Governors

On behalf of the Governing Body I would like to welcome you to St. Gerard’s School website.

The aim of the Governors a Mr Logue, Chair of Governors t our school is to work with the staff to help the children achieve their full potential in a happy and caring environment. We feel that the links between the school and home are vital and we hope that you will find this website useful.

As a Governing Body one of our roles is to be a ‘critical friend’, to challenge, support and give direction to the school leadership. We do this in a number of ways:

Monitoring the performance and progress of the pupils in our school
Monitoring and evaluating the Catholic life of the school
Working with the staff who teach and care for our children
Overseeing the finances and resources of the school
Providing a strategic review of future planning for the school and the pupils.

The Governors are involved in working on a variety of committees which meet regularly and help in the smooth running of the school – Curriculum, Finance and Staffing, Health and Safety and Admissions. We have designated Governors for Special Needs and Child Protection. Each Governor also has a specialist subject responsibility eg. Literacy, Numeracy, ICT, Art, etc.

The Governing Body members represent all the key groups involved in the life of our school – the Parents, the School, the Church, the Community and the Local Authority.

We, like you, have the best interests of the pupils and school at the heart of what we are doing and in the decisions that we make to ensure that St. Gerard’s is a good school.

Mr David Logue
Chair of Governors

Governing Body Members

Name	Type of Governor	Responsibilities
Mr D Logue	Chair of Governors, Foundation Governor	RE and Inclusion Link Governor, Resources, Premises, Finance and Staffing Committee
Miss H Macilwraith	Vice Chair, Foundation Governor	Safeguarding and Attendance Link Governor, Admissions, Resources, Premises, Finance and Staffing Committee
Mr N Sellman	Foundation Governor	Resources, Premises, Finance and Staffing Committee
Mrs L Williams	Foundation Governor	Curriculum and Teaching Link Governor, Curriculum and Teaching Committee
(vacancy x 2)	Foundation Governor
Mrs J Davies	Parent Governor	Resources, Premises, Finance and Staffing Committee
(Vacancy)	Parent Governor
Mr J Cunningham	LA Governor	Curriculum and Teaching Committee
Mr J Wilson	Co-opted Governor	Deputy Headteacher
Mrs K Bannister	Headteacher
Miss L Witherington	Staff Governor	Admissions, Curriculum and Teaching Committee

Also see:

Governor Register of Interests – 2025
Governor Constitution and Terms of Office – 2025
Governor Attendance – 2024/25
Governor Attendance – 2023/24

Governor Profiles

John Cunningham

LA Governor

I am the Local Authority Governor at St Gerard’s having retired in 2020 after working in the education, training and employment sector for over forty years. In my professional career I was responsible for planning, funding, quality improvement and commissioning in FE colleges, school sixth forms and training providers in the Black Country as well as managing several employer engagement and European Social Fund initiatives. My final role was Head of Service at Dudley MBC for Skills, Employment and Adult and Community Learning. I was also a Foundation Governor for eight years at King Edward VI Sixth Form college in Stourbridge.

Following my retirement, I was keen to ensure my skills and experience were used in a positive way to support other providers in the education sector so when the opportunity arose for me to volunteer as a governor at St Gerard’s I was delighted to accept this role. As all my experience was in the post-16 sector, the opportunity to work as a governor in a primary school was exciting as it ensured that I had to further develop my skills and learn new ones in a completely different education setting to what I was used to.

I am passionate about learning and development and in the short time I have been a governor at St Gerard’s I have been really impressed by the attitude and hunger for learning demonstrated by the children and the classwork they produce.

David Logue
Foundation Governor

My name is David Logue, and I am the Chair of Governors and a Foundation Governor here at St Gerard’s Catholic Primary School.

This is my first term as governor at this successful school where I am proud and fortunate in equal measures to have such a wonderfully dedicated team of staff who are lead by an enthusiastic and professional senior leadership team who have the children and the teachings of Jesus Christ at the core of everything they do – a responsibility that I find incredibly rewarding.

Throughout my professional career, I have worked exclusively in Catholic schools, having been a teacher since 1999. Currently, I serve as a deputy headteacher in a successful Catholic school in Birmingham, where I have gained extensive experience in the management of Catholic schools. As a practising Catholic, I am a Eucharistic Minister in my own parish and am part of the successful marriage preparation team.

Prior to my current role, I was the vice-chair of a successful Catholic secondary school in Birmingham, giving me valuable governance experience that I now bring to St Gerard’s. In my role as a governor, I also serve as the RE Link Governor, overseeing the religious education curriculum and ensuring that the school’s Catholic ethos is upheld to its highest standard.

On a personal note, I am married to Jayne, and we have two children. I have lived in Birmingham all my life and enjoy playing golf and Touch Rugby in my spare time.

“Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all” – Mark 10: 42-45

Miss H Macilwraith
Foundation Governor

My name is Hayley Macilwraith and I am a Foundation Governor here at St. Gerard’s.

I grew up in the Parish of St. Gerard’s and received all of my sacraments here. I was a pupil at the school under the Headship of Miss Peel until 2003, and moved on to St. Edmund Campion for my secondary education.

I am still a member of the Parish and was approached to join the governing body in 2019. I am passionate that all pupils should receive the highest standard of education and volunteer my time as a governor to ensure that this happens at St. Gerard’s for all of our pupils. I enjoy visiting school where I can see all of the wonderful work that the pupils of St. Gerard’s are doing and how well they are supported by our dedicated team of staff.

I currently work for a Catholic Multi Academy Trust as a Data Manager and have over ten years of experience in a variety of school matters.

Laura Williams
Foundation Governor