Our Lady of Grace has a very strong Governing Body whose main tasks are to support the school, ensure that pupils receive high quality education and plan for any future developments and improvements.

Governor  Visits & Comments – Autumn Term 2011

December 2011

‘The children were animated and provided a very good picture of their experience of OLOG plus many ideas for improvements’.  Angela Creech, Governor – Meeting with the School Council

‘I came to your Carol Service last night at Our Lady of Grace Church and I thought you were fantastic: wonderful voices, great memory for remembering all those carols, excellent reading from the readers and a lovely touch to play out some of the carols with some acting. Very well done to you all and it was a terrific way to start off the Christmas season’.  Carl Koenen, Year 5 Governor, on the KS2 Carol Service

‘The staff, Parents and children should be deeply proud’.  Angela Creech, Governor, on the EYFS and KS1 Nativity

November 2011

‘St Francis Class Assembly was wonderful to see and I was surprised at how confident the children were performing in front of the school’.  Karen Merralls, EYFS Governor – EYFS Class Assembly

‘Year 3 are an enthusiastic, happy class’.  Sharon Sales, Year 3 Governor – Year 3 Class visit

‘I found this assembly incredibly emotional, thought provoking and quite inspiring’.  John Hillier, Year 6 Governor – Year 6  Class Assembly

‘Participated enthusiastically, a good day, lovely children’.  Angela Creech, Year 1 Governor – Year 1 Class visit

October 2011

‘Considering these children have only been in Year 5 for 5-6 weeks, it was an excellent performance all round’.  Carl Koenen, Year 5 Governor – Year 5 Class Assembly

‘The children were enthusiastic. Mrs Fitzpatrick and staff were firm, friendly… Very engaged – very impressed’.  Angela Creech, Year 1 Governor – Year 1 Class visit

Governors Week – Monday 4th to Friday 8th July

Governors visited the School throughout the week, going into classrooms and meeting with children, staff and parents.

John Conroy – I met some new faces at the School gate before 9am and being a former parent, I also caught up with some old friends!  I visited Year 3 and listened to the children’s news of things they had done over the weekend. I worked with the football table on writing a story for the new Year 3 children. The story characters were an impressive breed of new super heroes! A very good class visit.

Carl Koenen – Year 5 were undertaking a Maths session focusing on graphs. The class split into three levels of ability and all got involved in their respective tasks. Some of the children found it difficult to mark up the graph on the exact co-ordinates to start with. The time/speed exercise was a fairly complicated task but the children completed it.

Eleni Bloy – I initially sat with a group of FS2 children working on Phonics. Various techniques were used including whiteboards and ‘robot arms’. Their ability was very impressive particularly as I was informed that this was a ‘lower achieving’ group. The class performed an assembly entitled ‘change’ where they highlighted all the changes experienced in their first year at School which included ‘making friends’. The assembly was beautifully co-ordinated by the teacher and Teaching Assistants and ended with a song which was jolly and moving. An adorable class!

Tess O’Flynn – What a busy day! I started the morning with Year 1. The task set was for them to write a prayer. What a thoughtful, caring little class they are. They wrote some very touching and moving prayers. What really stood out for me was the children’s handwriting - I thought it was very advanced for their age. The second part of the morning was spent with Reception (FS2). They were practising for their school assembly – it was a very cheeful sight! I rather stupidly had the mis-apprehension that the early years are a slower paced, easier option. How very wrong was I! The Teachers and Teaching Assistants work extremely hard, having to take on board all kinds of difficulties ie, being away from mum, learning to share, listening and sitting still. The staff are worth their weight in gold! To sum up, I have had a wonderful day with very attentive and happy children. Can I come again!?

Angela Creech – I spent the later part of the morning with Year 6 who were busy practising their leavers play. I was advised that they were at the very early stages of actually staging the play but  everyone took advice well and it was coming together very quickly. The children suggested ways to improve the play and their parts and were very much shaping the production. After watching the Reception class assembly earlier and then watching preparation for the leavers assembly, it was easy to note how much progress is made with much support from staff.

Stella Oni – I really enjoyed the class visit to Year 4. The children were happy and relaxed and the Teacher had a real rapport with them. I assisted some of the children in decorating cushions by cutting out sketches traced on fabric and stitching them onto the cushion and decorating with glitter. Whilst doing this, a larger group of children had Spanish lessons which they really enjoyed. I look forward to a repeat visit. I am really proud of the children.

Karen Merralls – As part of Governors week I had the opportunity to spend the morning with Reception class (FS2). The children enjoyed talking to me and were very confident taking the time to show me their favourite books. During the class phonics lesson the children showed great enthusiasm for learning their letter sounds and actions. The children were all attentive and well behaved and a credit to their teacher and the School.

What do Governors Do?

In a nutshell, Governors work as a team to develop strategies for developing and maintaining high standards of education at Our Lady of Grace. They work closely with the Head who is responsible for the day to day management of the School.