Governors
Who makes up the governing body?
The Governing Body at Carr Hill Primary & Nursery School is made up of members of the local and school community, all acting on a voluntary basis. We have a mixture of local authority, parent and staff governors as well as members who have been co-opted from the local community. Each member brings a different perspective and sets of skills to the governing body.
Our amended instrument of government (which sets out the size and composition of our governing body) has set the number of governing body members to 14, as follows:
- 3 parent governors(who are elected by parents and carers of children at the school)
- 8 co-opted governors(who are appointed by the governing body based on their skills and experience)
- 1 Local Authority governor(who is nominated by the Local Authority and appointed by the governing body based on his/her skills and experience)
- 1 Staff governor(who is elected by staff at the school)
- 1 Head Teacher (who is a permanent member of the governing body)
Click to view our constitution
Click to view Governor attendance records
Click to view the Governor Financial Statement
Click to view the Financial Benchmarking & Insights Tool for our school.
Who is on the committee groups?
Finance & General Purposes Committee: Anthony Tromans (Committee Chair), Mark Barnett, Janes Gaddes, Rebecca Parker-Edmonston, Doug Bonner, Vanessa Smith & Doug Campbell (HT)
Pupils & Personnel Committee: Mark Barnett (Committee Chair), James Haslam, Anthony Tromans, Janes Gaddes, Rebecca Parker-Edmonston, Vanessa Smith & Doug Campbell (HT)
Strategic Development Committee: Mark Barnett (Committee Chair), James Haslam, Anthony Tromans, Helen Tablyn-Saville, Janes Gaddes, Rebecca Parker-Edmonston, Vanessa Smith & Doug Campbell (HT)
What does the governing body do?
Our governing body are responsible for ensuring that the school is run to promote pupil achievement and well-being and we are constantly striving to make sure every child reaches their full potential.
We provide strategic management, act as critical friends and ensure accountability. We work closely with the headteacher, who is responsible for the day-to-day management of the school.
We are required to have a strong focus on three core strategic functions:
- 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; and
- Overseeing the financial performance of the school and making sure its money is well spent.
When a school is inspected by Ofsted, its governing body will be required to show evidence that governors conform to these three core functions.
In addition to these core functions, our governing body works hard to ensure that we follow a number of key principles:
- Children and young people first
- High expectations for every child
- Outcomes not methods
- Supported autonomy
- Responsive to need and performance
We undertake these responsibilities by attending and contributing to meetings, visiting the school to discuss improvement plans, and ensuring the school complies with statutory legislation.
Governors at Carr Hill give their time to perform a number of different activities:
- attend Full Board Meetings once a term
- attend at least one Committee Meeting (one a term)
- make themselves available for Extraordinary Meetings (e.g. to make appointments, to attend disciplinary hearings, to speak with Ofsted Inspectors etc.) as and when they arise
- visit the school at least twice a year. These visits can be divided into two groups:
- Those which are concerned with Compliance (policy updates, health & safety inspections, safeguarding & SCR checks, website & GDPR, headteacher appraisal & specific funding such as the Pupil Premium grant)
- Those which are focused specifically on School Improvement
Each Governor takes a responsibility for one of these Compliance areas.
School Improvement Visits focus on specific improvement targets identified in the School’s Evaluation For (SEF) and School Improvement Plan (SIP).
How do I become a governor?
From time to time the governing body has a vacancy for a parent governor and we look for parents who have children at the school. The term ‘parent’ relates to any person who has ‘parental responsibility’, as defined by the Section 576 of the Education Act 1996. If you have any queries about your eligibility as a parent, please contact the headteacher for further advice.
We are always looking for parents who have the skills required to contribute to effective governance and the success of the school. Your skills may include personal attributes, qualities and capabilities, such as the ability and willingness to learn and develop new skills as well as skills you may have obtained through your work or previous life experience. Governors need a strong commitment to the role and to improving outcomes for children, the inquisitiveness to question and analyse, and the willingness to learn.
As an effective governing body, we seek to secure or develop within our membership as a whole, expertise and experience in:
- analysing performance data
- budgeting and driving financial efficiency
- performance management and employment issues, including grievances
We seek to recruit and/or develop governors with the skills to work constructively in committees, chair meetings and to lead the governing body.
Our parent governors serve a four-year term of office (even if your child leaves the school during this time).
We offer a full induction package, a mentoring system and availability of in-house, central and on-line training packages. We also offer the opportunity for prospective governors to meet the chair/vice chair/other governors to discuss the role/attend a governing body meeting as an observer before completing a nomination form.
Parents/carers from Black and Minority Ethnic backgrounds, from the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender community, and with disabilities, are usually under-represented on governing bodies and in the County. The school would like to encourage nominations from under-represented groups in our community.
If you are interested in joining our team, please make contact with the school for an informal discussion.
Click to view further information via the NGA website.
Minutes of governor body and committee meetings are available on request to the School Office or Chair of Governors
Being a Governor – Q & A session with a former Co-opted Governor (Ben Wieglus)
Why do you feel it is important to get involved in education and what persuaded you to become a governor?
I think the most important thing for me is the sense of aspiration that education can create. Of course this includes reading, writing and mathematics but it also comes from the practical and emotional education that great schools can provide. Even more so, it’s there for them to get involved with, no matter what their passions and interests are. I wanted to be part of that.
Please describe your first impressions and how you were welcomed.
Carr Hill is a large primary school that I was instantly impressed with on my first visit because the pupils were so engaged, welcoming and respectful of the teachers and the learning they were providing. Every time I walk in the doors it feels like the school has energy, but that it’s directed towards helping all the kids succeed in life.
Please describe the benefits that you gain, as an individual, from being a school governor?
Volunteering as part of the governing body allows me to use my skills and experience to help the school run successfully. By bringing my business experience to help, this frees up teachers and school leadership to focus on what they do best – education. I’m also very proud to have helped make the school greener and more sustainable. This gives me a lot of satisfaction as well as helps me get to know more people from the community.
Have you received any training? If so, how have you found it and how flexible is it?
I have received several rounds of training to help me with some of the more technical aspects of governing. This has been both onsite and online. There’s also lots of resources I can look into if I want to study up on anything I want to know more about.
How long do you spend on governor duties each month and how often do you attend meetings?
Being a Governor is very flexible and you can get involved with a lot if you want, or focus on just the core aspects of the role. I attend about 6 meetings a year as well as do a half day school visit as part of my link to particular subjects. Outside of that, I took on a special project to get solar panels installed on the school – that took several days over a year but it was my choice to do it as it was something I was passionate about and the Governing body supported me in doing it.
What challenges have you faced and how do you feel your skills from the world of work have helped you as a school governor?
One of the biggest challenges has been inspections and visits. My experience from business allowed me to work well with the Government inspectors and help ensure the school gets the best outcome possible from County Council inspectors. My experience with finances has also allowed me to help look for opportunities to invest to save the school money in the long run. In return, my experience has a governor has been invaluable in helping me learn how to work with a wider range of people in a non-hierarchical structure.
