Governors
Fr Simon Ellis, our Chair of Governors.
On behalf of the Governing body I want to welcome you to our website and assure you of our desire to serve St. Margaret Mary's School to the best of our abilities.
As your Chair of Governors, it is my task to lead the Governing body in assisting the staff to build the best education for your children.
Governors come from differing categories, including community/parish governors (known as Foundation governors), teacher governors, parent governors and the local authority governors. We meet termly as a group, and there are other meetings of sub-committees which meet regularly.
Our task is to be the ‘critical friend’ to Mr Aldred and all the staff. We do this by scrutinising the running of the school, receiving reports and data from staff, including new initiatives and policies which concern areas like literacy, numeracy, assessment, special educational needs, spiritual needs and respect and tolerance.
The school always has to be compliant when it comes to statutory legislation. We also scrutinise the budget and we are involved in the appointment process for teaching and non-teaching staff. We also are involved in the performance management for senior staff.
Our task is not just to enable us to be inspection-ready, but continuously to ask questions like 'how well - and why - are we doing this?' and 'how can we improve?'. We ask these questions on your behalf.
The Governing body help formulate the vision for the school and help it to determine how to implement decisions or recommendations from Government, Ofsted, the Archdiocese of Birmingham and the local community. We therefore need to be nimble and to be able not only to communicate to parents and the local parish, but also to listen to your concerns. Please do not hesitate to contact me at any time to inform us of how your child is progressing and where you can help our great school to improve.
St. Margaret Mary's Church began its existence in 1926 and the school (on its present site) began in the early 1960s. We are, therefore, here for the long-haul and need everyone’s support and help as we constantly strive to make St. Margaret Mary's a school we can continue to be proud of.
Please partner with us in this great task.
Fr Simon Ellis
Chair of Governors
Governing Body Members
| Name of Governor | Type of Governor | Date Appointed | End of Term |
|---|---|---|---|
| Father Simon Ellis | Chair of Governors, Foundation Governor | 09/01/2021 | 08/01/2025 |
| Mr Stu Coney | Vice Chair of Governors, Foundation Governor | 03/03/2023 | 02/03/2027 |
| Miss Iryna Hapuk | Foundation Governor | 03/03/2023 | 02/03/2027 |
| Mrs Nathalie Lynch | Foundation Governor | 17/09/2021 | 16/09/2025 |
| Mr Andrew Poxton | Foundation Governor | 28/07/2023 | 27/07/2027 |
| (vacancy x 2) | Foundation Governor | - | - |
| Mr Arthur Jarrett | Parent Governor | 15/11/2023 | 14/11/2027 |
| Mrs Michaela Timofte | Parent Governor | 15/03/2022 | 14/03/2026 |
| Mrs Christy McConnell | LA Governor | 25/11/2020 | 24/11/2024 |
| Mrs Jayne Logue | Headteacher | 02/09/2021 | - |
| Mrs Jenny Heslegrave | Staff Governor | 29/03/2023 | 28/03/2027 |
| Mrs Marcia Hart | Clerk to the Governing Body | - | - |
Also see:
- Governors' Interests and Sub-Committees
- Governors' Meeting Attendance - 2023/24
- Governors' Meeting Attendance - 2022/23
Governor Profiles
Mr Stu Coney
I have lived in the parish all my life and the church has been a part of my life for the past 13 years. I was married in the church; my daughter was christened in the church and more recently was confirmed into the Catholic faith. My daughter is now in secondary school following a wonderful time at St Margaret Mary and I want to be part of supporting the school community for the future children that move through the school.
I have been in education for over 15 years working in both Handsworth and Erdington. I recognise the importance of a committed governing body with a collective clear vision for the school. During this time, I have presented to governors numerous times and understand how important the right questions and decisions are to the running of the school. In addition, before entering education I was in retail management and know the importance of discussion prior to introducing new initiatives.
Father Simon Ellis
I have recently arrived in Perry Common as the new Parish priest for St. Margaret Mary’s. Part of my role is to work alongside school to make sure that the relationship is a positive and strong one. I come from an educational background so was delighted when the other governors elected me as the Chair.
