Governor Information

The Governing Board will operate at all times in accordance with the requirements of the Education Act, the School Governance Regulations, the Local Authorities Scheme for Financing Schools and all relevant legislation and will review Standing Orders at least annually.

In addition to the requirements set out in legislation, the following procedures will apply to the operation of the Governing Board. This document to be read in conjunction with “Positions held in the Governing Board” document.

Outline

The Governing Board works as a ‘whole team’, without any separate committees. It meets 6 times per year, once in each half term. The annual planner and agenda for each meeting will include all the tasks which the Governing Board is required to consider, and the Governing board will ‘commission’ assignments or activities arising from the business of the meeting, which will be recorded in the minutes. Any ‘commissioned’ working groups will have Governing board drafted agreed terms of reference. In addition to ‘commissioning’ activities or actions on their behalf, the Governing board, in order to ensure its core functions are fulfilled, will delegate monitoring responsibilities to ‘monitoring pairs’ or ‘individuals’. These include the statutory required individual roles and those focused on the priorities of the School Plan. In each case where a function has been delegated there is a statutory duty to report any action or recommended decision to the Governing board at the next meeting.

The purpose of governance is to provide confident, strategic leadership and to create robust accountability oversight and assurance for educational and financial performance. The Governing Board has resolved to conduct all its business as a full Governing board, and to work collectively without committees.

The Board has three strategic core functions

· Ensuring clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction;

· Holding Executive and Associate Head Teachers to account for the educational performance of the school / organisation and its pupils, and the performance management of staff;

· Overseeing the financial performance of the school / organisation and making sure its money is well spent.

The main responsibilities to be managed by the Governing board are outlined here.