Lowther Endowed School
& Little VIPs Day Care
Achieving, Caring, Enjoying
Meet the Governors
Welcome to our Governance page
We are proud to be an Endowed School within the Lowther Estate. The governance of our school is under the Lowther School and Exhibition Endowment (the Endowment) which is a charity (No: 526917) set up to support the school in its maintenance and upkeep as well as providing grants and financial support. The Endowment appoints the majority of the governors at our school.
Our Governing Body is made up of:
2 Parent Governors (elected by parents/carers of pupils registered at the school at time of appointment)
1 LA Governor (appointed by the Local Authority)
2 Staff Governors (1 the head teacher and 1 elected by the staff of the school)
8 Foundation Governors (appointed by Lowther School and Exhibition Endowment)
1 co-opted Governor (to be a member of staff of the nursery)
Headteacher who holds an Ex Officio role
Our Governing Body is chaired by Cecilia Emery and the Vice Chair is Alice Vince.
We have two subcommittees:
- Finance, Health & Safety and Premises sub-committee – Chaired by Cecilia Emery
John Banks, Kieran Barr, Simon Cooper, Cecilia Emery, Stephen Tudway
- Curriculum and Staffing sub-committee – Chaired by Alice Vince
Emma Capstick, Cecilia Emery, Christine Strong, Alice Vince, Chrissie Byrne, Laura Thwaites)
Our Headteacher, Carla Weild attends all meetings
The Governing Body acts in the best interests of children to:
- Set the ethos of the school and provide strategic direction
- Support and hold to account the leaders of the school for the performance of the school and for the well-being of staff and pupils
- Ensure its money and resources are allocated appropriately
- Ensure that the voices of stakeholders, particularly pupils, parents and staff are heard
Further detail about the work of the Full Governing Body and the sub-committees are set out in the documents below.
We currently have vacancies for:
1 x Parent Governor
1 x Local Authority Governor
1 x Foundation Governor
Our Clerk to Governors is Emma Daley: emma.daley@lowther.cumbria.sch.uk All contact with governors or the Governing Body is via the Clerk.
Our Governors
| Governor Name & link roles | Appointed by | Term of Office | Term of Office start date | Business and Pecuniary interests | Attendance at meetings 2022-23 | Attendance at meetings 2023-24 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
John Banks Finance | Co-opted by The Governing Body | 4 years | 3 April 2021 |
None
|
7/7 |
4/4 |
Kieran Barr | Foundation | 4 years | 15 March 2021 | Employed at Westmorland & Furness Council |
10/10 |
4/4 |
Emma Capstick Early Years | Parents | 4 years | 21 March 2021 | Teacher at Temple Sowerby School |
7/7 |
5/5 |
Simon Cooper Pupil Premium Secondary transition | Foundation | 4 years | 3 April 2021 |
Teacher at Ullswater Community College |
5/5 |
4/4 |
Cecilia Emery (Chair) Health & Safety Finance | Foundation | 4 years | 20 September 2022 | Governor at RESPECT Schools (ended June 24) Self Employed Educational Consultant |
9/10 |
6/6 |
Christine Strong Online Safety | Foundation | 4 years | 9 April 2022 | None | 5/7 | 4/5 |
Stephen Tudway Well-being Website | Foundation | 4 years | 2 February 2023 | Priest in Charge North Westmorland Churches Governor at Bolton School, Crosby Ravensworth School, Morland School and Ullswater Community College. |
2/3 |
4/4 |
Alice Vince (Vice Chair) SEND | Foundation | 4 years | 1 October 2020 |
None
|
6/7 |
5/5 |
Carla Weild (Headteacher) | Ex Officio | Ex Officio | Ex Officio |
None
|
10/10 |
6/6 |
| Christine Byrne | Staff | 4 years | 23 April 2024 | None | N/A | 1/2 |
| Laura Thwaites | Staff | 4 years | 23 April 2024 | None | NA | 2/2 |
| Resignations | ||||||
Ruth Tupling | Foundation | 4 years | 3 April 2021 Resigned June 2024 | Secretary, Great Strickland Parish Council | 5/7 | 1/3 |
Governance Documents
Governing Body Meetings 2024-2025
Autumn Term
Full Governing Body 17th September 2024
Finance, H&S, Premises 15th October 2024
Teacher Pay Committee 22nd October 2024
Curriculum, Pupils, Staff 5th November 2024
Headteacher Performance Mgt 9th December 2024
Spring Term
Full Governing Body 14th January 2025
Finance, H&S, Premises 11th March 2025
Curriculum, Pupils, Staff 1st April 2025
Summer Term
Finance, H&S, Premises 13th May 2025
Full Governing Body 20th May 2025
Curriculum, Pupils, Staff 10th June 2025
We may also schedule additional meetings if we need to.
Copies of agendas, signed minutes and non-confidential papers considered at our meetings are available by contacting the Clerk to Governors by email on Emma.daley@lowther.cumbria.sch.uk