My job is to makes sure the school is spending its money wisely, to hold it to account for its performance and to help shape the direction the school is travelling in. We do this together as a collective, different governors sit on different committees bringing their skills and talents to help ensure we make our school a place that continually strives to improve.
Miss Iryna Hapuk
I have moved to the United Kingdom from Ukraine in 2010. Initially I have lived in Scotland and relocated to Birmingham, England in 2016 due to my work in Global companies. Ever since I have settled in Birmingham for good and became a part of local Catholic community. Since the beginning of invasion and war in Ukraine – myself and my family were supported by our local parish as well as by team at St Margaret’s Mary Catholic Primary School, which my Ukrainian nephew attended and loved for over a year.
It is a privilege to me to be able to contribute to the school development and be a part of St Margaret’s Mary Finance Committee as a Foundation Governor. My skills and experience are mostly in Finance and Global Payroll Management. I hold Master Degree (National university of Lviv polytechnics) in Linguistics and IT. And in the UK I have graduated from Worcester university (CIPP) with Payroll Management Diploma. I support various Charities, especially those involving helping children in Ukraine or Israel who have lost either or both parents. My family frequently attends a mass in Ukrainian Catholic Church in Coventry or local St Margaret Mary’s Church.
I am fluent in 5 languages and eager to learn new. Whenever possible I love traveling and at least once a year I always go back to Ukraine. I also have an important member of the family – Wendy, who is Scottish-Ukrainian gorgeous cat. My passion is languages and ability to speak to people around the world in their language. The Slovak proverb says “How many languages you know, that many times you are a Human being” and this motivates me in life as well as helping others.
Mrs Jenny Heslegrave
I am pleased to be appointed as the Staff Governor for St Margaret Mary’s. I joined the school in 2019 and I am currently one of the Assistant Headteachers. I am on the Standards Committee where we meet to discuss the progress in children’s learning and find out about the next steps that the teachers are taking to support them.
It is a privilege to know and work with the children and families of St Margaret Mary’s and I am keen to liaise with the other governors to help make school the best it can be.
Mr Arthur Jarrett
I joined the Governing body in Autumn 2023. I am married and have two sons. As a family we enjoy going to Church, watching movies and visiting relatives. Our family believe all living things were created by God, who exists in three different persons, the Father, Son (Word) and Holy Spirit.
I work at JLR Solihull as a Current Manufacturing Engineer (CME). Essentially, I am a fire fighter in keeping the line running in terms of quantity and quality. I am educated to degree level in Industrial Information Technology and have a PGdip in Logistics Engineering.
Mrs Nathalie Lynch
I have been a governor since September 2021. I attended St Margaret Mary's school myself and have been a member of the parish since I was four years old. I have a special interest in the rights of SEN children and believe in inclusion within school, equality which is giving everyone the same but also equity where we give pupils what they need to thrive in school.
Mrs Christy McConnell
I was appointed as the Local Authority governor at St. Margaret Mary's in 2016. I am currently the Head Teacher of a primary school in Birmingham. I see my role as twofold, firstly to support the school in whatever way I can but also to hold it to account for its performance. I am on the Standards committee where we meet on a half termly basis to consider school data and progress towards targets on the school improvement plan.
Being full time in education and having children of primary age I feel I am ideally placed to help and support St. Margaret Mary's. I am looking forward to working with everyone over the coming years as we strive to improve the school even further.
Mr Andrew Poxon
I have recently been appointed as a Governor for St Margaret Marys. I am currently in position as a director for a commercial energy firm and have experience working alongside senior leaders in both strategy, operations, and finance. Part of my role as Governor is working with the finance committee to assist the headteacher and Governing body to manage and make informed decisions with the school’s budget. I have taken this role proudly as I feel that I am now able to give back to my community and provide help to assist the school, staff, and our future generations over the coming years.
Mrs Michaela Timofte
I have been a Parent Governor at St Margaret Mary since 2018 and I see my role as an opportunity to represent the views of parents and promote the interests and wellbeing of all children at this school. I am available to listen impartially to any concerns or queries and feedback to the Governing board.
I lived in Erdington in the past 12 years, I work in a children's hospital as a PICU ATP - Tech Team and I have one child currently in KS2 at this school.