“Governors are committed to helping the school improve. They access appropriate training to ensure that they have the skills required to understand and carry out their statutory duties.”
“Governors’ minutes are of a high quality and reflect a strong focus on ensuring that children and pupils are safe and well cared for.” (Ofsted 2018)
The Role of the Governing Body
Who are we?
There are twelve governors who make up the Governing Body.
Five are parents, two are members of staff, one is a Local Authority governor (Hertfordshire County Council) and four are Community governors (co-opted).
How are we organised?
We have set up two committees to look in detail at what is happening in the school. They are called the School Improvement Committee and the Resources Committee.
The School Improvement Committee looks in particular at Teaching and Learning. We visit the school to see pupils at work and analyse data to see how well pupils are progressing.
The Resources Committee looks at the building and grounds, the staffing levels and the school’s finances, to ensure that money is well-spent and that pupils have a good learning environment.
Governors meet twice a term, in the evening, usually on a Monday. Each meeting lasts about two hours.
The two committees each meet twice a term too, also in the evening, usually on a Tuesday or Wednesday.
In addition we will ensure that the school has an identified Designated Teacher for child
protection, and a nominated governor for child protection.
The designated member of the governing body with responsibility for child protection is
Mr N Radley.
List of Governors
| Name | Category | Term | Attendance at Meetings 2018-19 |
Roles / Responsibilities | Relevant business & Pecuniary interests |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| William Spicer | LEA | Jan 16 – Jan 20 | 5/5 | Chair | None |
| Stuart Dunlop | Co-opted | Jan 18 – Jan 22 | 4/5 | Married to ND | |
| Nicola Dunlop | Co-opted | Jan 18 – Jan 22 | 5/5 | H & S | Married to SD,
Employed at Ashtree |
| Thomas Bell | Parent | Sept 18 – Sept 22 | 4/5 | None | |
| Nicholas Radley | Parent | Jan 19 – Jan 23 | 3/5 | Vice Chair, Safeguarding | None |
| Robert Robertson | Parent | Jan 19 – Jan 23 | 5/5 | None | |
| Marina Stone | Co-opted | Jan 19 – Jan 23 | 3/5 | EYFS | None |
| Elizabeth Kirwan | Headteacher | Ex Officio | 5/5 | None | |
| Governors who have left within the last year | |||||
| Raymond Chinn | Co-opted | Mar 2015 – May 2019 | 6/6 | DVP/PPG, Inclusion, Safeguarding, Community Cohesion. | |
| Katherine Kew | Parent | Feb 2014 – Jul 2019 | 5/8 | Music & Art, IT, Parental Engagement | |
| Jonathan Bish | Parent | Jan 2019 – Jul 2019 | 3/4 | IT, Website. | |
How can you become a Governor?
Initially you can respond to an announcement in the school newsletter that there is a vacancy.
The LEA Governor is appointed by the Governing Body, the parents in the schools vote for the Parent Governors and the Governing Body appoint the Community/Co-opted Governors.
The Staff body elect the Staff Governor.
If you are interested in the idea of becoming a governor, you can contact the Headteacher or Chair of Governors to discuss things further.
What do we do?
The Governing Body is responsible for overseeing the work of the school and ensuring that everything is done properly. We act as a “critical friend” to the Headteacher, reviewing what has been achieved and helping to plan for the future. We investigate complaints against the school.
We take an active role in virtually all appointments of new staff, to ensure that we have the best people possible to work with the pupils.