Meet the Governors

What is the purpose of the governing body?
The school governors have responsibility for guiding the school in its aims and for overseeing the budget which has been allocated by the Borough Council.  We do this by maintaining close contact with the headteacher and working with the staff to ensure that, as far as possible and practicable, they all have the facilities and resources needed to do their jobs effectively.

Who are the governors?
Governing bodies are a mixture of elected and appointed persons representing various aspects of the community. So there are parent governors elected by parents of pupils who attend the school, co-opted governors appointed by the existing governors and there are governors delegated by the Local Authority to represent the Authority’s interests.  If you are interested in becoming a governor, please enquire at the school office.

Governors 
Maureen Banner, LA appointed – Chair Person; Maureen can be contacted at the school address or through our clerk, Maxine Hughes, via mhughes@sandylanenurseryschool.co.uk

Marcia Atherton, Staff – Headteacher

Kirsten Matthews, Staff – Deputy Headteacher

Alana Perrin, Parent

Kayleigh Rees, Parent

Sue Melville, Co-opted

Rachael Ellison, Co-opted

Val Stoddart-Cross, Co-opted

Louise Carroll, Co-opted

Lucinda Duffy, Co-opted - Vice Chair

Governor resignations within the last 12 months:  1) 30.11.23 - Amy Graham, Parent Governor

How do we do our job?
Governors, who are unpaid, are people who give up their spare time to help in managing the school. This is done by meeting together at least once each term and by forming a number of committees to monitor and guide various areas of activity. At Sandy Lane Nursery and Forest School, we have condensed the number of committees from three to two with effect from the 2019-20 academic year.  The Resources Committee is responsible for health and safety; our building programme; personnel; budget; and performance management.  The Teaching and Learning Committee is responsible for curriculum; pupil progress; safeguarding; and CPD (continuous professional development).  Each committee meets each term and reports to the governors as a whole on what is happening, what decisions have been taken and recommend courses of action which may be outside the terms of reference of the committee.  For example, the Resources Committee will work with the headteacher to set a budget each year but the budget has to be ratified by the whole governing body before being sent to the Borough Council.  Minutes for committee meetings are available on request.

Another important aspect of the governors’ role is in setting targets and monitoring the progress that the school makes in achieving them. The School Improvement Plan is a working document which sets out what the school aims to do in the academic year, who is to do it and how it will be monitored and achieved.

Governors also set and agree policy documents relating to such things as staff pay, behaviour, health and safety, financial management and several others. Each of these documents may be seen by enquiring at the school office.

Register of Pecuniary (Business) Interests
The governing body of each school must have in a place a register that lists any business interests that governors, staff and their immediate family have, including details of any other educational establishments at which they may govern.  Declarations are listed on the downloadable Committee Structure.

How you can contact us
You can contact us by emailing our clerk, Maxine Hughes, or calling in at the school office and requesting a meeting with one of our governors; Maxine's email address is mhughes@sandylanenurseryschool.co.uk.  We will always respond as soon as we hear from you but please remember that if you have a complaint, it should first be raised with a member of staff or the headteacher.

Files to Download

Diary Dates

Ofsted Outstanding Provider
Warrington Inclusion Hub: Committed to Inclusion: 2018-19
Leading Parent Partnership Award: 2023-26
Leading Parent Partnership Award: 2023-26