Governors

Our Governors are the group of people who give their time freely, and as a governing body has corporate responsibility for the effectiveness of the school. They employ the staff, and meet regularly to make important decisions along with the head, Mrs Hogarth.  We are grateful for their support.

Our Governors are:

Mrs. J Clements (Chairperson, designated SEN Governor, Safer Recruitment &  Foundation Governor (appointed by the Diocese))
Appointed 25th July 2022, Term of Office ends 24th July 2026.

I am a retired primary school teacher. I attended St William's myself, as did my children and now my grandchildren so my association with the school goes back over sixty years! As you can imagine, I have a deep personal interest in the continued success of the school and can use my experience in education to help and support the present governors.  I have been a foundation governor for around twenty-five years and Chair of the governing body for the last three. I also hear readers and help with hymn practice! I really enjoy getting to know each new group of children as they pass through our school. 

Mrs. Clements is not a governor of another school and does not have a declared business interest.

Mr. G Power (Vice Chairperosn, Foundation Governor (appointed by the Diocese))
Appointed 29th July 2022, Term of Office ends 28th July 2026.

Mr. Power is not a governor of another school and does not have a declared business interest.

Fr P Embery (Parish Priest (appointed by the Diocese))
Appointed 25th March 2022, Term of Office ends 25th March 2026.

Father Embery is a governor of another school within BEBCMAT and does not have a declared business interest.

Mr. C. Billingsley Foundation Governor

Appointed 5th March 2021. Term of office ends 5th March 2025

My name is Carl Billingsley and I’m one of the foundation governors, appointed by the diocese, here at the FANTASTIC St Williams school. I am a practicing Catholic at a neighbouring Parish in Garstang. 

I’m married, have 3 children and work for The Food Standards Agency. In between being a taxi for our three children, I enjoy walking with our Jack Russell dog Luna.

Mr. Billingsley is not a governor of another school and does not have any interests to declare.

Ms. J. Doherty Foundation Governor 

Appointed 18th June 2021. Term of office ends 18th June 2025

My name is Janet Doherty and I am a foundation governor.

I have lived in Pilling for over 30 years and my 2 daughters went to St William's as little girls.

They are now fully fledged adults with children of their own.

I work for Lancashire library service and have the responsibility for 12 libraries spread far and wide, a job I love as I have a passion for reading and sharing that with others.

As part of my governing role I come to school on a Friday afternoon to read to children and in all honesty, it is one of the highlights of my week.

Outside work, as well as reading, I love to spend time with family and friends, I enjoying running and walking in the great outdoors as well as camping and going to music festivals.

Why did I want to be a governor? I wanted to give something back to a school which played a critical role in my daughters' formative years.

Mrs. Victoria Van Winkelen-  Foundation Governor

Appointed 1st April 2024 - Term of office ends 1st April 2028

My name is Vicky and my children Annabella and Jacob attend St Williams. I live in Catterall. I attended St Williams as a child and loved the school. My children enjoy it too. I am Catholic and love to attend St Williams church and St Mary & Michael’s church in Garstang on a weekly basis with my family.

I really enjoy volunteering at the school, helping to take the children swimming and on school trips when they need extra staff. I also love to help out with listening to reception and class one with their reading on a weekly basis.

In my spare time I enjoy keeping fit and going to the gym. I also really enjoy volunteering at my local rainbow group and spending time with my family.

Mr. Andy Lang (Parent Governor (appointed by parents of the school))
Appointed 23rd January 2023, Term of Office ends 22nd January 2027.

I’m a family man that loves to stay active, loves the outdoors and love the work I do!

I’m from Manchester originally and moved to the area 3yrs ago (2021) and after panicking for the first few months (….what have we done!) we have fallen in love with the area and our forever home.

I stay active by going to the gym, walking, playing football and keeping up with Maisie & Ralphie.

And for work; I have a few different businesses that keep me really busy but I’m very lucky to enjoy the work I do and see it as a passion rather than a job

 When we moved to the area it was really important to us that we found a catholic school for our children to attend. From the first ever visit to St Williams & Sparklers Nursery, it was clear this would be a great environment for our children to learn and grow.

Maisie & Ralphie are both big characters and we can see the positive impacts of the nurturing they get here at St Williams

 Firstly, I’m not the kind of person that likes to sit on the sidelines so whenever I go somewhere, I like to get involved and help where possible! So when the opportunity came to join the school governors, I jumped at the chance to help and have input to the schools structure and progress. I’m still learning (a lot!) about what that involves, so I’m hoping I can start to add some real value over the coming months

Mr. Lang is not a governor of another school and does not have any interests to declare.

Mrs. Kelly Winstanley (Parent Governor (appointed by parents of the school))
Appointed 23rd January 2023, Term of Office ends 22nd January 2027. 

I am a parent Governor.

We moved from Manchester to Preesall in 2018 and chose St Williams for two of our boys, one of the best decisions we ever made. They were immediately embraced by the St Williams family and they settled in quickly making new friends and thriving in their education. As keyworkers during the Pandemic we were lucky that the boys were able to still go into school, becoming a Governor felt like giving something back to the staff and children at the school.

I am an Occupational Therapist by trade and have worked in mental health services for over 25 years, the majority of this for the NHS. I now work for a national mental health charity and a large aspect of my role focuses on best practice initiatives, national policy, compliance and quality measures. Thankfully this experience has helped me in my Governor role as there are lots of similarities between OFSTED and health care standards monitoring.

With three Sons I was destined to be a football Mum and I’m often found on the sideline on a Saturday morning or Sunday afternoon. We have three dogs so we spend lots of time on walks. We love our holidays and Cyprus is one of our favourite places to visit because my Mum lives there, so it feels like a second home to us.

Mrs. Winstanley is not a governor of another school and does not have a declared interest. 

Mrs. P. Houghton (Staff Governor (appointed by staff of the school))
Appointed 11th May 2017, Term off Office ends 11th May 2025. 

I am a mum of four, who have all now grown up and left home, I have 2 beautiful grandchildren who I love to spend time with. 

I have worked at St William's, either as a volunteer, or a teaching assistant for 29 years and have seen many changes throughout that time. It has been my pleasure to support the school in all these changes, both as an employee and as a governor. It is amazing to see the school as it goes from strength to strength and becoming more involved in community life and representing our school at numerous events.

I have a keen interest in horses and you will often find my ringside plaiting the manes of our beautiful creatures. I am also an keen baker, staff at school report that my lemon cake is legendary- it can often be tasted at school events as well! 

Mrs. Houghton is not a governor of another school and does not have a declared business interest.

The Director for Primary Education is Amanda Stinger

If you wish to contact the Governing Body please write to; The Chair of Governors, C/O Saint William's Catholic Primary School, Garstang Road, Pilling, PR3 6AL.