St John's
Catholic Primary School
At St John's we grow and learn in the footsteps of Jesus.
Curious
Thoughtful
Prayerful
Respectful
Creative
Independent
Caring
Responsible
Governance in Primary Schools
Governance in Primary Schools refers to the system by which a school is overseen and held accountable to ensure it provides a high-quality education and a safe, supportive environment for all pupils. The governing body—made up of volunteers including parents, staff, community members, and sometimes representatives from the church or local authority—works closely with the school’s leadership team.
Their key responsibilities include:
Setting the school’s vision, values, and strategic direction
Monitoring and evaluating the school’s performance and standards
Ensuring the school’s finances are managed responsibly
Overseeing policies related to safeguarding, teaching, and wellbeing
Supporting and challenging the Headteacher and staff to continually improve the school
Ensuring compliance with legal and statutory requirements
Governance is essential for school accountability, transparency, and continuous improvement, helping to create the best possible learning environment for every child.
Please find below details of how our Governing body is structured including the names, categories, responsibilities and terms of appointment for each Governor, our Vision Statement and attendance at meetings.
At St John's the Governors are made up of:
- Foundation Governors who are elected by the Diocese (7),
- Staff Governor (1)
- Head Teacher (1)
- Parent Governors who are elected by the parents (2)
- Local Education Authority Governor (1)
If you wish to contact the Chair of Governors then please email chair@st-johns-trowbridge.wilts.sch.uk
Governors Vision Statement for St John's Catholic Primary School
Full Governing Body Attendance (September 2025 - July 2026)
| Name | 2nd Oct | 4 Dec | 29 Jan | 18 Mar | 14 May | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clare Doogue (Vice Chair) | No | Yes | Yes | |||
| Douglas Marr (Vice Chair) | Yes | Yes | Yes | n/a | ||
| Mike Simmons (Chair) | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||
| Sarah Hollywood | No | No | No | |||
| Kim O Rourke (Head) | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||
| Dee Perkins | Yes | Yes | No | |||
| Rebecca Dixon | No | Yes | Yes | |||
| Alessia Bertoncello | Yes | Yes | No | |||
| Peter Matthews | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||
| Rebecca Porter | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||
| Nick Gerrish (Deputy Head) | Yes | Yes | Yes |
* Extraordinary FGB
Admissions Committee Attendance (September 2025 - July 2026)
| Name | 17 Dec | 12 Jan | 26 Jan | 2 Feb | 12 Feb | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clare Doogue | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||||||
| Douglas Marr (Chair) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||||||
| Kim O Rourke (Head) | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | |||||||
| Mike Simmons | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Resources Committee Attendance (September 2025 - July 2026)
| Name | 14 Oct | 24 Feb | 5 May |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clare Doogue (Chair) | Yes | Yes | |
| Douglas Marr | Yes | Yes | |
| Pam Poulter (School Business Manager) | Yes | Yes | |
| Kim O Rourke (Head) | Yes | Yes | |
| Dee Perkins | Yes | Yes | |
| Rebecca Dixon | Yes | No | |
| Mike Simmons | No | Yes | |
| Peter Matthews | Yes | Yes | |
| Sarah Hollywood | No | Yes |
Curriculum Committee (September 2025 - July 2026)
