All schools in England have a Governing Body which is responsible for overseeing many of the strategic decisions of the school. A key role is to act as a ‘critical friend’: to support, to challenge, to ask questions, ultimately to represent the school community.   The Governing Body works in close partnership with the headteacher, staff and the local authority. Whilst the headteacher is, of course, responsible for the day to day running of the school, the governors are involved with such things as staffing, curriculum, school buildings and finance. It ensures the school functions well and maintains the proper range of academic and social objectives.   In September 2014 the governing body elected to reconstitute, in keeping with statutory guidance from the Department for Education. We took this decision as it allowed us to change the numbers and types of governors we have and to appoint more people on the basis of the skills they could bring.   The governing body now consists of:

• The head teacher
• One elected staff governor
• One appointed local authority governor
• Two elected parent governors
• One co-opted governors
• Eight elected foundation governors

The standard term of office for a governor is four years. The chair and vice-chair are elected annually at the first meeting of the academic year. The chair of governors is Mr Graham Andrews, who can be contacted via the school office or office@st-thomas.bolton.sch.uk . Much of the work of the governing body is done by committees. At St Thomas CE Primary School, we have the following committees:

• Admissions (Chair – Mr G Andrews). This committee meets once a year to review the admissions policy and apply the admissions criteria to Reception Class places.
• Resources Committee (Chair Mrs L Orrell). This committee scrutinises the way the school gives best value for money,  manages premises and building matters and policies and procedures relating to staff within the school.
• Pupil Welfare, Inclusion and Progress Committee (Mrs C Smith). This committee holds the school to account over the way it provides the relevant education for all of the children in school.

The chairs of the committees are elected at the first committee meeting of each academic year. Below is the make up of the Governing Body.

NAME	TYPE OF GOVERNOR	START DATE	APPOINTED BY:	END OF OFFICE
Mr Arthur Price	Foundation Governor	03/04/2023	PCC	02/04/2027
REV A Wynne	Foundation Governor	14/10/2024	BISHOP (DIOCESE)	13/10/2028
Mrs C Smith	Foundation Governor	04/03/2022	PCC	03/03/2030
Mr C Taylor	Parent Governor	03/11/2025		02/11/2029
Cllr D Chadwick	Foundation Governor	01/09/2025	PCC	31/08/2029
Mrs E Keogh	Local Authority Governor	19/07/2023	Governing Body	18/07/2027
Mr G Andrews	Foundation Governor	01/09/2025	PCC	31/08/2029
Miss G Brown	Staff Governor	03/10/2025	02/10/2025	31/08/2029
Mrs G Linney	Head Teacher	01/09/2023	Headteacher
Mrs H Podmore	Parent Governor	03/11/2025		30/5/2030
Mrs J Kavanagh	Headteacher at another Bolton School	31/05/2022	PCC	30/05/2030
Mrs L Orrell	Foundation Governor	01/09/2025	PCC	31/08/2029
Mrs S Chapman	Foundation Governor	06/10/2025	PCC	05/10/2029
Mrs H Podmore	Teacher at another school

There are currently no Governors with any pecuniary interests.

Currently, there are no Governors with relevant business interests and no Governors with a pecuniary interest.