Governance

Governors

The purpose of the Governance section is to provide you with background information on the body responsible for College governance (the Corporation), explain the roles and responsibilities of the governors and provide access to publicly available documents.

David Wright - Chair of Governors

David Wright

Chair of Governors

David Wright is currently Chair of Corporation at Notre Dame Catholic Sixth Form College. With governance experience totalling 20 years, he was appointed a Further Education (FE) National Leader of Governance in March 2022 working as part of the FE Commissioners team in Board level support and Governance best practice. With senior management experience and professionally qualified skills, David is a self - motivated individual who always strives to achieve and maintain high professional standards and integrity in work and life.
Graeme Brown - Co-Opted Governor

Graeme Brown

Co-Opted Governor


Graeme brown is a former member of staff who held several different posts of responsibility in the 16 years he worked at Notre Dame. Since leaving in 2015 he has continued to be involved with the education of young people through his work as a senior associate for an exam board and, more recently as a governor at a High School in Bradford, where he was Vice Chair of the Board and Chair of the Policy Committee.

Graeme is looking forward to bringing his wide-ranging experience and expertise to the Corporation as a recently appointed co-opted governor. He is the Safeguarding Governor and sits on both Audit and the HR/Search Committees.
John Barnes - Foundation Governor

John Barnes

Foundation Governor

John Barnes is Vice Chair of Corporation, Chair of the HR/Search Committee and is a member of the Audit Committee. John has over 20 years’ experience of governance across all sectors of education. Following his retirement from the accountancy profession, John now runs his own tax consultancy business. He is also a member of the Exam Committee of the Chartered Institute of Taxation and is Treasurer of two charities based in Leeds. John is a Eucharistic Minister in the parish of Our Lady of Kirkstall and is actively involved in many aspects of parish life.
Fr Michael Hall - Foundation Governor

Fr Michael Hall

Foundation Governor


Fr Michael Hall is currently Chair of the Curriculum and Standards Committee and a member of the Audit Committee. For most of his time as a Catholic Priest, he taught Maths to 11- 18-year-olds and was a Catholic school leader. He is now Priest to two parishes in Calderdale.
Leadership and the encouragement of others is an important principle to him, as are integrity and accountability.

He would call himself an "optimistic realist", and his belief in the value of Catholic education inspires his service within the College.
Natalie Cullen - Foundation Governor

Natalie Cullen

Foundation Governor


Natalie Cullen worked for over 20 years in the Department of Health supporting the development of Government policies on medicines, surgery and healthcare regulation. In her last civil service post Natalie worked to implement Government reforms on apprenticeships and T-levels in the NHS. Natalie currently works in Health Education England supporting national programmes on medical education and training. She continues to engage in work on apprenticeships and other NHS initiatives which support social mobility and can reduce regional disparities.

Natalie was appointed as a Foundation Governor in 2021 and is a committed Catholic. She is a member of the Curriculum and Standards committee.

Dr Ann Marie Mealey - Foundation Governor

Dr Ann Marie Mealey

Foundation Governor


Dr Ann Marie Mealey (BA.TH. M- ès – Lettres (Paris IV), Ph.D) has recently been appointed to lead a Directorate for Catholic Mission that reports to the executive team at Leeds Trinity University. As the first Director of Catholic Mission at Leeds Trinity University, she hopes to make a positive contribution to the strategic direction of Notre Dame as regards its specific Catholic educational mission and its values. She has over 19 years of experience in multiple roles in HE – from teaching to middle and senior management level roles in Learning and Teaching and Ethics in the public and private sectors. She continues to publish in the fields of teaching and learning and Theology and Ethics, has co-chaired Leeds Citizens and been a national advisor to CAFOD (The Catholic Agency for Overseas Development).

Dr Christine Bosch - Foundation Governor

Dr Christine Bosch

Foundation Governor


Dr Christine Bosch is an Associate Professor in Nutrition at the University of Leeds, School of Food Science and Nutrition in a combined teaching and research role, and with a focus on diet and health. Christine believes it is key to inspire and develop young people to support them finding their strengths and talents to achieve their full potential. She is of the opinion that everyone can make a meaningful contribution, no matter how large or small. She credits her catholic upbringing with helping to shape her behaviour and moral values, including integrity, respect and tolerance towards others.

Matthew DiClemente - Foundation Governor

Matthew DiClemente

Foundation Governor

Matthew DiClemente is a Foundation Governor. He sits on the Finance and Physical resources Committee.


Helen Hayden - Foundation Governor

Helen Hayden

Foundation Governor

Helen Hayden is a Foundation Governor. Her background is in secondary teaching where she spent a number of years teaching Religious Education. Latterly, she was elected as a local Councillor, where she does her best to improve the lot of people in Leeds.


