Governors

 

The Role of a Governor

The main role of the Governing Body is to help raise the standards and performance of the school by supporting the work of the head teacher and staff. We work very closely with the Senior leadership team and the rest of the school staff to provide support, but we also challenge and ask questions to ensure that the best possible decisions are made for the school and its pupils. 

We meet as a full Governing Body at least once a term to consider a wide range of issues including school improvement, policies and finances. We have also established a number of commitees which allow us to discuss issues around:

- Buildings & Finance

- Pupil Progress & Welfare

 We also carry out monitoring visits to help us understand and appreciate the workings of the school. Being on site and talking to staff and children help inform our judgements and carry out our roles effectively.

 

Parent Governors:  Parent governors are elected by other parents of pupils registered at the school. They should be parents of pupils currently at the school but they may serve out their term of office if their child leaves. 

Local Authority Governors:  Authority governors are appointed by the LA which maintains the school, in our case Cumbria. 

Foundation Governors:  Foundation Governors are appointed by the diocese to represent the interests of the church. They can be people who live or work in the local community or anyone else who is committed to the success of our school.

Staff Governors:  The Head Teacher of a school automatically becomes a governor at the time of appointment. Other staff members are elected by and from the whole teaching and non-teaching staff. Staff governors may not continue to be governors if they cease to be employed by us.

Co-Opted Governor:  Governors may be appointed to the governing body because of a particular skill set or experience that would be of interest to the effective running of the whole governing body. These governors may be co-opted to the group.

 

Who we are?

Mr Andrew Beattie - Headteacher - Members of Both committees -  No relevant personal and pecuniary interests declared - 

  • Meetings attended academic year 2018/2019 - 9/9
  • Meetings attended academic year 2019/2020 - 8/8
  • Meetings attended academic year 2020/2021 - 10/10
  • Meetings attended academic year 2021/2022 - 10/10
  • Meetings attended academic year 2022/2023 - 9/9
  • Meetings attended academic year 2023/2024 - 4/4

Term of Office - Sep 2016 - Continuous

Mrs Wendy McGrane - Foundation Governor (From March 2020, formely Co-opted Governor)- Member of Pupil Progress & Welfare Committee - No relevant personal and pecuniary interests declared - 

  • Meetings attended academic year 2018/2019 - 4/7
  • Meetings attended academic year 2019/2020 - 6/6
  • Meetings attended academic year 2020/2021 - 5/7
  • Meetings attended academic year 2021/2022 - 4/7
  • Meetings attended academic year 2022/2023 - 5/6
  • Meetings attended academic year 2023/2024 - 2/3

Current Term of Office: March 2020 - March 2024

Miss Latasha Pool - Staff Governor - Member of Pupil Progress & Welfare Committee -  No relevant personal and pecuniary interests declared - 

  • Meetings attended academic year 2022/2023 - 5/5  
  • Meetings attended academic year 2023/2024 - 3/3

Term of Office: Sept 2022 - Sept 2026

Mr Pieter Wojcik - Co-Opted Governor - Member of Buildings & Finance Committee -  No relevant personal and pecuniary interests declared - 

  • Meetings attended academic year 2022/2023 - 6/6
  • Meetings attended academic year 2023/2024 - 2/3

Term of Office: Sept 2022 - Sept 2026

Mrs Annettee McKee - LA Governor - Member of Pupil Progress & Welfare Committee - Personal or Pecuniary Interests Declared: Teacher at St Benedicts High School -

  • Meetings attended academic year 2022/2023 - 5/6 
  • Meetings attended academic year 2023/2024 - 3/3

Term of Office: July 2022 - July 2026

Mr Jonathan Spencer - Co-opted Governor -  Chair of Governors - Personal or Pecuniary Interests Declared: Spouse Is Governor of St James Infant School & St Benedicts High School, and is also employed at St James Juniors -

  • Meetings attended academic year 2019/2020 - 5/5
  • Meetings attended academic year 2020/2021 - 7/7
  • Meetings attended academic year 2021/2022 - 7/7
  • Meetings attended academic year 2022/2023 - 6/7
  • Meetings attended academic year 2023/2024 - 3/3

Term of Office: Oct 2019 - Oct 2027

Mr Sean Clarke - Parent Governor -  Chair of Buildings & Finance Committee & Vice Chair of Governors - No Personal or Pecuniary Interests Declared-

  • Meetings attended academic year 2020/2021 - 6/6
  • Meetings attended academic year 2021/2022 - 8/8
  • Meetings attended academic year 2022/2023 - 7/7
  • Meetings attended academic year 2023/2024 - 3/3

Term of Office: Oct 2020 - Oct 2024

Mrs Kerry Lunn - Coopted Member -  Member of Pupil Progress & Welfare Committee - Personal or Pecuniary Declared - Safeguarding Support Lead at The Whitehaven Academy -

  • Meetings attended academic year 2022/2023 - 6/6
  • Meetings attended academic year 2023/2024 - 2/3

Term of Office: Sept 2022 - Sept 2026

Mr Michael Routledge - Parent Governor -  Member of Buildings & Finance Committee - No relevant personal and pecuniary interests declared - 

  • Meetings attended academic year 2023/2024 - 1/1

Term of Office: Oct 2023 - Oct 2027

Reverend Alison Dobell (St James' Church)- Foundation/Ex Offico -  Member of Pupil Progress & Welfare Committee -  No relevant personal and pecuniary interests declared - 

  • Meetings attended academic year 2023/2024 - 2/2

Term of Office: Oct 2023 - Continuous

 

Governors who came to the end of their term recently

  • Mrs Penny Fearon - Coopted Governor - Resigned Sept 2023
  • Ms Katrina Singleton - Co-opted Governor - Resigned July 2023
  • Rev Robert Jackson - Foundation/Ex Offico - Finished Jan 2023
  • Mr Chris Hayes - LA Governor - Finished July 2022
  • Mr Damian Seath - Co-opted Governor - Finished July 2022
  • Mr Sam King - Staff Governor - Finished July 2022
  • Mrs Dianne Jackson - Staff Governor - Finished Term Sept 2021
  • Ms Vanessa Karlowski - Coopted Governor - Finished Term Sept 2021 
  • Miss Gillian Blaney - Parent Governor - Finished Term Sept 2020
  • Mrs Tracy McGrady - Foundation Governor - Resigned December 2019
  • Mr Phil Bodman - Chair/Parent Governor - Finished Term Sept 2019
  • Mrs Katrina Greggain - Co-Opted Governor - Resigned March 2019
  • Mr Jeremy Gilmour - Chair/Co-Opted - Finished Term July 2017
  • Mrs Sue Richardson - Vice Chair/Co-Opted - Finished Term 2017
  • Mrs Margaret Goddard - Foundation Governor - Finished Term 2017
  • Mr Ian Cutts -  Co-Opted Governor - Finished Summer Term 2018
  • Mrs Fiona Donaldson Cassidy - Local Authority Governor - Finished 2017/2018

Files to Download

Contact Us

Please direct all enquiries to Mrs H Maiden at the school office:

Telephone 01946 695311 or email admin@stjamesjun.cumbria.sch.uk


Headteacher: Mr Andrew Beattie

St James' Church of England Junior School. Wellington Row, Whitehaven, Cumbria CA28 7HG