With members from across the local Enfield community and beyond, St Paul’s Governing Board is a broad 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.

In August 2024, we were very sad to learn that former governor Barry McNee, had passed away.  Barry had been a Chair of Governors and, latterly, Associate Member of the Governing Board of St Paul’s school for many years, finally retiring in Spring 2023.  Barry’s commitment to St Paul’s and his contribution to life at the school during his time in office was quite remarkable.  We are grateful for his years of dedicated service to the school and we send our sincere condolences to Barry’s family and friends.

See the school website for details of membership of both the governing board and main committees.

A school’s governing body 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 meets in the autumn, spring and summer terms, to ensure that these responsibilities are fulfilled. The full Governing Board meetings are supplemented by regular meetings of a number of sub-committees, particularly the Resources and Curriculum committees. These committees look in greater depth at plans and proposals from the Executive Headteacher, Head of School and senior leadership team, as well as considering the levels of attainment and progress of the children in the school. The committees report to the full governing body.

In addition, some governors have special responsibility for specific aspects of school policy, for example on safeguarding, wellbeing and Pupil Voice. The Governors are focussed on supporting the Executive Headteacher, Head of School and the staff in providing positive opportunities for every child, in an inclusive Christian environment.

The 2023/24 academic year was the second year of our formal partnership  with St. Andrew’s Church of England Primary School in Enfield Town.

The governors are pleased that the partnership has continued to deliver benefits for both schools and have therefore agreed to extend the partnership for at least another year. Some of those benefits include:

• The Senior Leadership Teams in both schools sharing post Ofsted information;
• Joint staff pedagogical training each half term,  with teachers taking the lead in delivering sessions;
• Writing moderation in year groups with colleagues from the Enfield Town Schools Partnership;
• Some shared INSET days for joint staff training;
• Some joint Governor briefings to consider topics of interest to both schools;
• The two School Business Managers have supported each other with finance information; and
• Financial savings have been made where possible, through joint purchasing of goods and services.

Working with Miss Mann and Mrs Cresswell, the Governors will continue to monitor the impact of the partnership on St. Paul’s and will keep the wider school community updated on future plans for the partnership as the 2024/25 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 has a full teaching staff complement to start the 2024/25 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.

The continuing partnership with St Andrew’s CE Primary School has provided staff with access to greater professional development opportunities, to enhance their teaching knowledge and skills and further improve the outcomes for our children.

We congratulate Miss Mann, Mrs Cresswell and all the staff and children on achieving such a positive Ofsted report in December 2024, with the Inspectors recognising the considerable strengths of our school.

The Christian ethos of our school continues to be a core strength. 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.

It has also been wonderful to see how the school has reached out to the wider community, by participating in schemes such as Wrap Up London and the North London Hospice Owl Project and by visiting a local care home to play board games, sing carols and chat to residents.

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

During the past year, the Governors have undertaken a number of Learning Walks to look at KS2 Writing, KS1 Maths, RE, Art, Design & Technology and Wellbeing. These were in addition to Governor visits to discuss safeguarding, SEND, Pupil Premium and Health & Safety.

These Learning Walks are important in enabling the Governors fulfil their statutory responsibilities. During these visits, Governors are also able to speak 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 Curriculum Committee has oversight of the policies relating to teaching and learning in the school, as well as pupil attainment and school activities.

In the past year, the Committee has had an in-depth look at a number of aspects of school life, including the RE syllabus, the School Council, the new Behaviour Policy, Safeguarding, SEN & inclusion, the mental health and wellbeing of pupils and staff and the teaching of British Values.  The Committee has also focussed on the follow-up from the most recent Ofsted inspection, including the work that has been done to ensure that consistency of teaching and learning is embedded across the whole school.  The Committee has also reviewed the school uniform policy in the light of the parental consultation and has continued to follow the data on pupil progress and teaching and learning in the school.    

The Resources Committee sets a policy framework for all expenditure, including levels of expenditure delegated to the Headteacher. It ensures that expenditure is focused on the School Development Plan and on meeting the needs of all students.  The committee sets an annual budget and a three-year projected budget which has to be approved by the Full Governing Board and oversees the annual audit return.

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 put into trying to ensure that the financial pressures do not impact the education and wellbeing of the children in our care.

We would also like to thank those parents who have made a voluntary contribution to the Governors’ Fund.  A proportion of this money goes to the London Diocesan Board for Schools Maintenance Fund 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. 

Recent examples of how the Governors have used this fund are:

• The school CCTV security system has been completely renewed. The old system had been in place for 20 years and was showing its age. The new hitech system monitors the whole school;
• The central heating boilers which serve the school have been replaced and are now much more efficient and effective;
• There has been a major investment in replacing the entire school telephone system. A new digital telephone system has been installed which runs over the internet and is more reliable and cost effective;
• The boys w/cs have been given a muchneeded facelift and have been redesigned, replumbed and redecorated; and
• A mosaic which reflects the school’s vision and values has been designed and installed by the school entrance.

The Governors continue to work with Miss Mann and Mrs Cresswell to identify and prioritise improvement projects that can be financed from the Governors’ Fund. We are also very grateful to FOSPS for everything that they do to raise funds to improve the school facilities and to enhance the day-to-day experience of the children.

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, and 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, Governors are involved with the life of the school in other ways. For example, by:

1. sitting on recruitment panels;
2. representing the school at outside events (eg the annual Enfield Governors’ Conference);
3. attending school church services and assemblies; and
4. supporting the Senior Leadership Team during school inspections.

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.

During the year the Governing Board 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, to support the implementation of the School Improvement Plan and to strengthen the relationships with St Paul’s church, our other local Anglican churches and the wider community.

The Governors are supporting the school in its preparations for the forthcoming Statutory Inspection of Anglican and Methodist Schools (SIAMS).

We will also continue to monitor the implementation of the partnership agreement with St Andrew’s Primary School and will be working with the London Diocesan Board for Schools to ensure that our school remains a safe, effective, supportive place in which children can learn, play and flourish for the future.

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