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  Welcome from the Governing Board
 

"A very warm welcome to the Lowther School Family from the Governing Board. We are all very proud of our happy, welcoming school, which truly cherishes its diversity and inclusion and takes great care of each and every individual child.

"We work closely with Mark, Alastair and the rest of the school team to ensure our vision becomes a reality, constantly striving for improvement. Our work is carried out through regular meetings, as well as visits to the school to see first-hand how things are going.

"The Governors come from a wide range of backgrounds, to create a diverse team to support and challenge the school. Some are also parents/carers or staff here, while the rest have no connection with the school other than a keen desire to help.

"We hope you find some of the information provided here informative, helpful and fairly comprehensive. If you'd like some further information, please feel free to contact us using the email link shown above"

 
  The Lowther School Family Governing Board
 

Sharon McNab

Aisha Bicknell

Philip Mead

Welcome to our SchoolMark Tuffney

Alastair Ripley

Co-Chair of Governors
Course Producer BBC Academy
 
Co-Chair of Governors
 
Vice Chair of Governors
Barrister
 
Staff Governor
Headteacher
 
Associate Governor
Deputy Headteacher

Areas of responsibility:

Finance
Personnel and Pay (Chair)
 

Areas of responsibility:

Curriculum and Policies
Personnel and Pay
Safeguarding
Training
Lower Key Stage 2
 

Areas of responsibility:

Finance
Marketing
Personnel and Pay
 

Areas of responsibility:

Curricuum and Policies
Finance
Marketing
Personnel and Pay
Premises, Health & Safety
 

Areas of responsibility:

Curricuum and Policies
Premises, Health & Safety
Appointed: Sep 1998 Appointed: Apr 2012 Appointed: Sep 2010 Appointed: Sep 2001 Appointed: Sep 2021
Term of office expires:
2nd Jan 2027
  Term of office expires:
May 2024
  Term of office expires:
2nd Jan 2027
  Term of office expires:
N/A
  Term of office expires:
Sep 2025
Attendance at full governing board meetings 2022/23
3/6
 
6/6
 
4/6
 
6/6
 
5/6
 
 

Sharon Day

Carol Webster

Jenifer Ball

Louise Duthart

Howard Smith

Clerk to the Governing Board
School Business Manager
 
Co-opted Governor
Teacher
 
LA Governor
Freelance Education and Community Partnership Consultant
 
Co-opted Governor
Finance transformation specialist AET
 
Associate Governor

Areas of responsibility:

Finance
Personnel & Pay
Premises, Health & Safety
 

Areas of responsibility:

Curriculum and Policies
Finance
Marketing
Key Stage 1
 

Areas of responsibility:

Curriculum and Polices (Chair)
SEND
English
PPG
 

Areas of responsibility:

Finance (Chair)
 

Areas of responsibility:

Premises, Health & Safety (Chair)
Appointed: Sep 1997 Appointed: Sep 1995 Appointed: Sep 2001 Appointed: Sep 1999 Appointed: Apr 2012
Term of office expires:
N/A
Term of office expires:
Sep 2025
Term of office expires:
2nd Jan 2027
Term of office expires:
2nd Jan 2027
Term of office expires:
May 2024
Attendance at full governing board meetings 2022/23
6/6
 
5/6
 
6/6
 
5/6
 
4/6
 
 

Claire Mankowitz

Lelde Wohlfart

Polly Mattia

 

 

Co-opted Governor
Psychotherapist
 
Parent/Carer Governor
QA Engineer
 
Parent/Carer Governor
Registered Senior School Nurse
 
 

Areas of responsibility:

Curriculum and Policies
Personnel and Pay
Upper Key Stage 2
 

Areas of responsibility:

Finance
Marketing
Early Years
 

Areas of responsibility:

Premises, Health & Safety
Marketing
 

 

 

 

Appointed: Sep 2010 Appointed: Nov 2020 Appointed:Oct 2021
Term of office expires:
1st Sep 2026
Term of office expires:
Nov 2024
Term of office expires:
Oct 2025
 
Attendance at full governing board meetings 2022/23
4/6
 
5/6
 
4/6
 
 
 
 
Vacancies: None
 
  Governors Outline
Governors Outline PDF Governing Board Outline PDF linkGoverning Board Outline PDF link
School Governing Boards have an important part to play in raising standards. Our main tasks include:
Ensuring clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction
Holding the Headteacher to account for the educational performance of the school and the pupils, and the performance management of staff
Understanding and carrying out statutory duties
Overseeing the financial performance of the school and making sure its money is well spent
Governors are often called 'critical friends', but we are not directly involved in the day-to-day running of the school. Our role is to build a supportive but challenging relationship with the Headteacher, looking at all aspects of children's learning and wellbeing, and taking strategic decisions in the light of objective data. We ensure that policies are in place and are monitored, and work to make the school an inclusive, fair and healthy place for children to learn and thrive. Governors sit on committees to oversee the school in more detail, and report to the full Governing Board. Both committees and the full Governing Board meet approximately twice a term.
The Government's 'Handbook for Governors' gives a full picture of our role and duties:
Handbook for Governors PDF External Link Governors Handbook PDF

Lowther's team is small, but we can expand it to fit defined needs. The core membership is the Headteacher and a staff representative, plus one LA Governor and 2 Parent/Carer Governors, who serve for 3 years. The rest of the team is currently made up of Co-opted Governors, whose skills fit the set we feel we need, in order to support and challenge the school effectively. They may serve for up to 4 years, or for a predetermined project-based term. We are also able to invite people with skills on which we would like to draw for a short or longer period to be Associate Governors.

We invite people who would like to know more, who have skills we have identified and who are interested in working with Lowther Governors, or in applying to become a Governor when there is a vacancy, to register an interest and leave contact details with the Clerk to the Governors Sharon Day: s.day@lowther.richmond.sch.uk

Lowther Parent/Carer or former/Knowledge of School/Knowledge of local Community
Involvement in local community
Expertise as a professional or volunteer
Committee experience/Communication skills
Professional experience in:
Law/Accounting/Education
HR/Employment/Recruitment
Publicity/Marketing/Fundraising
Health & Wellbeing (incl. pastoral, SEND)
Business/Enterprise/Management /Training
Environment & Sustainability
Anyone who joins the Governing Board needs to be able to attend meetings and be committed to the school's ethos and progress, to have good inter-personal skills, be willing to be trained, and to have an appropriate level of literacy in English and appropriate level of numeracy to understand basic data.
  Governor Committees
  Lowther Governor Committees  
  Register of Interests
  Lowther Register of Interests  
 
Contact/Find Us page link
Governors Handbook PDF Link mailto Sharon Day email link
Lowther Primary School Contact Us page link Lowther Eco Group info link Lowther Open Days page link Lowther - contact us by email link