Governance
Members
The Members have a similar role to shareholders of a company and are the subscribers to the Memorandum of Association. The Members are kept informed about Trust business so that they can be assured that the Governing Body is exercising effective governance. At Loreto College (St Albans), our members are representatives of the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Loreto Education Trust Board and the Full Governing Body.
Governing Body: Mr Mark Healy (appointed 1st September 2020)
Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary (IBVM): Sr Jennifer Bromham (appointed 1st January 2021)
Loreto Education Trust Board: Miss Ursula Morrissey (appointed 14th July 2022)
Governors
The Governors work closely with the Headteacher in the following areas:
- setting the vision, ethos and strategic direction, engaging stakeholders and ensuring statutory duties are met
- supporting the Head teacher in maintaining high standards of teaching, achievement, behaviour and safety – challenging and strengthening the school leadership and contributing to school self-evaluation
- ensuring financial solvency and probity by the effective management of financial resources, including the Pupil Premium, in order to raise standards
The Governors do not manage the school. It is the Headteacher and the Senior Leadership Team who have that responsibility, supported by the Governors.
Loreto College, St Albans became an academy trust on 1 May 2012. The school is now a registered company, limited by guarantee, and a Trust Board was formed by the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary (commonly known as the Loreto Sisters) comprising all of the Loreto schools in the UK. Each school has its own governing body who are appointed by the IBVM. All Governors who were in active service before the school became an academy were reappointed with an effective date of 1st May 2012.
Loreto College (St Albans) currently has 13 Governors of whom some are Foundation (appointed by the Trust Board), some Parent (appointed by the parent body) and some Staff (appointed by the staff). Additional members are co-opted by the Full Governing Body as required.
Please click here to view the full Governor profiles.
The full Governing Body meets twice per term and is supported by four committees, who also meet twice per term. The remit of each of the committees is as follows:
The Curriculum Committee is responsible for reviewing, monitoring and evaluating the curriculum offer and school standards. The committee also recommend and agree the whole school targets.
The Finance & Audit Committee is responsible for all matters relating to the budget, working in line with financial regulations and procedures.
The Personnel Committee is responsible for the safeguarding of our students and their pastoral care, including exclusions. The committee also deal with admissions and the HR issues relating to staff, for example pay and performance management. The committee are also involved with the recruitment to senior posts within the school.
The Premises Committee are responsible for all of the issues that relate to the premises and grounds. This includes overseeing building projects and general repairs and maintenance. The committee are also responsible for health and safety.
All of the committees are responsible for the policies and procedures that fall under their umbrella and every school policy is reviewed on an annual basis and presented to the relevant committee for adoption. All committees have their own risk register which is presented and reviewed at every meeting.
To view the governors attendance record at these meetings during the current academic year 2023-2024, please click here.
The attendance record for the previous academic year 2022-2023 can be viewed by clicking here.
The Chair of Governors is Mr Mark Healy and the Clerk to the Governors is Mrs Sharon Williams. They can both be contacted in writing via the school office address, or by email at: admin@loreto.herts.sch.uk
Minutes of the Full Governing Body meetings are available on request from Mrs Sharon Williams, Clerk to the Governors – admin@loreto.herts.sch.uk