Welcome to the Local School Committee Members section of the Website

The LSC members are a vital part of the school partnership and their role at Witchampton First School is to assist, support, and challenge the headteacher and staff, together providing the best possible education, environment, and spiritual opportunities for all the children to flourish. We work closely in Christian partnership with the Trust, teachers, non-teaching staff, parents, and the local parish.

Some tasks of the committee members, in conjunction with the headteacher are:

• Vision & Values: Agree, promote, and monitor the distinctive Christian vision and values of the school, ensuring they drive all aspects of school life.

• School Improvement: Assist in the creation and review of the School Development Plan, ensuring it addresses academic excellence alongside spiritual, moral, social, and cultural growth.

• Policy Governance: Review and approve school policies, ensuring they reflect the school's Christian ethos and legal requirements.

• Financial Oversight: Set and monitor the school budget to ensure resources are used effectively to benefit all pupils.

• Staffing & Wellbeing: Appoint staff who support the ethos of a Church school, and champion staff development and wellbeing.

• Curriculum & Spiritual Provision: Ensure the National Curriculum is taught alongside high-quality Religious Education (RE) and daily Collective Worship, meeting the needs of individual children including those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

• Community & Church Links: Establish and maintain positive links with the local village, church, and wider community, fostering partnerships that enrich school life.

• Parental Engagement: Maintain a published strategy for dealing with parental complaints and ensuring effective communication.

General Aims

• To ensure a more efficient use of members' time by sharing the workload.

• To be well briefed and ready to assist the whole Governing Body and Trust on complex issues, including evaluating the school’s Christian effectiveness.

• To provide a smaller forum for members’ individual contribution to detailed discussion and robust scrutiny.

As a proud member of Initio Learning Trust, our Local School Committee is overseen by the Trustees. To find out more about the Trustees of Initio Learning Trust, please click here to view Trust Member and Trustee biographies.

The Local School Committee takes an active interest in the day-to-day life and Church school character of Witchampton First School. Meetings are held regularly. Parents may have access to the non-confidential minutes of the Committee meetings on request to the Headteacher or Clerk to the Committee.

Types of LSC Members

• The Chair is responsible for ensuring the effective functioning of the board by keeping it focused on its core functions, strategic direction, and Christian vision. The Chair encourages the board to work together as an effective team, building its skills, knowledge, and experience.

• Foundation Members are appointed specifically to preserve, monitor, and develop the religious character of the school in line with SIAMS criteria. There are foundation governors in every Church of England school.

• Parent Members offer a perspective from the parent community on the board. If a school can’t recruit a parent governor, a proxy parent governor can join the board. Parent governors have the same responsibilities as other types of school governors.

• Staff Members are elected as representative staff members on the board. Their role is to bring a staff perspective to discussions held by the governing board.

• Associate Members may be appointed by the board. When a school has no governor vacancies but needs someone with specific skills (e.g., in RE, finance, or safeguarding), this may be a helpful option. Similarly, if a governor is retiring, a governing board may decide to recruit an associate to bridge the gap.

Who’s Who of the Local School Committee

Our Local School Committee, (LSC), is made up of:

There are currently two foundation member vacancies.

Historic Left Within last Twelve Months

Margareta Wilkie-Stanley  Foundation Member   08/06/2021                   July 2026

Should you wish to contact our Clerk to the LSC, please contact Office@withcamptonfirstschool.org