What are Governors responsible for?
The governing body is responsible for three main areas as identified by the Department of Education in the Governance Handbook:
- Ensuring clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction.
- Holding the headteacher to account for the educational performance of the school and its pupils, and the performance management of staff.
- Overseeing the financial performance of the school and making sure its money is well spent.
The governing body has several statutory responsibilities, most of them falling within one of these three areas. It is responsible for supporting the school in providing a learning and teaching environment that safeguards children, promotes their well-being and encourages high expectation and achievement, as well as for setting the school’s statutory policies and monitoring them in operation.
The governing body always works in close collaboration with the Headteacher, who is also a governor of the school. The Head is responsible and accountable to the governing body, for the day-to-day management of the school and all operational matters. The Head obtains approval from the governing body for matters of school policy.
The Governing Body has recently gone through a review of our structure and has reduced the number of committees. We now have two committees, HR & Finance and Premises, with more emphasis on smaller working groups and specific themed full governing body meetings – such as reviewing the school’s performance data.
Each governor also takes an interest in at least one area of the school’s work such as special educational needs or safeguarding and curriculum areas like maths or PE. Governors meet with the school leads in these areas, observe lessons and report back to the governing body.
The clerk to the governing body Emma Lynn, arranges (in conjunction with the head and the relevant chairs of committees) the agendas for meetings of the governing body and all its committees and prepares and circulates minutes of all meetings. Emma also circulates training opportunities for governors, and advises governors on legal and procedural matters.
New governors are elected for a four-year period; they are given a buddy and participate in an induction programme. The Local Authority also offer a wide range of induction and training events which all our governors regularly attend.
