Our Governing Body - St Joseph's Catholic Primary School

Governors work closely with headteachers, school staff and representatives from the local authority (LA).

Governor Committee Structure

Name	Category	Appointed By	Term of Office	Committee	Position of Responsibility	Business Interests	Governor/ Staff Relationship
Miss Elaine Matterson Chair	Foundation Governor	Bishop of the Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle	06/10/2020 - 05/10/2024	Appeals, Staffing Curriculum & Standards Finance & Premises Admission Special interest: LAC , Safeguarding, Health and Safety	Chair full GB Chair of Appeals.	None	None
Mrs Victoria McDowell	Foundation Governor	Bishop of the Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle	26/04/2021 – 25/04/2025	Appeals Committee Curriculum & Standards Interest: SEND Child Sexual Exploitation Emotional Wellbeing		None	None

Clr Julie Griffiths	LA Representative Governor	Local Authority	20/01/2022 - 19/01/2026	TBA		None	None
Mrs Victoria Bramley	Associate Member	Governing Body	01/01/2023 - 31/12/2026	Finance & Premises
Mr Danny Dunleavy	Associate Member	Governing Body	01/01/2023 - 31/12/2026	TBA
Miss Sandra Dowson	Associate Member	Governing Body	31/01/2022 - 30/01/2026	TBA		None	Sister of Staff Member
Mrs Kay Smith	Parent Governor	Parent Elected	29/11/2022 - 28/11/2026	TBA
Mrs Stephanie Carter-Smith Vice Chair	Parent Governor	Parent Elected	16/04/2021 - 15/04/2025	Appeals Finance & Premises Staffing Special Interest: TBA	Chair of Staffing Committee	None	None
Miss Joanne Jones - Exec Headteacher	Exec Headteacher	Staff	01/09/2011 – on going	Finance & Premises First/Pay Review Staffing Curriculum & Standards Training Appeals	Exec. Headteacher (Governor for OLSotS Primary)	None	None
Mrs Jill Cartwright - Deputy Headeacher	Staff Governor	Staff	12/10/2022 - 11/10/2026	TBA

Recent Resignations

Mr Kevin Nichol – Foundation Governor – 02/11/2023
Mr Anthony McCourt – Foundation Governor – 02/10/2023
Mr Glen Sanderson – Foundation Governor – 05/06/2023
Mrs Alison Aisbitt – Foundation Governor – 16/02/2023
Mrs Clare Corsar – Parent Governor – 30/09/2022
Mr Robert Scott – Staff Governor – 31/08/2022
Mrs Victoria Bramley – Foundation Governor – July 2022
Mr Daniel Dunleavy – Foundation Governor – July 2022
Miss Pauline Faill – Foundation Governor – July 2022
Rev Fr. M Anthony Hastie – Foundation Governor – 20/09/2021
Mrs Rebecca Martin – Staff Governor – 19/04/2020
Mrs Alice Naylor – Foundation Governor – 29/09/2020

How To Become A School Governor

If you require further information on the roles and responsibilities of School Governors or you are interested in becoming one, visit the Durham County Council website School Governor section.

Statutory Guidance for Governing Bodies

St Joseph’s Catholic Primary adhere to the statutory guidance from the Department for Education. This means that governing bodies must have regard to it when carrying out duties relating to the constitution of governing bodies in maintained schools. For further information please view or download our documents below.

Governor Attendance

Schools are required to display a record of Governor’s attendance at meetings for each school academic year.

KEY
✓ – Attended meeting
A/A – Apologies sent and accepted by meeting
N – Did not attend
X – Not a member of the committee

Name	Full GB Meeting 03/10/2023	Finance Meeting 03/10/2023
Miss Elaine Matterson	✓	✓
Mrs Victoria McDowell	A/A	A/A
Mr Kevin Nicol	N
Miss Julie Griffiths	✓
Mrs Victoria Bramley	✓	✓
Mr Danny Dunleavy	✓	✓
Miss Sandra Dowson	A/A
Mrs Kay Smith	✓
Mrs Stephanie Carter-Smith	✓	✓
Miss Joanne Jones	✓	✓
Mrs Jill Cartwright	✓