Governance
The Governing Board
Our Governors come from a range of backgrounds, and bring different areas of expertise to the school. Governors contribute to ensuring high standards of achievement for all children in the school by:
- setting the school’s vision, ethos and strategic direction;
- holding the Headteacher to account for the educational performance of the school and its pupils;
- overseeing the financial performance of the school and making sure its money is well spent.
A Governor’s role is to support and challenge the senior staff to continue to improve the school. It is largely a thinking and questioning role and Governors are not there to manage the school or do the jobs of school staff. Governors fulfill their role by regularly attending Governing Board meetings, providing strategic guidance and by asking probing and challenging questions of leaders within the school. They also undertake visits, serve on relevant committees and oversee the Headteacher’s performance management
Who makes up our Governing Board?
The Wardley CE Primary governing board, chaired by Paul Donovan, consists of 13 governors. These include the headteacher, a staff member, a representative from the local authority, an associate governor, parent, foundation and co-opted governors. Each governor serves a 4 year term of office, with the exception of the headteacher, who always has a position in the governing body.
- Parent Governors who have a child in school at the time of their election, and are elected by parents with children at the school;
- Staff Governors who are members of staff at the school and are elected by their colleagues;
- Foundation Governors who are appointed by Church authorities.
- Co-opted Governors who are appointed on to the governing body by the other members because they come from a specialist group, such as the business community, or because they possess a particular skill which can contribute to the effective governance and success of the school;
- Local authority (LA) governors who are nominated by the local councillor and appointed by the governing board;
- the Headteacher (HT) is also a member of the governing body by right of the position they hold in the school;
- There may also be associate members who are not actually governors but can be appointed to serve on committees and attend meetings of the full governing board. They do not have the right to vote at meetings of the full governing board but may been given voting rights on the committees that they are a member of – these rights can only be given by the governing board.
The structure
Most of the governor's work is carried out at committee meetings. Once a term the full governing board meets which includes every governor who is able to attend.
In addition, the Governing Board has three subcommittees which each meet once a term.These are attended by a smaller number of Governors and are able to make some decisions on the Governing Body’s behalf.They include:
The Management Sub-committee. This committee is responsible for overseeing our school budgets and considering matters related to staffing, premises and safety.
The Pupil Welfare & School Community Sub-committee. This committee is responsible for overseeing our school budgets and considering matters related to staffing, premises and safety.
The School Effectiveness Sub-committee. This committee is responsible for overseeing the intent, implementation and impact of the school’s curriculum.
