Governance & Stewardship

St Paul’s British Primary School

The school is lead by the Headteacher who is fully responsible for delivering the curriculum, managing the staff and for all matters relating to the health, safety and protection of the children. In every sense the Headteacher is the “chief executive” of the school.

St Paul’s British Primary School NV

An NV is a Naamloze Vennootschap which is the Dutch term for a Limited Liability Company. St Paul’s British Primary School NV owns all of the land, buildings and financial assets. It is the employer of the school staff.

St Paul’s British Primary School Foundation

99.2% of all the shares in the NV are owned by the St Paul’s British Primary School Foundation. The Foundation is established under Belgian law as a not-for-profit charitable trust. The Foundation has a Board of Directors and it is a requirement in the statutes of the Foundation that all Board Members are in good standing with St Paul’s Church, Tervuren.

The remaining 0.8% of the shares are owned by two private individuals who have made clear to the Board that they do not wish to derive any financial gain from owning these shares.

Relationship with St Paul’s Church, Tervuren

Relations between the school and the Church were always warm. In 1989 when St Paul’s Church first met in Vossem the Sunday School met in British Primary (in Building No.6). In 2006 the relationship became much stronger as members of St Paul’s Church became involved in the ownership and management of the school. In 2007 the school was renamed St Paul’s British Primary School. Today, and for the future, the relationship is based on the same principles as with the Church of England Primary Schools in the UK.

“C of E” Primary Schools, as they are known, represent around a quarter of all the primary schools in England and have a well-deserved reputation for outstanding pastoral care and excellence in education. Each has a close relationship with its local Anglican church.

The main principles for the relationship are:

that the school offers an excellent education across the entire curriculum
that the school offers outstanding pastoral care for children and their families
that the school provides an opportunity for children to learn about Christianity by including RE in the core curriculum of the school
that there is a weekly school Assembly which is Christian in nature
that the Church community supports the school in prayerful, pastoral and practical ways
that the Church provides an opportunity for those children and families who wish to do so, to go much more deeply into developing their own Christian faith.
At St Paul’s British Primary School we welcome children of all nationalities, cultures and faiths. We do not require staff, parents or children to be members of St Paul’s Church. This is a decision which each family makes for themselves.

The only requirement is that the Headteacher of St Paul’s British Primary School and the Board of Directors of the St Paul’s British Primary School Foundation are individuals who are in good standing with the church.

Key Positions and People

Headteacher: Brett Neilson
Chair of the Board of the Foundation: Chris Edwards, who is also Chaplain of St Paul’s Church
Executive Director of the NV: Roger Morgan, who is also a Member of the Board of the Foundation, a member of the Executive Committee and acts as part-time Bursar (Finance Director) for the school
Executive Director of the NV: Chris Start, who is also a Member of the Board of the Foundation, a member of the Executive Committee and acts as part-time Admissions Director for the school
Other Members of the Board of the Foundation:Tim Berkley, Alan Jolley