With members from across the local community and beyond, St Paul’s governing board is a group of individuals with varied backgrounds and skills who come together to support and drive the school’s continued development. The governing board regularly reviews its make-up and skills set to ensure it has the skills and diversity needed to meet its responsibilities to the school and its pupils.

With the move to a Federation, the Governing Board of St Paul’s primary school was dissolved and we said goodbye to a number of governors, including Jeff Hammer, who had served as a governor for many years and whose wide experience of school governance was invaluable. We thank all the outgoing governors for their contribution to the school over the years and wish them all well for the future. 

See the school website for details of current membership of the new Federation Governing Board and the main committees.

A school’s governing board has three main responsibilities:

1. To help set and maintain the ethos and strategic direction of the school;
2. To hold the headteacher to account for the educational performance of the school and its pupils; and
3. To ensure that the school uses its resources effectively and efficiently for the benefit of the pupils.

At St Paul’s, the full governing board met in the autumn, spring and summer terms, to ensure that these responsibilities are fulfilled. The full Governing Board meetings were supplemented by regular meetings of a number of sub-committees, particularly the Resources and Curriculum committees. These committees looked in greater depth at plans and proposals from the headteacher and senior leadership team, as well as considering the levels of attainment and progress of the children in the school. The committees reported to the full Governing Board.

In addition, some governors had special responsibility for specific aspects of school policy, for example on safeguarding, well-being, Health & Safety and GDPR. The governors main focus is on supporting the headteacher and the staff in providing positive opportunities for every child in an inclusive Christian environment.

The 2024/25 academic year was the third year of our formal partnership with St. Andrew’s Church of England Primary School in Enfield Town.

The St Paul’s governors were pleased that the partnership had continued to deliver benefits for both schools, but after a great deal of careful consideration and consultation with parents and other stakeholders, decided that moving to a federation model was the best way to ensure the future of the school.

The Saints’ Federation came into being on 1 September 2025. Working with Miss Mann and Mrs Cresswell, the Governors will monitor the impact of the new federation on St. Paul’s and will continue to keep the wider school community updated on future plans for the partnership as the 2025/26 academic year progresses. Our priority continues to be the further improvement of outcomes for our children.

The school staff (both teaching and non-teaching) are the most valuable asset for any school, and the governors are pleased that St Paul’s school had a full teaching staff complement to start the 2025/26 school year. The governors have been involved in staff recruitments where appropriate and are satisfied that all the correct procedures have been followed, particularly those relating to safeguarding.

The Governors are sharply aware of the importance of a stable staff body to the continued success of St Paul’s and the need to ensure a positive working environment to achieve this. The governors monitor staff well-being and take account of  the impact on staff work/life balance in their deliberations on policies and practices at the school.

It is hoped that the new federation will provide staff with access to greater professional development opportunities, to enhance their teaching knowledge and skills and further improve the outcomes for our children. 

The 2024/25 school year continued to be challenging for all schools, not least because of the ongoing pressures on school budgets.  Nevertheless, we are very proud of all that the school has achieved over the past year, both in terms of academic achievement and in extra-curricular and community activities.

Notable among these achievements was the excellent Statutory Inspections for Anglican and Methodist Schools (SIAMS) report in July 2025.  The governors would like to congratulate Miss Mann, Mrs Cresswell, Mrs Hawting and all the staff and children on this wonderful result.  The governors were delighted that the inspection team recognised that the Christian ethos of our school is embedded in everything that is done and that the school vision “shapes daily life and forms a nurturing culture.

The governors are proud of the care that is taken to ensure that the welfare and safety of children, parents and staff remain at the forefront of everything that is done.  The school is an integral part of the local community and great care is taken both to support the development of a Christian ethos and school values within the school, as well as encouraging the children to look beyond themselves to the wider world and consider societal issues. This was something that the Ofsted inspection team also recognised.

The governors continued to fulfil their responsibilities in relation to the school’s performance and strategic direction. Full Governing Board meetings were held in person at the school, although some committee meetings continued to be  held via Microsoft Teams.   

The governors always relish the opportunity to engage in a full programme of Learning Walks, co-ordinated by Mrs Cresswell.    

These Learning Walks are important in enabling the governors fulfil their statutory responsibilities.  During these visits, the governors also spoke to children and staff, enabling them to gain a rounded picture of what is happening in school.

The governors remain grateful to Miss Mann, Mrs Cresswell and all the staff of St Paul’s for continuing to encourage and support each child to achieve their best in everything that they do.

The Governors have worked to support the Executive Headteacher in achieving a balanced budget in a period with limited resources and increasing costs. Managing the school budget continues to be particularly challenging and the Governors are particularly grateful for the work that Miss Mann, Mrs Cresswell and Mrs Zmajkovic, the School Business Manager, put into trying to ensure that the financial pressures do not impact the education and wellbeing of the children in our care. The move into a federation should help with financial pressures, but the situation remains very difficult.

Rental income remains stable and the governors appreciate the continued significant financial support provided by the school community and parents both directly and through the hard work of our wonderful FOSPS.

We would also like to thank those parents who have made a voluntary contribution to the Governors’ Fund.  This money goes to directly benefit the children in the school, including paying the school’s contribution to the London Diocesan Board for Schools Maintenance Fund.  All the monies collected help to pay for the upkeep of the school buildings and helps to ensure that the teaching and learning environment for all the children remains safe, secure and comfortable. 

The Governing Board regularly reviews the admissions criteria which are used to award places in the school and last year the Governors consulted on changes to the Admissions Policy for entry to the school from September 2025.  St Paul’s remains a popular school, but the recent drop in the number of pre-school age children across all London boroughs, combined with a post-Covid trend for families to move out of London, means that we cannot be complacent.  The Governors will therefore continue to work to ensure that our school remains sustainable for the future.   

At St Paul’s, the Governors are proud that the children receive the highest standard of education and pastoral support, in a safe, caring environment.  The Governors will continue to work with the Senior Leadership team to ensure that prospective parents appreciate this and will want to become part of our wonderful school community.

In addition to attending governing board meetings and participating in Learning Walks, the governors are involved with the life of the school in other ways. For example, by:

1. sitting on recruitment panels;
2. participating in events run by the PTA (eg the Summer Fair);
3. representing the school at outside events (eg the annual Enfield Governors’ Conference); and
4. attending school church services and assemblies.

The governors also ensure that they continue to develop the knowledge and skills necessary to be effective in their role, attending training courses and studying relevant policy documentation and national guidance. This includes ensuring that they are kept up to date with the latest developments with Ofsted and SIAMS.

During the year the governing body also keeps its practices and activities under review, to ensure that it continues to meet its statutory responsibilities and operates effectively, transparently, fairly and legally.

The Governors will continue to work closely with the Executive Headteacher, the Head of School and the senior leadership team, as we move into The Saints’ Federation. We will continue to support the implementation of the School Improvement Plan and to strengthen the relationships with St Paul’s church, the other local churches with whom St Paul’s school has a special relationship and the wider community.

The Governors can be contacted at any time via the school office.