Governors’ Mission Statement – St Raphael’s Catholic Primary School

We will dedicate ourselves to supporting the school to deliver the aims of the Governing Board within a framework of trust, respect and shared values. We will support and contribute to the school to secure its mission and sustain its ethos as a Catholic School. Our actions will be rooted in the best interests of the school and its pupils, and we will explain our decisions openly and honestly to staff, parents, pupils and anyone in the wider community.

We will provide the necessary resources to enable the pupils within our school to learn about our world and religion and become useful and productive members of the community. This will be achieved through appropriate allocation of school funds, recruitment of dedicated staff who are encouraged to learn and grow within the school, and continuing reviews of pupil progress against the high standards expected of all our pupils.

We are committed to developing each child’s relationship with God by providing a safe, happy and stimulating learning environment in which every child can succeed and come to know God better as they Love, Live and Learn.

The Governors are committed to ensuring the very best possible educational provision for the children in an ethos founded on respect. They are fully involved with the School and are concerned with employing high quality staff who work as a team in the interests of the parents and children of St Raphael’s.

The usual term of office for a Governor is four years. The Chair and Vice-Chair are elected by the Governing Board annually at the first meeting of the academic year.

Our Chair and Vice-Chair for the Academic year 2022 - 2023:

Chair of Governors:

Mr Benedict Cassidy    

Foundation Governor

Vice-Chair of Governors:

Mrs Mairead Cassidy   

Foundation Governor

Governors are supported by the Clerk, who undertakes all the administrative work for the Governing Board and our Committees.

The Clerk to the Governors:  

Mr Alan O’Neill

All correspondence to the Chair or to the Clerk should be directed through the school office. 

The Full Governing Board (FGB) meets at least once a term; the dates of the FGB meetings for the year 2022-2023 are listed on the document below:

In addition to the FGB all Governors are members of at least one of two main sub-committees which meet once a term (3 times a year). These committees dates are on the document below.

•    Children and Learning
•    Resources

Governors also meet once a year as an Admissions Panel to review nursery and reception admissions; this Panel does not include the Parish Priest.  

The Admissions Clerk:  

Mrs Vida Amofa

The work that the committees do:
Children and Learning: this Committee monitors the curriculum provision across the school and focuses on the attainment of all pupils, in particular those groups who have been identified as needing targeted intervention. The school's assessment data is closely analysed, and lead teachers provide reports on progress in their subject. Areas identified as needing improvement are included in the Learning Improvement Plan and are reviewed on a termly basis.

The Committee monitors provision of resources to children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), and reviews statutory policies relating to the school's curriculum on a cyclical basis. It also reviews pupil behaviour, pupil safety and racist incidents on a termly basis.

Resources: this Committee has responsibility for ensuring that the school expenditure remains within budget, and that all funds are spent wisely with the purpose of meeting the needs of the school. The Resources Committee meets every term, with one of the meetings dedicated to planning the budget for the next financial year. It provides guidance for the Headteacher on matters relating to the school premises, school site, security and Health and Safety; it also monitors the elements of the Accessibility Plan relating to premises. The Resources Committee approves costs and arrangements for repairs, maintenance and renovation within the budget. A member of the Committee has a specific role as H&S representative and carries out a termly inspection of the school premises.

Mr Ben Cassidy - Chair of Governing Board

Appointed Foundation Governor 01/09/2022 to 31/08/2026.

Ben was a primary school teacher for 32 years, 22 as a headteacher, 15 of which were at a local Catholic primary school.  He is a governor of three schools and is a reader, Eucharistic minister and catechist at St. Raphael's parish.

Fr John Welsh
Appointed Foundation Governor 01 Sep 2020 to 22 Sept 2024

Fr John is the Parish Priest at St Raphael’s Church and as part of that role he is a Foundation Governor at the School. Fr John sits on the Resources Committee. He aims to ensure the Catholic life of the school is upheld.  Fr John’s Lead Area as Governor is RE.

Mairead Cassidy - Vice Chair of Governing Board

Appointed Foundation Governor

Register of Interests: None

Mairead Cassidy is a parishioner at St Raphael’s and became a Governor of the school in 2014. She taught Modern Languages at secondary level for several years before becoming involved in special educational needs, she is currently involved in as an adviser in a neighbouring borough.

Mairead is chair of the Children and Learning Committee. She believes sincerely that Catholic schools provide a positive and inclusive environment in which the values of compassion, care and tolerance are an integral part of the curriculum; as a Governor she can make a contribution to this ideal. Her Lead Areas as Governor are Pupil Premium and also Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND).