Grayrigg Church of England Voluntary Aided School Governing Body

Welcome to the Governors page of the website where you will find an overview of our governing body structure and core functions.

The Department for Education has high expectations of governing bodies. They are the strategic leaders of our school and have a vital role to play in making sure every child gets the best possible education. The role of the governing body is a strategic one, its core functions are to:

Ensure clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction

Hold the headteacher to account for the educational performance of the school and its pupils,
and the performance management of staff

Oversee the financial performance of the school and making sure its money is well spent.

These functions are reflected in regulations for maintained schools and in the criteria Ofsted inspectors use to judge the effectiveness of governance in both maintained schools and academies.

Our constitution requires that the governing body has 12 governors in total. Of these, 2 are elected parent governors, 1 LA governor nominated by the Local Authority and appointed by the board, 1 elected staff governor, the Headteacher and 7 foundation governors appointed by the Diocesan Board of Education. Governors are voluntary and unpaid.

Each individual governor is a member of the governing body, which is established in law as a corporate body. Individual governors may not act independently of the rest of the governing body; decisions are the joint responsibility of the governing body.

Governors appoint the headteacher. It is governors who hold the main responsibility for finance in schools, and it is governors who work with the headteacher to make the tough decisions about balancing resources.

The full governing body meets at least four times a year. We also have two committees, each meets three times a year and reports to the full governing body meetings. They are the Finance, Premises and Health & Safety Committee and the Curriculum, Standards and Staffing Committee.

Grayrigg CE School Governors:

Revd Michelle Woodcock - appointed 15.04.2024 (ex officio)
Foundation Governor - Curriculum, Standards and Staffing Committee

Kirsty Cooper - appointed 01.01.2015 (ex officio)
Headteacher - Curriculum, Standards and Staffing Committee - Finance, Premises and Health & Safety Committee

Richard Eastwood- appointed 08.09.2022 for a term of 4 years
Foundation Governor - Finance, Premises and Health & Safety Committee

Rebecca Hodgson - elected 11.11.2021 for a term of 4 years
Parent Governor - Finance, Premises and Health & Safety Committee

Ewen Turner - elected 29.09.2022 for a term of 4 years
Parent Governor - Curriculum, Standards and Staffing Committee

Caroline Kennedy - appointed 24.09.2022 for a term of 4 years
Foundation Governor - Chair of Finance, Premises and Health & Safety Committee

Emma Littlewood - elected 22.05.2022 for a term of 4 years
Staff Governor - Curriculum, Standards and Staffing Committee

Justin Dorling - appointed 18.01.2024 for a term of 4 years
Foundation Governor - Finance, Premises and Health & Safety Committee

Pauline Robson - appointed 30.10.2021 for a term of 4 years
Foundation Governor - Curriculum, Standards and Staffing Committee

Sally Seddon - appointed 08.12.2022 for a term of 4 years
Foundation Governor - Chair of Curriculum, Standards and Staffing Committee

Tony Womack - appointed 05.10.2023 for a term of 4 years
Foundation Governor - Chair of Governing Body - Finance, Premises and Health & Safety Committee

Lisa Juniper - appointed 17.05.2022 for a term of 4 years
LA Governor - Vice Chair of Governing Body - Curriculum, Standards and Staffing Committee

Wendy Wiseman
Clerk to Governors - Associate Member of Finance, Premises and Health & Safety Committee

Further details on governor attendance, terms of office, business and pecuniary interests for the 2023-24 academic year can be found here: Governor details 2023-24

Further details on governor attendance, terms of office, business and pecuniary interests for the 2024-25 academic year can be found here: Governor details 2024-25

Terms of reference for the Curriculum, Standards and Staffing Committee can be found here: Curriculum, Standards and Staffing Committee Terms of Reference

Terms of reference for the Finance, Premises and Health & Safety Committee can be found here: Finance, Premises and Health & Safety Committee Terms of Reference