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Governors Page

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Mr Paul Birbeck ...............................Head

Dr Spencer Watts.............................Teacher Governor..................... (19.09.08)

Mr Mark Lees.....................................Teacher Governor......................(31.12.11)

Mrs Flo Montgomery.........................Support Staff Governor.............(31.08.08)

Mr Andrew Shearman.......................Parent Governor........................(14.09.08)

Mr Chris Baronowski........................Parent Governor........................Resigned 03.07.2008

Mrs Elaine Cope................................LA Governor...............................(23.08.10)

Mr Ian Barber.....................................Parent Governor.........................(31.08.08)

Mrs Paula Green...............................Parent Governor.........................(09.09.10)

Mr Martin Webber ..............................LA Governor................................(20.06.09)
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Mr Nigel Corbett.................................LA Governor................................(11.11.11)

Mr Ian Munro.......................................LA Governor................................(20.09.11)

Mrs Ginny Davies...............................Community..................................(31.08.10)

Mr Kevin Hamilton..............................Community..................................(18.09.10)

Mr Roger Swann.................................Community..................................(16.05.10)

Mrs Hayley Sumption..........................Parent Governor.........................(02.08.09)

Mr Angus Thompson...........................Parent Governor......................... Resigned 27.6.2008

Mrs Rachel Hope.................................Parent Governor.........................(01.10.11)

The Role of The Parent Governor

1.1 Parent governors are either 'elected' (via an election process involving all the parents in the school) or if insufficient parents stand in the elections, 'appointed' by the governing body.

1.2 Whether you are 'elected' or 'appointed' as a parent governor, you are not a delegate.
You are not expected to collect the views and opinions of all parents in order to be mandated on how to vote on each governing body decision. In other words you put forward your own views rather than acting on behalf of the parent body ('one parent view' rather than 'the view from the playground').

1.3 You are likely to be in closer contact and more frequent communication with parents at the school than most other governors. You will therefore be in a good position to reflect back parental reactions to policy decisions to your fellow governors and to the Headteacher.

1.4 As a parent governor you will need to have the best interests of all the children at the forefront of your thinking. You must NOT let your personal loyalties and concerns for your own child(ren) colour your judgement. Governor activities are not opportunities to raise issues relating to your own child.

1.5 You have the same status as any other governor and can take part in any discussion, unless of course you have a personal or financial interest. In these cases there is a conflict of interest and you must withdraw.

1.6 Like all governors, you are bound by the same rules of confidentiality (respecting the absolute confidentiality of sensitive issues and the general duty not to divulge an individual governor's standpoint) and corporate responsibility (accepting and supporting a team decision even if you personally feel strongly opposed to it). You are responsible to the Chair of Governors regarding this issue.

1.7 You can play a vital two-way communication role: as an ambassador for the school, informing and reassuring parents about the outcome of debates and governing body decisions, and in turn informing your fellow governors about parental reactions to such decisions.

1.8 You do not have to stand down when your child leaves the school; once elected you can complete your four year term of office.

1.9 If a parent does complain to you, your first question should be, 'have you spoken about this to the class teacher and/or the Headteacher?'. You are not an advocate for parents who complain. You should never champion one individual complainant's cause, however worthy.

1.10 You need to be open minded, diplomatic, discreet, committed to teamwork and be a good communicator.

1.11 You will need to remind yourself that in the governing body you are wearing a governor's hat, not a parent's hat, ie you want the best for the whole school, not just your child.

The Role of The Staff Governor

1.0 All governors have the same status and share responsibility for the corporate decisions taken by the governing body. However there are some restrictions and special roles assigned to you as a staff governor:

1.1 You are not a delegate or a 'shop steward' - in other words you put forward your views as an individual member of the support staff rather than taking 'instructions' from your colleagues.

1.2 You do, however, have a representative role. You have been elected by your colleagues to make sure that the views of support staff are heard in the important decisions taken by the governing body.

1.3 You have the same responsibility as other governors to respect the confidentiality of the discussions and the corporate decisions made by the governing body. This is particularly important when budget difficulties or a proposed reorganisation within the school may have a direct bearing on your colleagues. You should report the outcomes, not the details of actual debates. Avoid personalising issues: this is part of being loyal to the governing body.

1.4 You cannot act as chair or vice chair of the full governing body, nor can you chair meetings of Committees with decision making powers.

1.5 You may have valuable insights in relation to how the curriculum is delivered and how school policies (such as AEN, Health and Safety, Behaviour, or Equal Opportunities) are drawn up, implemented and reviewed in the school. It would be useful therefore for you to make occasional presentations (in conjunction with the Head and/or Teacher Governor) to the governing body on these topics, and to be an active member of committees such as Curriculum and Finance;

1.6 It may not be appropriate for you to be a permanent member of any Committee where there is a frequent conflict of interest between your role as governor and your status as an employee of the school. This would include the Pay Committee; Appeals Committee; and Staff Disciplinary and Capability, Student Discipline and Complaints Committee.

