Local Governance Committee

May I welcome you to St Anselm’s Catholic School on behalf  of the Local Governance Committee.  St Anselm’s Catholic school is an Academy school part of the Kent Catholic Schools Partnership.  Our role is to act as the school’s critical friend and ensure the school meets the educational and pastoral needs of the students.  We do this by visiting the school, receiving and acting on reports on the school’s academic performance and pastoral care.  Committee members regularly visit the school, undertaking learning walks with teachers and, through our committee structure, continually support and challenge the school.

The Local Governance Committee is made up of Foundation members, appointed by the Diocese, staff  including the Headteacher, Parent and Community. Foundation members are selected by the appointing body to which the school is attached. They are appointed to preserve and develop the religious character of the school and to secure compliance with the trust deed. Staff members are elected by the school staff. Both teaching and support staff paid to work at the school are eligible to be staff members. The Headteacher is automatically a member of the Local Governance Committee. Parent members are elected by parents of pupils on the school roll at the time of election. They must be parents of pupils on the school roll themselves to stand for election. 

We meet six times a year officially but frequently attend school events and training sessions.

Although part of KCSP,  our focus is on St Anselm’s school and students.  Committee members give up their spare time to undertake the role and as Chair of the Local Governance Committee, I am proud and lucky to work with such a good group of highly motivated and caring Committee members.

If you would like to contact the committee members, please do so via the school office on 01227 826200 or via post at the school address - St Anselm's Catholic School, Old Dover Road, Canterbury, CT1 3EN.

KCSP Governance Model

 Kent Catholic Schools' Partnership

Kent Catholic Schools' Partnership (KCSP) is a charitable trust and a company limited by guarantee, established in August 2012 by the Archbishop of Southwark. We are committed to providing strong, faith-led education across our family of Catholic schools in Kent. 

At the heart of KCSP is a robust governance structure designed to ensure transparency, accountability, and excellence in leadership. The Trust Board of Directors oversee the strategic direction, management, and administration of the Trust. To carry out these responsibilities effectively, the Board delegates specific functions to a series of governance committees, as outlined in our governance structure chart. 

We recognise the vital role governance plays in the success of our schools. To support our committees and leaders. KCSP provides comprehensive guidance through our Governance Handbook and Sceme of Delegation. These documents outline the principles, responsibilities, and procedures that underpin our governance model, ensuring consistency and clarity across the Trust.

The Governance Committee is a ‘critical friend’ of the school. It provides Strategic Leadership in school improvement. It does this by being appropriately involved in the school improvement cycle as follows:

1. Developing and sharing the values and vision
2. Setting out the aims and objectives of the school
3. Setting out the policies and procedures by which the aims and objectives will be achieved
4. Establishing the criteria by which the aims and achievements will be seen to be achieved
5. Taking the views of stakeholders into account
6. Evaluating evidence on how well the school is doing
7. Finding out how well the school is doing in comparison with similar schools
8. Agreeing targets for improvement
9. Planning to achieve improvement
10. Ensuring that deployment of staffing and resources match the school’s priorities. 

Key Issues

The governance committee will consider and keep under review: the progress and attainment of all groups of pupils, evidence of narrowing gaps between under achieving groups and other pupils, improvements in the quality of teaching, the school’s improvement since the last inspection, and the school’s self-evaluation of how well it is doing currently. Governance committee members are not expected to be involved in the day to day running of the school.

 Who can be a governance committee member? 

• Almost everyone over 18 can become a member. Governance committee members are volunteers from all walks of life – everyone has experience and skills to offer
• An effective governance committee has people from different backgrounds and with a mix of skills. No formal qualifications are needed to be a member
• Governance committee members are not education experts – they are there to offer a fresh perspective

What makes a good governance committee member?

• The ability to work in a team
• An interest in education and a commitment to the school
• Patience, energy and enthusiasm
• A willingness to listen, learn and to spend time in school
• A willingness to undertake training

Local Governance Committee Membership

Our Chair of Governors , can be contacted by email:

 office@st-anselms.org.uk 

The Clerk to the committee Mandy Boxall, can be contacted by email:

mboxall@kcsp.org.uk

Copies of Governing Body minutes are available from the School Office.

Further information:

Declaration of Interest 24-25 and Historical Committee Members

Committee Member Meeting Attendance 24-25