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Rusthall St Paul’s CE Primary School

INSPIRE BELIEVE ACHIEVE

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Governing Body

The Governing Body of Rusthall St Paul's Primary School

The Governing Body oversees the work of our school.  We have a total of 14 governors made up as follows: 

  • Two parent governors, elected by the parent body, who must be the parent or carer of a child attending the school at the time of their appointment.
  • One Staff governor elected by their colleagues.
  • The Executive Headteacher is a member of the governing body by right.
  • One Local education authority governor appointed by Kent County Council. 
  • One Co-opted governor appointed by the governing body based on their skills and experience.
  • Eight Foundation Governors: Four appointed by the Rochester Diocesan Board of Education (RDBE) and four by the St. Paul's Parochial Church Council (PCC).

The Governing Body has many different responsibilities, but primarily it must promote high standards of academic achievement and help ensure that the school is a safe and happy place for its pupils.

It helps to do this in many different ways, including setting school budgets, ensuring the National Curriculum is taught to all pupils, setting targets for achievement, monitoring information about the quality of teaching in the school, comparing results with other schools and making regular monitoring visits.

The Governing Body takes a long-term, strategic view on how the school should develop, and always welcomes the opinions of and representations from, parents, staff, pupils and the local community.

The governor's work is divided between meetings of the Full Governing Body (FGB), which are attended by all governors and a number of monitoring pairs who visit the school three times a year and report back to the FGB.

The governors can be contacted in writing via the school office, or via the Clerk to Governors (contact details below). Please address your correspondence for the attention of the Chair of Governors.  

Please note however that any questions about the day-to-day operation of the school, or any complaints, should first be directed to your child's class teacher, phase leader, or the headteacher.

Interim Executive Board

Until the end of the 2022/23 academic year, the governance of the school was the responsibility of an Interim Executive Board. The school returned to normal governance arrangements on the 1st September 2023 with the appointment of the governing body shown below. As a result, attendance figures for 2022/23 cannot be calculated. 

Governing Body Members

Name Term Type of Governor Roles Term Starts Term Ends
Nicola Barker 4 years Parent governor Finance Governor
Website compliance
01 Sep 2023 31 Aug 2027
Jessica  Collis 4 years Staff governor Health and Safety/Premises 01 Sep 2023 31 Aug 2027
Simon Griffiths 4 years

Co-Chair  Foundation governor

Governor training & Development
Training and Development
01 Sep 2023 31 Aug 2027
Paul Harris 4 years Foundation governor Personal Development & wellbeing
Behaviour & Attitudes
01 Sep 2023 31 Aug 2027
Ruth Hinckley 4 years Co-Chair Foundation governor Child Protection Governor
Safeguarding inc Prevent, online safety, cybersecurity & attendance
Cybersecurity
Attendance
01 Sep 2023 31 Aug 2027
Jude Johnson   Clerk
Jill Lugg 4 years Co-opted governor Personal Development & wellbeing
Behaviour & Attitudes
Inclusion, SEND, LAC & EAL
Pupil Premium & Sports Premium
01 Sep 2023 31 Aug 2027
Mr. Richard Mackintosh 4 years Foundation governor Finance Governor
SIAMS and Christian Ethos
Quality of Education, Curriculum & Pupil Outcomes
Parent & Community
01 Sep 2023 31 Aug 2027
Liz Mitchell   Headteacher
Mr Stephen Pollard 4 years Local Authority Governor Quality of Education, Curriculum & Pupil Outcomes
Personal Development & wellbeing
Behaviour & Attitudes
01 Sep 2023 31 Aug 2027
Sandra Sheldrake   Other
Lyndsay Smurthwaite   Head of School
Suzie Toombs 4 years Foundation governor Quality of Education, Curriculum & Pupil Outcomes 01 Sep 2023 31 Aug 2027
Dereck Walker 4 years Parent governor Health and Safety/Premises
Inclusion, SEND, LAC & EAL
Pupil Premium & Sports Premium
01 Sep 2023 31 Aug 2027
Ronald Williams 4 years Foundation Ex-Officio SIAMS and Christian Ethos

Governing Body and IEB Members who have stepped down in the previous 12 months

Name

Date Appointed

Appointed by

End of term

 

David Hale

22/02/22

IEB Member appointed by
Local Authority

31/07/23

100%

Shaun Butcher

28/09/23

PCC 31/12/2024 N/A

Governing Body Meeting Attendance

    Inaugural FGB FGB FGB FGB FGB FGB FGB
Governor Governor Type 01 Sep 2023 27 Sep 2023 30 Nov 2023 18 Jan 2024 12 Mar 2024 09 May 2024 28 Jun 2024
Nicola Barker Parent governor Y N Y Y      
Jessica  Collis Staff governor Y Y Y Y      
Patricia Elisa Ferrus Clerk Y Y Y X X X X
Simon Griffiths Foundation governor Y Y Y Y      
Paul Harris Foundation governor Y Y Y Y      
Ruth Hinckley Foundation governor Y Y Y Y      
Jill Lugg Co-opted governor Y N N Y      
Mr. Richard Mackintosh Foundation governor Y Y N Y      
Liz Mitchell Headteacher Y Y Y Y      
Mr Stephen Pollard Local Authority Governor N N Y Y      
Sandra Sheldrake Other Y Y Y Y      
Lyndsay Smurthwaite Head of School Y Y Y Y      
Suzie Toombs Foundation governor N N Y Y      
Dereck Walker Parent governor Y Y Y Y      
Ronald Williams Foundation Ex-Officio Y Y Y Y      

Governor Register of Business Interest 2023

Name Date Declaration of Interest Signed Business Interest
Nicola Barker
parent

 
Confirmed: 10/10/2023  
Jessica  Collis
staff

 
Confirmed: 06/11/2023  
Simon Griffiths
foundation

 
Confirmed: 14/09/2023 Salde Primary School
Chair of Governors
Paul Harris
foundation

 
Confirmed: 05/02/2024  
Ruth Hinckley
foundation

 
Confirmed: 11/01/2024

Valley Invicta Academies Trust
Trust Governance and Safeguarding Lead 

KCC
Local Leader of Governance

Jill Lugg
co-opted

 
Confirmed: 06/11/2023 Governor St Michael’s Primary, Withyham 
Richard Mackintosh
foundation

 
Confirmed: 15/01/2024 Personal or close family relationship (Wife is FS teacher and chair of PTA) Rusthall St. Pauls
Governor St James Primary School
Liz Mitchell
headteacher

 
Confirmed: 07/11/2023 Inspire Academy Movement
Business or finance interests: I am the CEO for the Trust that is supporting Rusthall.
Stephen Pollard
authority

 
Confirmed: 29/11/2023 Chair of Governors St James's (CE) Primary School
Suzie Toombs
foundation

 
Confirmed: 18/09/2023 School governor St James' Primary School
Dereck Walker
parent

 
Confirmed: 25/09/2023 Rusthall School
Personal or close family relationship (My wife Louise Walker is a Teaching Assistant at the school)
Ronald Williams
foundation ex-officio

 
Not Confirmed  
Jude Johnson
clerk

 
Confirmed: 13/11/2023

The Family Trust
Governor

Burham CE Primary School
Governor

Ditton CE Junior School
Governor

Sandra Sheldrake
other

 
Confirmed: 28/11/2023  
Lyndsay Smurthwaite
head of school

 
Confirmed: 31/08/2023  

To contact a member of our Governing Body, please contact our governance professional at:  jjohnson@inspiream.org.uk