School Governors make decisions about how the school is run. Full Governor meetings are held termly but there are various sub-committees e.g. Finance, Premises, Staffing and Curriculum which also meet regularly throughout the year. Governors have legal duties, powers and responsibilities. They act together to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of the school.

School Governors can be parents, school staff, LEA representatives or community representatives. You will be notified as and when Parent Governor positions become vacant and about the election process. Parent Governors must have a child at the school and are selected by the parents of the school.

The name of our governing body is "The governing body of St Margaret's Church of England Primary School".

The governing body shall consist of: a) 2 parent governors, b) 1 Local Authority governor c) 1 staff governor, d) 1 headteacher and e) 7 foundation governors.  The total number of governors being 12.

The foundation governors are appointed as follows:

a)  One appointed by the Diocesan Board of Education

b)  One appointed by the Oldham, Henshaw and Church of England Educational Trust

c) Four appointed by the Parochial Church Council of the Parish, Ecclesiastical District or Team Ministry within which the school is for the time being situated.

The holder of the following office shall be a foundation governor ex-officio:  the principal Officiating Minister.

The Archdeacon of the Archdeaconry within which the school is situated shall be entitled to appoint a foundation governor to act in place of the ex-officio foundation governor whose governorship derives from the office named ex-officio.  In the event that the ex-officio foundation governor is unable or unwilling to act as a foundation governor, or has been removed from office, or there is a vacancy in the office from which this governorship derives.

The Archdeacon of the Archdeaconry within which the school is situated, following consultation with the Diocesan Board of Education, shall have the power to request the removal of the ex-officio foundation governor and to appoint any substitute. 

The school is part of the Oldham, Henshaw and Church of England Educational Trust.

Please find below details about our governing body including, terms of office, their appointing body, committees they are members of, areas of the curriculum for which they have responsibilities and a register of interest.

The structure of the governing body and sub-committees is to be decided at the next full Governor's Meeting in October 2016.

	Governor's Register of Interest 2016-17	[pdf 183KB]
	Governor's Meeting Attendance (By Governor) Sept 2015 - April 2017	[pdf 12KB]
	Governor's Meeting Attendance (By Meeting Date) Sept 2015- April 2017	[pdf 11KB]
	Governors' Appointing Bodies 2015-17	[pdf 14KB]
	School Governors' Committees February 2017	[pdf 176KB]
	National Governor's Association Code of Conduct 2016	[pdf 432KB]
	Governance Handbook January 2017	[pdf 1MB]
	Competency Framework for Governance January 2017	[pdf 675KB]
	Clerking Competency Framework January 2017	[pdf 287KB]

Please find a list of our governors and a brief personal profile below.

I became a Governor of St Margaret’s in 2008 and Chair of Governors in September 2015. I am married with three children, the oldest two of which attended St Margaret’s, meaning I have been associated with the school since 1998.  I started my career as a professional footballer with Stockport County, before beginning training as an accountant in 1999 and qualifying in 2005. I work with a range of companies across the UK, primarily in financial services, providing audit and advisory services.  Away from work and St Margaret’s I spend a lot of time on the football pitch, being a UEFA B qualified coach, manager of my son’s junior team and manager and vice chair of an adult team in the Lancashire Amateur League.  I enjoy being able to bring my experience and a different perspective to my role in school and working as part of a team to make a difference to the children in our care.

Coming soon

I came into the role of school Governor approximately 4 years ago. I wanted to be involved in education and was interested in seeing the differences from when myself and my children attended school. I have found it challenging as these changes have turned out to be great! I am constantly learning in my role as School Governor and have found an interest in Health and Safety and Child Welfare.

I have 2 children and 4 grandchildren, all of my grandchildren are working their way through the education system. I enjoy the challenges that the school faces every day and to be in a position to see the rewarding results at the end is great. I love watching the children’s confidence grow and seeing all the wonderful work that they do.

I am the Pastoral Support Leader at St Margaret’s. My role involves supporting our children and families, both socially and emotionally. I am also the safeguarding officer in school and deal with any safeguarding issues. I have been at St Margaret’s for 11 years. I thoroughly enjoy my role and being part of such a hardworking and dedicated team. I also enjoy working with the various personalities of the children in school.

I have two amazing children - a son aged 17 and a daughter aged 15. I love being a mum!

I have been ordained a priest for 25 years and all of my ministry has been spent in social deprived parishes, mostly in North to North West of England (apart from 19 months in the South East). I have been at St Margaret’s for 13 years which is the longest I have served anywhere and that says something about the challenges and opportunities that Hollinwood and Limeside provides - and which St Margaret’s School is very much a part of!

I enjoy reading, writing, music (all genres), art, theatre, cooking and visiting Portugal!

