Governors

Main Duties

Our role as Governors is to work together by sharing our individual perspectives, time and expertise. This enables us to provide practical assistance, advice and enquiry in order to create and achieve a vision for the school that meets the needs of its pupils and society. Main duties require us to support the head teacher in all endeavours to gain success. This is achieved by focusing on three core strategic functions:

Ensuring clarity and delivery of the school vision by engaging with vision creation, direction and implementation. Assisting the school realise that vision through monitoring the school’s Christian ethos, teaching and learning achievements
Holding the school accountable for the educational performance of the school and its pupils as well as the performance management of the staff.
Overseeing the financial performance of the school and reviewing the school building and premises standards.
As we are a voluntary aided church school, most of our governors are appointed by the Church. In addition we have three elected parent governors and a local authority governor. As governors we are proud to support the school within the St Margarets’ Community, celebrating its considerable successes and good name.

To be an effective governor requires an active engagement with all aspects of school life. This enables us to appreciate and understand in detail the workings of the school. By visiting the school regularly and taking time to affirm our partnership with the school, in understanding the roles and responsibilities of the head teacher, senior management and all staff in their work with the pupils, we are active participants in helping the school succeed. We act as representatives of the community and serve as a ‘critical friend’ of the school by providing advice and support. In doing so, we are able to challenge and provide oversight to assist shape the necessary outcomes. For example, we are actively engaged in understanding and reviewing the school’s educational performance data thus becoming satisfied that related actions are being undertaken. Our governing body has access to good, timely data allowing us to know the questions we need to ask in order to provide challenge, strengthen the school leadership, and answer any questions asked of ourselves.

Governors are also audited through Ofsted which has published the criteria that inspectors will use to judge the effectiveness of a school’s governance section. These criteria are consistent with the core functions of governing bodies focusing on an ability to carry out our statutory duties, such as safeguarding, and understand the boundaries of our roles as governors, clarity of vision and alignment on school targets and objectives. In every inspection report, inspectors will comment on the quality of governance as part of their overall judgement on the quality of the school’s leadership and management. We therefore work as a united committee to be the best we can be in supporting the school.

Strategic Support -Strategic Objective

With the School leadership team, the Governors are assisting in successfully delivering the 5 year vision which identifies specific key objectives:-

• To become a Teaching School – providing an outstanding learning and teaching model for other schools/new teachers
• Deliver a curriculum in line with NC with opportunities that extend, excite and stimulate children with a deep conceptual understanding
• Children represent school in all areas in different projects – exceeding and leading
• Leading innovative research through projects in either UK or abroad
• Children are happy and safe with outstanding pastoral support, including with mental health
• Children understand their place in the world and their role in providing a happy, safe environment in school, in the community and across the world
• Children are independent, though also know where to seek help
• All children make at least outstanding progress – vulnerable children supported to attain. Close any specific gaps PP/ SEN/ girls in maths/ boys in reading
• All children at end of KS1 can read at 2c
• All children at the end of KS2 can read at least 4c and are able to access secondary school curriculum
• All children attain non negotiables [ English / Maths]
• All staff [including support] to have up to date training / subject knowledge so they can deliver an effective curriculum
• Middle leaders are effectively raising standards in area of the curriculum through providing support to other staff, specific training, ensuring coverage and hold high expectations
• The school’s environment is well- organised and accessible
• School’s display reflects an exciting, vibrant and relevant curriculum within a Christian framework
• Children’s behaviour and appearance are consistently outstanding

Governing Body Committee and Sub Committees

There is a full Governing Body meeting at least once a term. The formal minutes of these meetings are made available on this website following their approval. The full Governing Body meetings are structured through an agenda that allows the committee to review all aspects of the school’s performance, outcomes and operations.

In addition, Sub-Committee meetings are held each term to formally review and progress the strategic development of the school. These meetings are chaired, recorded through minutes and presented at the Full Governing Body meeting. Sub-committee groups are structured as follows:

• Admissions - Dedicated to the monitoring of admissions and dealing with appeals
• Teaching, Learning and Curriculum - Focuses on how the school delivers the National Curriculum. 
• Ethos and Community - Dedicated to the specific ethos of the school and the wider vision for the school and the relationships between school-based communities.
• Finance and Premises - Focuses on statutory financial compliance, expenditure and capital investment
• Governance
• Pay & Personnel - Involving pay and performance of school staff including the leadership team
• Safeguarding Oversight - Overall Purpose to support the Full Governing Body in carrying out its strategic leadership role by ensuring that the combined oversight and monitoring activity of the Safeguarding Governor covers the aspects outlined in the most recent version of KCSIE.

Continuous Improvement through observation

A critical supporting role is administered through ‘Monitoring’ or ‘Observation’ which means gathering evidence to show what progress has been made towards strategic priorities and targets and the implementation of agreed policies within the school. This relates to all aspects of school life including teaching and learning, ethos, pupil wellbeing, social activity, school management etc.  This allows the Governors to evaluate the recorded outcomes which means making judgements about the results; striving for continuous improvement. Monitoring is a key aspect of the governors’ strategic support; it is necessary so that governing bodies can carry out their strategic function effectively, and is central to their role as a critical friend.

Governors participate and facilitate specific workshops with the School Leadership to support as best possible in the direction of the School Development Plan.

To contact the Governors please email:  clerktogovernors@st-stephens.richmond.sch.uk

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