Our Governing Body

Governors work closely with headteachers, school staff and representatives from the local authority (LA).

The Governing Body meet once per term and are responsible for appointing staff, setting targets for improvement, reviewing school policies, monitoring and evaluating the performance of the school, and overseeing the school budget. Mrs Michelle Radford is the Chair of the Governing Body. Correspondence for the Chair can be sent to:

c/o Cassop Primary School
Cassop
Durham
DH6 4RA

REGISTER OF BUSINESS INTERESTS

From 1 September 2015, governing bodies are under a duty of publish on their website their register of interests. The register includes relevant business interests of governors and details of any other education establishments they govern. The register also sets out if there are any relationships between governors and members of the school staff including spouses, partners and relatives.

Governing Body Committee Structure for Cassop Primary School member of The Acorn Federation

The Governing body consists of:

Name	Representing	Term of Office	Committee	Responsibilities	Register of Interests	Relationship to Staff
Mr Andrew Fletcher	Co-opted	18/02/2026 - 17/02/2030	Finance and Premises First/Pay Review HT Performance		None	None
Mrs Lisa Curtis	Executive Headteacher	01/09/2026 - ongoing			Head Teacher at Cassop and West Pelton Primary School	None
Mrs Helen Atherton	Staff	22/01/2026 - 21/01/2030	Finance and Premises Staffing Curriculum	EYFS	School Business Manager at Cassop and West Pelton Primary School	None
Mrs Laura Greer	Parent Elected	27/01/2026 - 26/01/2030				None
Mrs Michelle Radford (Chair)	Co-opted	21/01/2026 - 20/01/2030	Finance and Premises HT Performance Staffing (Chair) Curriculum (Chair) First/Pay Review (Chair)	Children in care Safeguarding SEND	None	None
Mrs Alison Whelan (Vice Chair)	Co-opted	20/11/2025 - 19/11/2029	First/Pay Review Curriculum Finance and Premises (Chair) Staffing	Cultural Education Pupil Premium	None	None
Mrs Christine Baxter	Co-opted	01/01/2026 - 31/12/2029	Staffing		Deputy Head Teacher at West Pelton Primary School	None
Ms Deborah Ainsworth	Associate	14/11/2025 - 13/11/2029	Finance and Premises	Safeguarding Child Protection / Children in care	HLTA at West Pelton Primary School	None
Mrs Alice Butler	Co-opted	24/10/2024 - 23/10/2028			Deputy Headteacher at Cassop Primary School	None
Mrs Abigail Mendy	Parent Governor	03/02/2026 - 02/02/2030				None
Mr Michael Summers	Co-opted	16/03/2026 - 15/03/2030				None
Cllr Danny Wood	Co-opted	15/07/2026 - 14/07/2030				None

Statutory Guidance for Governing Bodies

Cassop Primary School adhere to the statutory guidance from the Department of Education. This means that governing bodies must have regard to it when carrying out duties relating to the constitution of governing bodies in maintained schools.

The Constitution of Governing Bodies of Maintained Schools (2017

How To Become A School Governor

If you require further information on the roles and responsibilities of School Governors or you are interested in becoming one, visit the Durham County Council website School Governor section.

Governor Attendance

Schools are required to display a record of Governor attendance at meetings for each school academic year.

KEY
✓ – Attended meeting
A/A – Apologies sent and accepted by meeting
N – Did not attend
N/A – Not a member of the committee

Record of Attendance 2026-2027

Name	Finance and Premises Committee Meeting	Curriculum Committee Meeting	Full Governing Body Committee Meeting	Pay Review Committee Meeting	Finance and Premises Committee Meeting	Curriculum Committee Meeting	Full Governing Body Committee Meeting	Finance and Premises Committee Meeting	Curriculum Committee Meeting	Full Governing Body Committee Meeting
Mrs Helen Atherton
Ms Deborah Ainsworth
Mr Michael Summers
Mrs Christine Baxter
Mrs Lisa Curtis
Mrs Michelle Radford
Mrs Alison Whelan
Cllr Danny Wood
Mr Andrew Fletcher
Mrs Laura Greer
Mrs Abigail Mendy

Archived Attendance
You can also view previous years attendance on our website.

Committee Terms of Reference

We will be adding this information soon.

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