Governors

The governing body of St Columba’s Catholic Primary School carries out its duties with the primary goal of adopting a strategic approach to managing the school. This involves:

• Establishing a strategic framework for the school
• Setting goals and objectives for the school
• Agreeing on policies and targets to achieve those goals
• Reviewing progress and adjusting the strategic framework based on this progress
• Ensuring accountability to stakeholders

School governors are part of the governing body, which is considered a “corporate body.” This means it has a legal identity separate from its members, so individual governors are generally shielded from personal liability due to the actions or decisions of the governing body, as long as they act with honesty, reason, and good faith.

Governors do not have the power to act independently on behalf of the governing body unless the body has specifically delegated a task to them or regulations require certain functions to be carried out in a particular way.

School governors come from various sectors of the community, including parents, staff, the local authority, the community, and other groups. This diversity helps ensure a broad range of perspectives and experience within the governing body, although it does not mean that governors represent the views of the group they come from. For instance, Parent Governors do not serve as representatives of the parents and are not expected to report back to them.

Responsibilities

The governing body has a broad range of duties and powers and is generally responsible for overseeing the school’s operations to ensure high educational standards.

While the governing body has significant discretion in how it fulfils its responsibilities, it must operate in accordance with regulations and appoint a chair and vice-chair.

Governors’ Information