Lowerplace Primary School

  1. Our School
  2. Meet the Governors

Meet the Governors

The Role of the Governing Board

All schools in England have a Governing Board which is responsible for overseeing many of the strategic decisions of the school. The Governing Board works in close partnership with the Headteacher, staff and the Local Authority. Whilst the Headteacher is, of course, responsible for the day to day running of the school, the governors main three roles include:

  • Strategic: The governing board sets the general direction of the school, looking at how it should best develop. This is done by reviewing and agreeing policies, targets and priorities and monitoring and reviewing aims and objectives.
  • Critical Friend: A governing board should work with the Headteacher and create a clear understanding of the challenges face in managing a school.
  • Accountability: - A school is a business and its stakeholders are the learners. The governing board must have a professional attitude and use its collective skills to benefit the learners. It must gather views, ask questions and decide what is best for the school. The governing board is answerable to parents, the wider community and the local authority.

School governors are drawn from different parts of the community. This helps to ensure that the governing board has sufficient diversity of views and experience but does not mean that governors of a particular category "represent" that group on the governing board. The different categories of governor are as follows:

Parent governors

Elected by parents to serve on the Governing Board

 

Staff governors

To include the Head Teacher if they wish to be a governor. Remaining staff (both teaching and non-teaching are represented) governors are elected by other members of staff at the school via elections.

 

Authority governors

Local Education Authority ( LEA ) governors are appointed by the LA . LAs can appoint any eligible person as an LA governor.

 

Co-opted governors

Appointed by the Governing Board to represent community interests. They can be persons who live or work in the community served by the school, or persons who do not work or live close by, but are committed to the good governance and success of the school.

 

Further Information

Please click here for further information on the Rochdale council website about a governors role.

Please click on the link to go to Governors Website www.governornet.co.uk/

Meet the Governors

Name of Governor Type Declared Business Interest Sub Committee Details Appointed and Expiry Date

  Victoria Fee

   - Vice Chair

  Co-opted   None

  Personnel and Pay Implementation Committee                      Curriculum and Standards Committee                                              Pupil Discipline Committee                                                                Staff Discipline Appeals Committee                                  Headteacher Appraisal Committee                                      Complaints Appeal Committee                                                                  Resources Committee

 12 Nov 2024 to
 11 Nov 2028

  Mohammed Imran

  Local                    Authority   None

  Complaints Committee
  Personnel and Pay Implementation Committee
  Curriculum and Standards committee
  Pupil Discipline Committee                                                                  Staff Discipline Appeals Committee                                                    Resources Committee

 09 Jul 2025 to
 08 Jul 2029
  Karen Martin
  - Headteacher
  School   None

  Curriculum and Standards Committee
  Resources Committee

 

 20 Apr 20
 until not in post
  Martha Mead   Co-opted   None

  Staff Discipline Appeals Committee
  Curriculum and Standards Committee
  Resources Committee                                                                              Pupil Discipline Committee                                                                          Complaints Appeal Committee
 

 14 Mar 2023 to

 13 Mar 2027

  Laura McBride



  Co-opted   None

  Complaints Committee
  Headteacher Appraisal Committee
  Personnel and Pay Appeals Committee
  Curriculum and Standards Committee                                              Pupil Discipline Appeals Committee                                                          Resources Committee                                                                                  Staff Discipline Appeals Committee

 15 Nov 2023 to           14 Nov 2027
 
  Ghulam R Shahzad   Co-opted   None

  Staff Discipline Appeals
  Headteacher Appraisal Committee
  Personnel and Pay Implementation Committee
  Pupil Discipline Committee
  Curriculum and Standards Committee
  Resources Committee

 30 Jun 2024 to
 29 Jun 2028
  Laura Pharaony   Parent    None

  Pupil Discipline Committee                                                      Curriculum and Standards Committee                                    Resources Committee

 13 Nov 2024 to           12 Nov 2028
  Sharon Tighe   Staff   None   Curriculum and Standards Committee
  Resources Committee
 21 Dec 2022 to             20 Nov 2026
  Neelam Jabeen   Parent   Parent                Governor   Curriculum and Standards Committee                                      Personnel and Pay Implementation Committee                              Pupil Discipline Committee                                                        Resources Committee                                                                          Staff Discipline Appeals  23 Jan 2024 to             22 Jan 2028

  Dave Watson

   - Chair

  Co-opted   None   Personnel and Pay Appeals Committee
  Curriculum and Standards Committee
  Resources Committee                                                                          Staff Discipline Committee                                                    Complaints Committee                                                        Headteacher Appraisal Committee                                        Personnel and Pay Implementation Committee
 01 Apr 2025 to
 31 Mar 2029
  Ellen Bullock
  - Deputy Headteacher
  Associate            Member   Curriculum and Standards Committee
  Resources Committee

 12 Dec 2023 to             11 Dec 2027

Governor Information

  • Governor Link Roles

Link Governor Roles 2025/26

Governor Attendance at Meetings

Date Number of Governors Attending (out of 10 in post) Any apologies
13th November 2025 10 0
13th November 2025 (FGB)
4th December 2025
15th January 2026
12th February 2026 (FGB)
26th February 2026
30th April 2026
21st May 2026
11th June 2026 (FGB)
16th July 2026

 

  • Governor Line of Enquiry Days

The purpose of a line of enquiry day:

  • Focus on a single area identified for improvement through data and linked to the SDP
  • Governors to gain an understanding of the issue and use this to consider how to support the school forward in moving this aspect forward
  • Thereby contribute to governor development plan, identifying future areas for exploration

People responsible:

  • Governor Standards lead in partnership with Headteacher

Date

6th November 2025

15th January 2026

 4th June 2026

Name and address of the Clerk to the Governing Board

Diane Ainscough

Governor Support Team

Number One Riverside

Smith Street

Rochdale

OL16 1XU

 

Name and address of the chair of the Governing Board

Dave Watson

c/o Lowerplace Primary School

Kingsway

Rochdale

OL16 4UU