Richard Hall - Staff Governor

Richard Hall

Staff Governor


Richard Hall was appointed as Staff Governor in February 2024. He originally joined the College in May 2017 as the Media and Marketing Technician. In June 2018, Richard rejoined the College and was appointed as the first Marketing Manager. He is committed to helping Notre Dame thrive through his work and is an established and proud ambassador of the College. Richard has many interests including films, gardening, travelling and food.

Denise Hark - Clerk to the Corporation

Denise Hark


Clerk to the Corporation

Denise was appointed as Clerk to the Corporation in January 2024, after having worked for a number of years in governance roles in the maintained sector and in a Further Education College. Her role is to support the governing board by providing independent advice and guidance.


Vacancies

The Board of Governors at the College is seeking Independent Members to join the Board. The right candidates would be motivated, committed and dynamic with the ability and background to help shape the educational character, strategic direction and mission of the College.

The Board of Governors includes people drawn from a range of backgrounds and experiences reflecting the local community. The Board is looking for people able to offer strategic skills and a range of complementary experiences drawn from a business, professional, educational or voluntary sector background.

The role of College Governor is a voluntary position and involves a commitment to attend approximately 4 Corporation meetings per academic year. Governors are encouraged to join at least one of the Board’s committees.

If you are interested in taking up the opportunity to assist in the governance of the College and would like more information, please contact the Clerk to the Corporation at d.hark@notredamecoll.ac.uk



A Guide to the Governing Body

Sixth-form College Corporations (Governing Bodies) have the legal status of statutory corporations and exempt charities. A College is a charitable activity undertaken by its Corporation.

The composition of the Corporation is laid down by the College’s Instrument & Articles of Government. This is a legal document under the terms of the Further and Higher Education Act 1992 and establishes the Governing Body as a legal entity and defines what the Governing Body and the College may do.

The Governing Body (Corporation) has a total of 19 members, each of whom bring their own specific expertise, skills and experience to the role. All Governors give their time voluntarily and have always shown a high level of commitment to both the College itself and its mission.

The Governing Body comprises:

  • 11 Foundation Governors, who are appointed by the Diocese of Leeds
  • 2 Co-opted members selected because of their special expertise or standing in the community or links to the College
  • 2 elected Staff Governor
  • 1 elected Parent Governor
  • 2 elected Student Governors
  • The Principal

The Chair is David Wright.

The Responsibilities of the Governing Body

The key responsibilities of the Governing Body are:

  • To set and communicate the College’s educational mission, vision and quality improvement strategy
  • To hold executive leaders to account for the educational performance and quality of the college and the performance of staff
  • To exercise effective control to ensure that funds and assets are used efficiently, and legal obligations are met
  • To oversee the appointment, grading, suspension, dismissal and the determination of the pay and conditions of the Principal, Vice Principal, Finance Director and the Clerk
  • To set a framework for the pay and conditions of service for all staff
  • To contribute to the leadership of the College in ways which promote the quality of teaching, learning and assessment and raise student achievement. In addition, governors also commit to follow the Nolan 7 principles of public life, which are the ethical standards expected of people in public life: selflessness, integrity, objectivity, accountability, openness, honesty and leadership.
The Roles of Committees

The Governing Body meets at least four times per year. In addition, the following committees undertake detailed work on behalf of the Full Corporation:

  • Audit: has legal powers to investigate all aspects of the internal control and financial systems of the College and employs a firm of auditors.
  • Finance and Physical Resources: oversees the budget, monitors the duties of the Corporation as the employer and manages the resources and the estate.
  • Curriculum and Standards: to support the Board in fulfilling statutory duties relating to curriculum, standards and safeguarding, understanding relevant data, provide a framework for effective self-evaluation, monitoring and evaluation.
  • Human Resources/Search and Governance: the purpose of the Committee is to receive and consider annual reports from the Principal on Human Resources advise the Corporation on the appointment of its members, to advise on the induction, development and training of the Corporation Members, and to provide an oversight to Corporation governance arrangements.


Committee Membership

The Corporation conducts its business through a number of Committees. Each Committee has Terms of Reference which have been approved by the Corporation. These Committees are: Finance and Physical Resources, Human Resources (including Remuneration), Audit, Curriculum and Standards and Search. The Chair of the Corporation is Mr. David Wright and Vice Chair is Mr John Barnes. 

Audit Committee
  • J. Paul Casey (Chair)
  • John Barnes
  • Fr. Michael Hall
HR / Search and Governance Committee
  • David Wright (Chair)
  • John Barnes
  • Justine Barlow (Principal)
  • Graeme Brown
Curriculum & Standards Committee
  • Justine Barlow (Principal)
  • Natalie Cullen
  • Helen Hayden
  • Fr Michael Hall (Chair)
  • David Wright
Finance & Physical Resources Committee
  • David Wright (Chair)
  • Matthew DiClemente
  • Justine Barlow (Principal)
  • Karen Petrillo (Director of Finance)
  • Dr Ann Marie Mealey
  • Dr Christine Bosch

Documents and Calendar

Financial Statements 

Minutes

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