I have been a Governor at St Margarets for 6 years. I was employed as a Teacher for 42 years and a Primary Headteacher for 19 years - I am now retired. I have been associated with St Margaret’s for a very many years, I was a teacher here for 16 years both in KS1 and KS2. My father was a pupil here too. I worked here under forward thinking and inspirational leader - Jane Heywood. I love my role as Governor, seeing colleagues and members of the parish who I have worked with and the changes over time. I love to attend events involving the children.

I feel enormously privileged to have become headteacher at the school where I began my teaching career in 2001.  Teaching was not always an ambition of mine, but with both my parents baving been teachers, my dad a college principal, I suppose there was an inevitability about my career path.  It turned out that I love teaching and have proved to be not too bad at it!

I have served St Margaret's as a newly qualified teacher, subject leader, TLR middle leader, assistant headteacher, deputy headteacher and now headteacher.  In serving this community for so long I feel I have become part of it, and within it have developed strong bonds and a mutual respect.  I love my school - it is a special, happy place which the children are proud of and it is they that make the job so rewarding for all who work here.  The school's ethos, grounded in Christian values, is very often commented on positively by visitors and staff new to the school.  The strong link with S. Margaret's church and its priest, Father David Hawthorn, benefit school enormously in maintaining and developing this vital element of any school - the 'feel' of it.

I have served as a Governor at St Margaret's for more than ten years now, I was originally a Foundation Governor and then became the Henshaw Trust Governor.  I am a Churchwarden at St Margaret's Church and enjoy working with the team at school to provide the best we can for our families.  I have worked as a manager in the retail sector for over thirty years, working in stores in and around the Manchester area. It is good to be able to use some of the skills I have gained from that work to assist with the work carried out by the Governing Body. I am involved with the Finance and Staffing Committees.  I have two sons, and two grandsons whose educational journeys are just beginning.

I have been a Governor at St Margaret's for just over 2 years and I have a daughter who attends the school. I love coming into school and spending time with the children and have helped with the setting up of Messy Church. I have worked in insurance for over 28 years and can use some of my experience as a technical claims handler to assist on the buildings committee. In my spare time I regularly attend St Margaret's Church, I also love reading and listening to music.

Take a look at all the great things our governors have been doing for our school...

September 2016

A number of governors have been into school this month to attend assemblies, visit classes to see learning in action and see the new woodland area and outdoor classroom.

Governors have also met with a number of architectural firms and appointed a firm to develop a medium term plan for development of the site and buildings and to partner school through any projects.

October and November 2016

October and November have been a busy time for governors as all of the sub-committees met ahead of the full governing body meeting. There are a lot of things on the agenda this year as we continue to adjust to assessment without levels, continue to improve the learning environment and identify more ways to enrich the curriculum for our children.

As always, governors have been making visits to school and we are pleased to see the enthusiasm displayed by the children in attempting the homework challenges and the thoughtfulness demonstrated by the submissions on the prayer wall.  In collaboration with Mrs Whittle, three of the governors have committed to setting up a 'Messy Church' which is going to be held in school on a Thursday evening once a month.  The first session was held on the 3rd November and was a huge success: over 50 families were in attendance and all engaged with the craft activities which were centered around Jesus' parable of the Lost Sheep. 

The parent governor nomination and election process has also been completed this month and I am pleased to welcome Champa Bhudia to the governing body.

A number of Governors also attended the mass at St Margaret’s church to formally welcome Mr Whittle as the new Head Teacher. 

Furthermore, in addition to the Safeguarding training already undertaken by governors, our Safeguarding link governor, Mrs Sylvia Dempster joined the whole staff for a child protection renewal training session led with the local authority, 

December 2016 

December was another busy month for governors as we met to discuss the 2016 SAT results and the progress being made by the children in the first term of this year. We also attended a number of the more fun events held in school to celebrate Christmas and enjoyed a very successful second 'Messy Church' event which was angel themed.

January 2017

A number of governors attended the staff training day on 3rd January where we worked with staff to explore School’s ethos and mission statement. A range of ideas and views were expressed but it was encouraging to see children and God at the centre of them all. Additionally a number of governors and members of S. Margaret's congregation were involved in our third, Creation-themed 'Messy Church' with over 40 families in attendance. 

February and March 2017

February and March were again a busy time for governors as all of the sub-committees met ahead of the full governing body meeting. It was lovely to welcome so many of the governors and S. Margaret's congregation into school for our end of half-term mass where some of the older children were involved in leading the service alongside Fr. David. We were also joined by a number of governors for our fourth, Stations of the Cross 'Messy Church' session.

April and May 2017

During April, Fr. David joined Mr Whittle at the Church school conference where the Diocesan resource 'Understanding Christianity' was launched.  Our fifth 'Messy Church' was held at the beginning of May and was Heaven/Resurrection themed - we are looking forward to an outdoor worship for our next planned session!   Also during May, two of our governors are attending workshop sessions run by Edge Hill in partnership with the NCTL.