Governor Impact Statement

The Composition of the Governing Board

Our Board of Governors is made up from parents, the community, staff and the local authority (LA). Some governors are elected and other governors are appointed. However all governors are responsible as a corporate body to all stakeholders: parents, the children, the staff, the community and the L.A. Governors are all volunteers and are not paid for their work.

Our Governing Board consists of:

Headteacher

7 Co-opted governors

3 parent governors

1 Local Authority Governor

1 staff governor

We currently have a vacancy for a Parent Governor on the Governing Board. Further details have been shared on our weekly newsletter.

Governing Board Meetings and Attendance

The full governing board meets three times a year: all meetings are clerked by a trained professional. Our two sub-committees also meet three times a year as described above. Governors have excellent attendance even though they all have busy working lives. Apologies for non-attendance are considered on an individual basis; governors are aware through the code of conduct that non-attendance, which includes apologies not being accepted, will result in the removal of a governor six months from the first date of non-attendance, unless there are exceptional circumstances. 

The main roles of a Governor are:

1.To provide a strategic view- To help with school improvement so that pupils learn effectively

2. To act as a “critical friend”- To provide the head teacher and staff with support. “Critical means asking questions to monitor the school’s effectiveness. “Friend” means that governors support the staff and the school.

3. To ensure accountability – The Board of Governors is responsible for ensuring high quality education for all pupils. Governors are accountable for the school’s performance.

Some of the things expected of governors include:


Promoting high standards of achievement


Planning the school’s long-term future


Setting the school’s aims, values and ethos


Budgetary allocation and control


Appointing senior staff

The Work that Governors have done on our Committees and on the Governing Board

Governors have worked closely with the school, meeting regularly to review targets and monitor progress against the School Development Plan (SDP) in order to improve outcomes. Governors take part in termly whole school learning walks focussing on the impact of the SDP. The outcomes of these are minuted through the termly Development Committee Meetings.

Governors continue to monitor the school finances on a regularly basis to ensure that they continue to be robust in the light of national funding shortfalls. Governors have made recommendations on staffing structure, with particular regard to teaching assistant staffing to ensure sufficient pupil support is in place. Performance Management of staff has been closely monitored and presented to the selected Performance Management governors. 

The Safeguarding Governor has worked alongside the Headteacher in submitting the school’s most recent Safeguarding Audit carried out by the LEA. This has been presented to, and discussed with, Governors.

The quality of Teaching and Learning is monitored by the Development Committee with the whole Governing Board being invited to take part in termly learning walks. All governors are allocated a subject and are linked to the subject leader. Each term governor receive fa subject report from staff and termly meetings take place between governors and staff to challenge issues whilst also supporting needs. Termly reports are then shared with the Development committee.

Our SEND Governor meets on a termly basis with the SENDCO and termly reports are then presented to the full Governing Board. 

Our Pupil Voice Governor meets with pupils on a termly basis - this includes member of our School Council, Eco Club,Thomson Team and Events Committee.

The progress of Pupil Premium Grant (PPG) pupils is also monitored by the Development Committee who receive reports on standards from our school PPG lead. Questions and challenge are raised through out termly committee meetings. 

Governors have continued to support events wherever possible. Supporting staff and pupils at such events as our Summer Fayre, David Thomson Day (our former Chair of Governors who sadly passed away) and Cream Tea afternoons.

Each Governor is assigned a role and responsibility relating to a specific area of the curriculum such as Literacy, SEND, Science etc and have made themselves aware of the day to day operations within the school. 

Governors have regular access to training, including keeping up to date with safeguarding and a number of leadership courses/briefings.

Governors have worked hard alongside staff to improve outcomes for pupils and to achieve our ambitious targets for the school and will continue to challenge in all areas to ensure this happens.

Meet Our Governors...

Claire Holmes

Chair of Governors.

Co-opted Governor. 

SEND and Mental Health Governor

Named Prevent Governor

Peter Raspin

Vice Chair, Local Authority Governor. Has a background in Industry. Peter has a declared interest as he is also the Chair of Governors at Melior Academy.

Science and ICT Governor

Gemma Campbell 

Co-Opted Governor.

MFL, LAC/PPG and safeguarding/e-safety Governor

Has a background in accounting.

Elaine Butterfield

Co-opted Governor. Member of Forest School teaching staff.

Literacy and History Governor

Gill Carpenter

Staff Governor. Works as a TA in school and has previous experience in Finance.

David Colecchia

Co-opted governor - recently retired from the Steel industry.

Literacy Governor

Tracey Hawkins

Co-opted Governor - was previously a teaching assistant at our school.

PE Governor and Sports Strategy Governor

 Denise Horsewood 

Mrs Horsewood is a co-opted governor and a retired primary school teacher.

PSHE and RE Governor

Catherine Norfolk

I am a Parent Governor and I work in the optical profession as a dispensing optician.

Geography and DT Governor

Mr Thomson

Maths Governor

What is it like being a governor?

Written by Claire Holmes who was a Parent Governor at the time of writing - Claire is now a coopted governor and our Chair of Governors)

Being a parent governor wasn’t nearly as daunting as I had first thought and I was made to feel very welcome. I enjoy being a governor and being involved in my children’s school. I am also a parent volunteer. I’ve found it beneficial volunteering in school one morning a week to see first-hand how a regular school day works.

As a governor, you are expected to attend three main governing body meetings a year (one every term), usually on a Tuesday and they last no more than two hours. These involve reviewing data and policies, agreeing objectives as part of the School Development Plan and any items for discussion or approval such as staffing, budget and Pupil Premium Grant allocation. We are encouraged and expected to challenge any items on the agenda to ensure every outcome impacts on the education and development of all pupils, whilst being a support to the head teacher.

We are also invited to three open days per year (once each term). For half of the day we meet as a Development Committee – where we find out about the standards in school and help to evaluate the progress the school is making towards meeting its targets. In the Resources Committee, the focus is on managing the school’s resources, particularly financial resources and making sure that money is spent in a way that has impact on raising standards. For the other half of the day we spend time monitoring what is happening in school, taking part in learning walks, gathering evidence on the implementation of school development priorities and generally seeing what has been discussed in the meeting actually taking place and helping the school to get better. I find this part very rewarding, seeing our work having impact in the classrooms.

Our presence is also welcome at any school event, such as concerts, assemblies and fundraising days.

There is always training courses available throughout the year which can greatly help you in your role. I strongly advise parent governors to attend the governor induction courses. Being a parent governor is a really rewarding role and not as time consuming as you would think.