Governors

Our Governing Body, which meets at least once a term, is made up of 12 individuals representing the whole school community who bring a wide variety of skills to support the School including finance capabilities, management experience, teaching experience and pastoral care. All undertake their duties with dedication and passion in a voluntary and unpaid capacity. The term of office for each governor is 4 years.  As we are a Voluntary Aided school we are supported by both the Carlisle Diocese and Westmorland & Furness County Council.

The Governing Body is made up of:

• 1 Headteacher
• 1 Staff Governor
• 7 Foundation Governors (there is currently a vacancy for a Foundation Governor)
• 2 Parent Governors
• 1 Local Authority Governor(there is currently a vacancy for a Local Authority Governor)

The term “critical friend” is often used to describe the responsibilities and role of the Governing Body. In essence, this means the Governing Body ensures it understands the School’s “big picture” by supporting the vision and aims of the School.  It works closely with the Headteacher and staff to gain a strong knowledge of the strengths of the school and the areas for development. It supports the Headteacher with strategic planning for continuous School Improvement.

All the Governors have responsibilities with regard to a variety of areas of the School. Each governor is linked to a year group and spends time with the staff and children in that year group to more fully understand the life of the school.  The Governing Body has several statutory duties for which they are accountable, including appointing the Headteacher as well as agreeing certain school policies and procedures.

All Governors initially complete basic training. Continuous updates and training are provided to ensure that Governors get the information they need to perform their duties to the best of their capabilities.

It is essential that the Governing Body maintains high standards including a commitment to ensure confidentiality is observed at all times; as the Governors are privy to delicate information relating to the school and its community. Equally, the Governing Body is not involved with the day-to-day running of the school so any comments of this nature will be directed back to the class teachers and the Headteacher in accordance with the School’s policies and procedures.

• Governor Attendance – 2024.25

  	18.09.24	12.11.24	15.01.25	12.03.25	04.06.25	02.07.25
  Elizabeth Budd	1	1	1	1	1	1	100%
  Rachael Sutherland	1	1	1	1	1	1	100%
  Rev. George Briggs	1	Apologies	1	1	1	1	83%
  Maggie Cole	1	1	1	Apologies	1	Apologies	66%
  Anne Hoe	1	1	1	1	1	1	100%
  Jo Dowker	1	Apologies	1	1	1	1	83%
  Sarah Cunliffe	1	1	1	Apologies	Apologies	1	66%
  Sam Thom	1	Apologies	1	1	Apologies	1	66%
  Billy Dayson	1	1	1	1	1	1	100%
  Beth Booker	Apologies	1	1	1	1	1	83%
  Claire Taylor		1	1	1	1	1	100%

• Governor Business Interest – Updated November 2025

  Name	Current employment	Interest	Date recorded	Notes
  Elizabeth Budd	Nil return		25/05/2023	No change 17/09/2025
  Rachael Sutherland	Self Employed Freelance Writer		20/09/2022
  	Lakeland Maze Farm Park	Parttime general assistant	17/09/2025
  	Brother now working for the Diocese of Carlisle – Peter Barfoot	Finance and buildings officer – involved in discussions about school funding	15/01/2025
  Rev George Briggs	St Thomas’s Church		09/11/2022
  Jo Dowker	Lancashire County Council Stepping Stones PRU, Lancaster	Staff	17/09/2025
  Sarah Cunliffe	St Thomas’s C of E Primary School	Head Teacher	17/09/2025
  Sarah Cunliffe	Andrew Cunliffe – St Thomas’s C of E Primary School	Husband	17/09/2025
  Sam Thom	Cyber Security Consultant	Member of special interest group within:  The UK national cyber security centre (NCSC)  The open web application security project	20/05/2023
  Billy Dayson	St Thomas’s C of E Primary School	Teaching Assistant	17/09/2025
  Beth Booker
  Natalie Fryer	Cumbria Tourism		17/09/2025
  Claire Taylor	St Thomas’s C of E Primary School	Teacher	17/09/2025