WHAT DO THE GOVERNORS DO?

Although the Head Teacher manages the school from day to day, it is the Governing Body that is legally responsible for the school and who work together to make decisions which are in the best interest of the children. The people that sit on the Governing Body are called Governors, and together they are accountable to parents, the local community and the Local Authority for the performance of the school.

The Governing Body:

• ensures clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction
• holds the Head Teacher to account for the educational performance of the school and its pupils
• oversees the financial performance of the school and to ensure the budget is well spent

Some Governors are appointed by the Local Authority and some are co-opted to ensure the Governing Body has the right balance of skills and experience. There are also staff governors, elected by the staff, and parent governors, elected from parents of children in the school. Governors sit on the Governing Body for set lengths of time. If they wish to continue as a governor, parent and staff governors need to be re-elected when their term expires.

WHAT’S THE COMMITMENT?
There are 6 meetings per year – Full Governing Body meets three times a year, towards the end of the second half of each term. The Finance and Staffing Committee meets towards the end of the first half of each term. Meetings usually last around an hour and a half.

Each governor takes on a specific responsibility as a “link governor” for a particular area. These areas are things like safeguarding, Special Education Needs, Health and Safety and so on. All governors also try to fit in visits to school to look at their link areas, observe aspects of school life and performance and report on these to the headteacher and Governing Body. Governors are also encouraged to attend events such as Christmas performances, Summer Fayres etc.

There is a good deal of commitment in taking on a governor role but you would be working for the common good of West Lane and providing the basis to ensure our children can be the best they can be. Governors are given help, support and training Local Authority’s Governor Support Service to make sure they can carry out their role effectively.

You can see membership of Full Governing Body here: FGB Membership and the attendance records for Full Governing Body meetings here: FGB Attendance. You can also see the membership for the Committees here: Committee Membership and the attendance record for Committees meetings here: Committees Attendance.

The latest Register of Pecuniary Interests can be viewed here: Govs Register Interests Autumn22 and the Terms of Reference for Committees is here: ToR for Committees Sep 22.