School governors play a crucial role in shaping the strategic direction of schools, ensuring effective governance, and improving the educational outcomes for pupils. 

The Role of Governors

The Governors of St Joseph’s are all volunteers who give of their time to help the school. As a Catholic School our main role is to ensure that the religious education and worship are in accordance with the teaching, practices and doctrines of the Catholic Church. As Governors we are appointed to lead the school not manage it. We are here to give a long term strategic direction to how St Joseph’s is run; to be critical friends to the school; and to ensure that the school is accountable for its actions with particular emphasis on financial control.

As Governors, we discuss and have input on:

• School policies, such as discipline, dress, sport, bullying and homework
• Long term plans and the future of the school
• How the school budget will be spent
• How the school will try to reach performance targets
• Appointment and dismissal of staff
• Complaints from pupils, staff and parents
• Repair and maintenance of school buildings
• Use of school premises outside school hours

Sub-committees.  To help us to discharge our responsibilities more easily there are several sub-committees to look at specific issues which then to report back to the full governing body. These sub-committees are; Curriculum & Standards (including: SEND, Pastoral & Safeguarding), Finance & Resources, Admissions and Performance Management.

Categories of Governor.  There are various categories of governor drawn from various parts of our community.

• Foundation Governors - In a Catholic School such as ours, these form the majority of the Governing Body. A Foundation Governor is appointed by the Bishop and is there to ensure that the Catholic nature of our school is upheld. When vacancies arise these are advertised and appointments made by the Bishop in consultation with the Diocesan School’s Commission.
• Parent Governors - As the name implies these are elected by the parents and carers of pupils attending St Joseph’s. Anyone with a child at the school has the opportunity to seek election in this way.
• Staff Governors - These are elected from among the teaching and support staff at the school.
• L A Governor - This Governor is appointed by the Local Authority to represent them on the Governing Body.
• Co-opted Governors  These are appointed by the Governing Body for the skills they can contribute to the effective governance and success of the school.
• Associate - These are appointed by the Governing Body as a member of any committee but are not governors.

Code of Conduct for Governors

• Each year the Governors of St Joseph's School are required to sign the Catholic Education Service's Code of Conduct for Governors. You can view this below.

Code of Conduct For Governors - September 2025