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.
Our Governing Body is made up of:
- The Head Teacher,
2 Foundation Governors (who are appointed by the Diocese),
2 Parent Governors (who are appointed by election in school)
a Staff Governor and
3 Co-Opted Governors (who are appointed by the Governing Body).
Total number of Governors: 9 (one current vacancy- LA Governor)
Who we are?
Mrs Alex Moore - Executive Headteacher - Members of both committees - No relevant personal and pecuniary interests declared -
- Meetings attended academic year 2025/2026 - 1/1
Term of Office - January 2026 - 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 - 5/6
- Meetings attended academic year 2024/2025 - 2/5
- Meetings attended academic year 2025/2026 - 2/5
Current Term of Office: March 2020 - Nov 2028
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 - 5/6
- Meetings attended academic year 2024/2025 - 5/5
- Meetings attended academic year 2025/2026 - 5/5
Term of Office: Sept 2022 - Sept 2026
Mr Pieter Wojcik - Co-Opted Governor - Member of Buildings & Finance Committee & Vice Chair of Governors- No relevant personal and pecuniary interests declared -
- Meetings attended academic year 2022/2023 - 6/6
- Meetings attended academic year 2023/2024 - 4/7
- Meetings attended academic year 2024/2025 - 6/8
- Meetings attended academic year 2025/2026 - 5/5
Term of Office: Sept 2022 - Sept 2026
Mr Jonathan Spencer - Co-opted Governor - Chair of Governors - Personal or Pecuniary Interests Declared: Spouse Is Governor of 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 - 7/7
- Meetings attended academic year 2024/2025 - 7/8
- Meetings attended academic year 2025/2026 - 5/5
Term of Office: Oct 2019 - Oct 2027
Mrs Kerry Lunn - Coopted Member - Member of Pupil Progress & Welfare Committee - Personal or Pecuniary Interest Declared - Safeguarding Support Lead at The Whitehaven Academy -
- Meetings attended academic year 2022/2023 - 6/6
- Meetings attended academic year 2023/2024 - 4/6
- Meetings attended academic year 2024/2025 - 6/7
- Meetings attended academic year 2025/2026 - 5/5
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 - 4/5
- Meetings attended academic year 2024/2025 - 5/5
Term of Office: Oct 2023 - Oct 2027
Reverend Alison Dobell (St James' Church)- Foundation/Ex Offico - Member of Pupil Progress & Welfare Committee - Personal or Pecuniary Interest Declared - Governor st St James' Infants School
- Meetings attended academic year 2023/2024 - 5/5
- Meetings attended academic year 2024/2025 - 6/7
- Meetings attended academic year 2025/2026 - 5/5
Term of Office: Oct 2023 - Continuous
Mrs Terri-Louise Calvin - Parent Governor - Member of Buildings & Finance Committee - No relevant personal and pecuniary interests declared -
- Meetings attended academic year 2024/2025 - 5/6
- Meetings attended academic year 2025/2026 - 5/5
Term of Office: Nov 2024 - Nov 2028
Page updated 14th January 2026