| Name | 6 Nov | 12 Feb | 16 Apr | 25 Jun |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Douglas Marr (Chair) | Yes | Yes | n/a | n/a |
| Mike Simmons | Yes | Yes | ||
| Clare Doogue | Yes | Yes | ||
| Rebecca Dixon | No | Yes | ||
| Peter Matthews | Yes | No | ||
| Alessia Bertoncello | Yes | No | ||
| Kim O Rourke (Head) | Yes | Yes | ||
| Dee Perkins | Yes | Yes | ||
| Rebecca Porter | Yes | Yes | ||
| Sarah Hollywood | Yes | No |
Governor Details & Register of Interests (Term of Office is 4 years)
| Name | Category | Voting Rights | Appointing Body | Term Ends | Responsibility | Register of Interests | Stepped Down |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clare Doogue | Foundation | Yes | Bishop, Clifton Diocese | Sept 2029 | Chair Resources, Co-Vice Chair | ||
| Mike Simmons | Foundation | Yes | Bishop, Clifton Diocese | Sep 2025 | Chair SEN / Safeguarding | ||
| Dee Perkins | Foundation | Yes | Bishop, Clifton Diocese | June 2029 | |||
| Alessia Bertoncello | Foundation | Yes | Bishop, Clifton Diocese | Oct 2027 | |||
| Peter Matthews | Foundation | Yes | Bishop, Clifton Diocese | Nov 2027 | |||
| Kim O Rourke | Ex-Officio | Yes | Ex-Officio | - | Head Teacher | ||
| Nick Gerrish | Ex -Officio | Yes | Ex -Officio | - | Deputy Head | ||
| Rebecca Dixon | Parent | Yes | Parents of St John's | Mar 2026 | |||
| Sarah Hollywood | Foundation | Yes | Bishop, Clifton Diocese | Jan 2029 | |||
| Rebecca Porter | Foundation | Yes | Bishop, Clifton Diocese | July 2029 | |||
| Douglas Marr | LEA | Yes | St John's GB | Mar 2026 | Co-Vice Chair, Chair Admissions, Chair Curriculum | March 2026 | |
| Craig Bain | Parent | Yes | Parents of St John's | Feb 2028 | Dec 2024 | ||
| Simon Miller | Staff | Yes | Staff of St John's | Oct 2023 | Nov 2024 | ||
| Tracey Sessions | Ex-Officio | Yes | Ex-Officio | - | Head Teacher | August 2024 | |
| Nichola Hughes | Foundation | Yes | Bishop, Clifton Diocese | May 2025 | May 2023 | ||
| Father Tom Finnegan | Foundation | Yes | Bishop, Clifton Diocese | Aug 2025 | May 2023 | ||
| Rhianna Cole | Foundation | Yes | Bishop, Clifton Diocese | Dec 2022 | July 2022 | ||
| Lukasz Wrona | Foundation | Yes | Bishop, Clifton Diocese | Feb 2022 | Works for a supplier | Feb 2022 | |
| Caroline King | Parent | Yes | Parents of St John's | Apr 2022 | Nov 2021 | ||
| Clare Farrow | Foundation | Yes | Bishop, Clifton Diocese | Aug 2022 | Safeguarding Gov, Chair from Jan 2015 | July 2021 | |
| Annie Slade | Foundation | Yes | Bishop, Clifton Diocese | Jan 2024 | April 2021 | ||
| Bernadette Barret-John | Foundation | Yes | Bishop, Clifton Diocese | May 2021 | Governor St Augustine's | Feb 2021 | |
| Richard Woods | Parent | Yes | Parents of St John's | Nov 2020 | Sep 2020 | ||
| John Kelly | Foundation | Yes | Bishop, Clifton Diocese | Aug 2021 | May 2020 | ||
| Andrea Blackmore | Parent | Yes | Parents of St John's | May 2022 | Aug 2019 | ||
| Paul Walsh | Foundation | Yes | Bishop, Clifton Diocese | Aug 2019 | Safeguarding Gov (Deputy) | Aug 2019 | |
| Douglas Marr | Parent | Yes | Parents of St John's | May 2018 | Chair Admissions / Vice Chair | Became LEA Gov Mar 2018 | |
| Nick Bracey | LEA | Yes | St John's GB | Oct 2018 | SEN Gov from Sept 2016 | Mar 2018 | |
| Adrian Weissenbruch | Foundation | Yes | Bishop, Clifton Diocese | Jul 2020 | SEN Gov Sep 2016 | Jul 2017 | |
| Frank Toner | Ex-Officio | Yes | Bishop, Clifton Diocese | Head Teacher | Jul 2017 | ||
| Canon Liam O'Driscol | Foundation | Yes | Bishop, Clifton Diocese | Jul 2017 | |||
| Yvonne Wilkins | Ex-Officio | Yes | Ex-Officio | Deputy Head | Jul 2017 |