Governors

The Governing Body

Who is the Governing Body?

There are 9 individuals who make up the governing body, including one member of staff, who is appointed by the staff, currently Mrs Shaw, and Mr Harrison the headteacher.  Our clerk is Leanne Eaton and our Chair of Governors is Claire Nelson-Boden.   We have two parent governors, who are parents of children at the school at the time of their appointment and who are elected by parents.  The remaining members are co-opted governors, who have been appointed by the governing body.  At present, they have all been or still are parents of children at the school, although this is not a requirement.

Currently, in addition to the governors mentioned above, we have Anna Hague and Julia Buckingham (Co Vice- Chair) as our parent governors and Fran Metcalfe, Sarah Vines, Paula Burlison, Tom Garland (Co Vice-Chair) and Sophie Gilligan as our co-opted governors .  Information about all the governors can be found below.

We recruit when vacancies arise, according to the skills we require in order to carry out our roles effectively.   It is a really rewarding and challenging role.  Governors are appointed for a four-year term.  We are all volunteers.

What does the governing body do?

As an academy within Yorkshire Causeway Schools Trust, our local governing body has been delegated certain powers by the Trust to work with Mr Harrison and his staff team to ensure the success of the school.  We report to the Board of Directors of the Trust.

The job of the governing body is to make sure all pupils in the school achieve high standards by:

• Ensuring clarity of the school’s 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 its staff; and
• Overseeing the financial performance of the school and making sure its money is well spent.

The role of the governing body is best described as a critical friend; providing support and challenge.  Unlike Mr Harrison and his team, who are in school with your children every day, the role of the governors is much more about thinking and questioning. We do however all visit school regularly, to make sure we know the school and also to monitor how the school is performing against the strategic targets we have set.  The Chair usually meets with Mr Harrison every week.  The governing body meets as a whole every half term and there are also committee meetings looking at resources (for example, equipment, staffing, finance) and teaching and learning (the curriculum and the progress of the children).  We have to read quite a lot of paperwork – both about the school and also to keep up to date with what is happening more generally in education across the country.  We act in the interests of all children at the school and always in strictest confidence.

The governing body is separate from the PTA, and is not responsible for fundraising for the school.  However, we do have close links with the PTA and liaise regularly with the Chair of the PTA.

The role of a governor is really interesting and provides a rewarding challenge. If you are interested in becoming a governor, have any questions, or would like to find out a little bit more about who we are and what we do, please get in touch via the office, and one of the governors will contact you.