1.7 You are entitled, like any employee, to 'reasonable time off' to carry out your work as a governor (to take part in appointment panels, to visit other areas of the school, etc). You will need to secure the agreement of your Headteacher and Chair of Governors as to what is regarded as 'reasonable' time off, or time off in lieu for attending INSET days with other governors

1.8 You should not act as an advocate: if another member of the support staff has a particular concern or grievance he or she should raise it with the Headteacher or in a staff meeting, not ask you to raise it on their behalf with the governing body;

1.9 You must withdraw from any discussion by the governors of the salary or appraisal of an employee of the school or any discussion where you have a personal interest 'greater than the generality of staff in the school' (for example discussion of a promotion from which you stand to benefit)

1.10 You have the right to take part in all the duties of a governor. However, like all other governors, you cannot be involved in any decision from which you personally or your close family stand to benefit;

1.11 You should give strong and explicit support to the Head and Teacher Governor when it is appropriate - for example when you know from your own experience how important it will be to introduce a particular policy or initiative;

1.12 Owing to the requirement for you to withdraw from certain personnel discussions which would limit your involvement, it is not appropriate for you to be a member of the Personnel Committee. However, you should be involved with other governors in making Headship appointments.

1.13 You need to have clear lines of communication with the teacher governor and Headteacher. It would be helpful to meet prior to the governing body meeting, to agree on how any controversial matters or school performance/pupil achievement is going to be reported. Never drop an unexpected bombshell in a discussion! Agree with the Headteacher how you will handle disagreements about issues, before they reach the governing body

1.14 You need to have clear lines of communication with all support staff colleagues in the school, full and part time. This might include, for example, circulating the agenda and minutes among support staff (or ensuring that they are posted up on a notice board); seeking staff views on major issues; and agreeing with the Headteacher how you will report, accurately and responsibly, back to colleagues;

1.15 You have an important role to play in establishing 'ground rules' about governors visiting the school and in building bridges between staff and governors through open evenings, INSET days or social events

1.16 You need to be open-minded, diplomatic, committed to teamwork, a good communicator and conscious of the importance of confidentiality. Back to top

Parent Governor Guidelines

The Role of the Teacher Governor

All governors have the same status and share responsibility for the corporate decisions taken by the governing body. However there are some restrictions and special roles assigned to you as a teacher governor:

1.1 You bring valuable, specialist, professional knowledge to the governing body;

1.2 You should be actively involved in informing governors about the way in which the curriculum is delivered eg through taking a leading role in the Curriculum Committee/Working Party or making presentations about curriculum initiatives to the whole governing body;

1.3 You need to have clear lines of communication with the Headteacher. It would be helpful to meet prior to the governing body, to agree on how school performance/pupil achievement is going to be reported. Agree with the Headteacher how you will handle disagreements about issues, before they reach the governing body;

1.4 You need to have clear lines of communication with colleagues in the staff room: circulate the agenda and minutes among staff; seek staff views on major issues; agree with the Headteacher how you will report back to colleagues

1.5 You have the same rights and status as other governors and you are bound by the same rules of confidentiality and corporate responsibility. This is particularly important when budget difficulties or a proposed reorganisation within the school may have a direct bearing on your colleagues;

1.6 You cannot act as chair or vice chair of a governors meeting or committee;

1.7 You must withdraw from any discussion by the governors of the salary or appraisal of an employee of the school or any discussion which may directly or indirectly benefit you personally (eg discussion of a promotion from which you stand to benefit) more than the other staff in general;

1.8 You are not a delegate or 'shop steward', mandated by your colleagues to put forward their specific views, nor should not act as an advocate: if another member of the teaching staff has a particular concern or grievance he or she should raise it with the Headteacher or in a staff meeting, not ask you to raise it on their behalf with the governing body. However, you are a teacher and therefore can put forward a representative view (the 'view from the classroom' not the 'view from the staff room').

1.9 You should give strong and explicit support to the Head and Staff Governor when it is appropriate - for example when you know from your own experience how important it will be to introduce a particular policy or initiative;

1.10 You will be required to withdraw from certain personnel discussions which will limit your involvement, and therefore it is not appropriate for you to be a member of the Personnel Committee. However, you should be involved with other governors in making Headship appointments;

1.11 It may not be appropriate for you to be a permanent member of any Committee where there is a frequent conflict of interest between your role as governor and your status as an employee of the school. This would include the Pay Committee; Appeals Committee; and Staff Disciplinary and Capability, Student Discipline and Complaints Committee.

1.12 You should report outcomes of the governors meeting, not details of the actual debates;

1.13 With the Headteacher you are in the best position to guide governors in adopting and drawing up appropriate school curriculum policies;

1.14 You have an important role to play in establishing agreed rules about Link Governors visiting the school;

1.15 You are entitled, like any employee, to 'reasonable time off' to carry out your work as a governor (to take part in appointment panels, to visit other areas of the school, etc). You will need to secure the agreement of your Headteacher and Chair of Governors as to what is regarded as 'reasonable' time off, or time off in lieu for attending INSET days with other governors

1.16 You need to be open-minded, diplomatic, committed to teamwork, a good communicator and conscious of the importance of confidentiality.

Further information relating to School Governors may be found at the following web sites(Click on the links to enter the sites):
www.dfes.gov.uk/governor - School Governor Centre
www.governyourschool.co.uk Govern Your School Website
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Staff Governor Guidelines

Please click on the icon below for the 2006 Governors Annual Report.
Please note however that this file may take up to a minute to download depending on the speed of your modem.

Please click on the icon below for a copy of the Governors Handbook.
Please note however that this file may take up to a minute to download depending on the speed of your modem. Back to top