Our Governing Body
Governors work closely with headteachers, school staff and representatives from the local authority (LA).
The Governing Body meet once per term and are responsible for appointing staff, setting targets for improvement, reviewing school policies, monitoring and evaluating the performance of the school, and overseeing the school budget. Mrs Michelle Radford is the Chair of the Governing Body. Correspondence for the Chair can be sent to:
c/o West Pelton Primary School
West Pelton
Stanley
DH9 6SQ
REGISTER OF BUSINESS INTERESTS
From 1 September 2015, governing bodies are under a duty of publish on their website their register of interests. The register includes relevant business interests of governors and details of any other education establishments they govern. The register also sets out if there are any relationships between governors and members of the school staff including spouses, partners and relatives.
Governing Body Committee Structure for West Pelton Primary School member of The Acorn Federation
The Governing body consists of:
Name | Representing | Term of Office | Committee | Responsibilities | Register of Interests | Relationship to Staff |
Ms Deborah Ainsworth | Co-opted | 19/01/2022 - 18/01/2026 |
Finance and Premises |
Child Protection / LAC | HLTA at West Pelton Primary School | None |
Mrs Michelle Radford (Chair) |
Co-opted | 19/01/2022 - 18/01/2026 |
Finance and Premises HT Performance Staffing (Chair) Curriculum (Chair) First/Pay Review (Chair) |
Children Looked After Safeguarding SEND |
None | None |
Cllr Danny Wood | Local Authority | 19/01/2022 - 18/01/2026 |
Appeals
HT Performance |
None | None | |
Mrs Alison Whelan (Vice Chair) | Parent Elected | 19/01/2022 - 18/01/2026 |
First/Pay Review Curriculum Finance and Premises (Chair) Staffing |
Cultural Education | None | None |
Ms Victoria Hewison | Head Teacher | 19/01/2022 - ongoing |
Head Teacher at West Pelton and Cassop Primary School | None | ||
Mrs Christine Baxter | Co-opted | 19/01/2022 - 18/01/2026 |
Staffing | Deputy Headteacher at West Pelton Primary School | None | |
Mr Andrew Fletcher | Co-opted | 19/01/2022 - 18/01/2026 |
Finance and Premises
First/Pay Review HT Performance |
None | None | |
Mrs Helen Atherton | Staff | 19/01/2022 - 18/01/2026 |
Finance and Premises Staffing |
EYFS | School Business Manager at West Pelton and Cassop Primary School | None |
Mr Michael Summers | Parent Elected | 19/01/2022 - 18/01/2026 |
Appeals Review |
Durham Music Service Trustee. Education Durham | None | |
Dr Rachael Kirkley | Co-opeted | 16/02/2023- 15/02/2027 |
Appeals
Curriculum Finance and Premises |
None | None | |
Mrs Alice Butler | Co-opted | 24/10/2024 - 23/10/2028 |
|
Deputy Headteacher at Cassop Primary School | None |
How To Become A School Governor
If you require further information on the roles and responsibilities of School Governors or you are interested in becoming one, visit the Durham County Council website School Governor section.
Statutory Guidance for Governing Bodies
West Pelton Primary School adhere to the statutory guidance from the Department for Education. This means that governing bodies must have regard to it when carrying out duties relating to the constitution of governing bodies in maintained schools. For further information please view or download the full document below.
The Constitution of Governing Bodies of Maintained Schools (2017) Privacy Notice for Governors and Volunteers Governor Code of Conduct Policy
Governor Attendance
Schools are now required to display a record of Governor attendance at meetings for each school academic year.
KEY
✓ – Attended meeting
A/A – Apologies sent and accepted by meeting
N – Did not attend
n/a – Not a member of the committee
Record of Attendance 2024-2025
Name |
Finance and |
Curriculum
|
Full |
Pay Review |
Finance and Premises Committee Meeting |
Curriculum Committee Meeting |
Full Governing Body Committee Meeting |
Finance and Premises Committee Meeting |
Curriculum Committee Meeting |
Full Governing Body Committee Meeting |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ms Deborah Ainsworth | A/A | N/A | N/A | |||||||
Mrs Helen Atherton | N/A | N/A | ||||||||
Dr Rachael Kirkley | N | N | N/A | |||||||
Mr Michael Summers | N/A | N/A | ||||||||
Mrs Christine Baxter | N/A | N/A | A/A | N/A | ||||||
Ms Victoria Hewison |
|
|
|
|||||||
Mrs Michelle Radford |
Chair
|
|
|
|||||||
Mrs Alison Whelan | Chair | A/A | A/A |
|
||||||
Cllr Danny Wood | N/A | N/A | A/A | N/A | ||||||
Mr Andrew Fletcher | N | N/A |
Archived Attendance
You can also view previous years attendance on our website.
Committee Terms of Reference
We will be adding this information soon.
Adobe Reader
You may need a product like Adobe Reader (free download) to view our PDF documents on our website.