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Governance

Governors

What does the Governing Board do?

The governing board operates at a strategic level, leaving the school’s senior leadership responsible and accountable for the operational day-to-day running of the School.

The core functions of the Governing Board are, but are not limited, to ensuring:

  • That the vision, ethos and strategic direction of the school are clearly defined.
  • That the headteacher performs their responsibilities for the educational performance of the school.
  • The sound, proper and effective use of the school’s financial resources.


The governing body also has legislative responsibility and strategic oversight for the school’s safeguardingarrangements.

The Governing Board at St Margaret Mary’s has twelve members all of whom bring a wide range professional and personal experience to support the work of the school. The board consists of seven foundation governors who are appointed by the Diocese of Salford, two parent governors elected by the parent body, one staff member elected by the staff, a local authority governor nominated by Manchester LA and the headteacher.

In addition to broaden the expertise of the Governing Body there are two associate governors.

The members of Governing Board for 2023/24 are shown below.

Donna Blackwell and Rachel Walsh. Associate Governors are appointed for one year at a time

Currently (September 2023) there two foundation governor vacancies. More information about becoming a foundation governor can be found on the Diocese of Salford website.

During 2023/24, the governing board has decided that it will meet a minimum of seven times in the year as a full board.

There are separate committees for pay, headteacher’s performance and admissions which each meet annually to deal with these matters.

Governors who left the board in the last 12 months

Emma Doyle, Pauline Hamilton

Name Type Appointed by Term of Office Role Additional governance roles
Angela Ager Foundation Diocese of Salford 11/9/23 - 10/9/27 Chair, Pay, HT PM, Admissions Chair of Directors at Romero CAT. Foundation Governor at St Ambrose RC Primary
Rob Clarke Staff Elected by school staff 01/05/23 - 30/4/27
Margaret Dolan Foundation Diocese of Salford 11/9/23 - 10/9/27 Pay, HT PM, Admissions
David Holland Parent Elected by parent body 12/4/22 - 11/4/26 Vice Chair
Pamela Keenan Smith Parent Elected by parent body 20/10/22 - 19/10/26
Myra Knutton LA Manchester LA 08/12/20 - 07/12/24
Fr Andrew Starkie Foundation Diocese of Salford 01/09/20 - 31/08/24
Matt Sutton Headteacher Ex officio 01/09/15 Admissions
Yvonne Ughulu Foundation Diocese of Salford 05/4/22 - 4/4/26

Attendance at Meetings 2022/23

P – present, A – Apologies received, N not present.

The admissions and pay committees met once in the year.

Name Type 15/9/2022 19/10/2022 15/12/2022 31/01/2023 30/03/2023 24/05/2023 17/07/2023
Angela Ager Foundation P P P P P P P
Donna Blackwell Associate P P P P A P A
Rob Clarke Staff P P
Margaret Dolan Foundation P P P P P N P
Emma Doyle Staff A P A P
Pauline Hamilton Foundation P A P P P A P
David Holland Parent P P P A P P P
Pamela Keenan - Smith Parent P A P A A
Myra Knutton LA P P A P P P A
Fr Andrew Starkie Foundation A A P N P A A
Matt Sutton Headteacher P P P P P P P
Rachel Walsh Associate P A A A A A P
Yvonne Ughulu Foundation N N N A N A A

Files To Download

Parent Election Nomination Letter Sept 2022
Parent Govenor Election Nomination Form Sept 2022
Parent Governor Election Qualifications
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