clubs in and out of school. I am very proud to be part of St Peters, all it has achieved and all that I am confident it will go on to achieve.

My name is Janette Riding and I am a foundation governor and serve on the resource committee and my role is buildings finance and admissions. I am retired and used to work in accounts and retail. I have been a member of St Peters Church from the age of three and I serve on the PCC and I am also a Sunday school teacher. I attended St Peter’s School. I have seen three children through the education system from primary school to university. One works as a teacher another in public health and the baby of the family the police force. I also help to look after my three grandchildren.

My name is Sharon Smith and I have recently been appointed as Foundation Governor at St Peter’s. I am a Deputy Headteacher at a school in Manchester. I currently teach Year Six and coordinate Assessment and Science. I am also an Associate Governor at that school. I live in Chorley with my husband and I have two children, Thomas and Georgina. Georgina currently attends St Peter's whereas Thomas has recently moved to high school. I am looking forward to working on the Governing Body and supporting the school community.

My name is Samantha McKenna and I am a Parent Governor. I work as Head of School at a Further Education College in Preston where I am responsible for provisions in Accounting, Business, Computing and Management. I am originally from Essex and moved to Chorley to be with my now husband who attended the school as a child and whose family have had strong connections with both the School and Parish over many years. I am a leader in a youth group attached to St Peter’s Parish where I lead the music of our marching band and over the years have worked with so many children and young people who have progressed through St Peter’s School. Our two children both attended the School and loved every minute of their School life. I have always found St Peter’s School and the Parish it sits within to be a very friendly, loving and welcoming community. It is an absolute privilege to have been voted into the Governing body and I hope to be able to reflect the views of parents in my role. I believe my educational background, voluntary work and passion to see and support the progress and development of children and young people will support the School greatly in its quest to providing education of the highest quality.

My name is David Roberts and I'm a new foundation governor.   I live local to the school and in fact am a St Peter's old boy having left many moons ago.  My daughter used to attend the school.   Over the years I have seen the school grow and improve and I am very proud that I can be part of this ongoing development and use my skills and experience to continue moving the school forward.  Over my working life I've taken on various roles and through theses experiences will bring a different skill set to compliment the other governors in achieving our aims.   I am also an active member of the fund raising committee of St Peter's Church.

My name is James Pollard. I have lived in Chorley for the last 12 years and both our children attend St Peter's.  I work as a consultant surgeon in Bolton and have an interest in medical education and assessment.  I'm also involved in governance and quality assurance work as a part of my job.  In my spare time I'm a keen runner and love all things outdoors.

My name is Hannah Jenkinson and I am the staff governor and serve on the sec and curriculum committee. I currently work in Birch class which is a year 1 / 2 class and I am computing and e-safety lead within school. I also ensure that the school website is kept up to date. I have worked at St Peter's since 2014 and have thoroughly enjoyed my time and seeing the school develop over this time. I live in Leyland with my son, Oliver. In my spare time, I have a keen interest in exercise and keeping fit and attend the gym approximately 5 times a week. I also enjoy walking my dog finding new adventures in my local area!