Governors

Aims of the Governing Body

What do governors do?

School governors provide strategic leadership and accountability in schools. Governors appoint the headteacher and deputy headteacher. In some schools the site is owned by the governing body. It is governors who hold the main responsibility for finance in schools, and it is governors who work with the head teacher to make the tough decisions about balancing resources.

Each individual governor is a member of a governing body, which is established in law as a corporate body. Individual governors may not act independently of the rest of the governing body

The role of the governing body is a strategic one, its key functions are to:

set the aims and objectives for the school
- Aims of the Governing body
  - We aim to provide purposeful and interesting activities.
  - We aim to achieve high standards across the curriculum and in social awareness
  - We recognise that each child is an individual
  - Children with learning difficulties are given additional specialised help in small groups.
  - As a church school we encourage an awareness of Christian values.
set the policies for achieving those aims and objectives
set the targets for achieving those aims and objectives
monitor and evaluate the progress the school is making towards achievement of its aims and objectives
be a source of challenge and support to the headteacher (a critical friend)

Governing bodies make decisions which are in the best interests of the children and young people. Keeping the decision making as close as possible to those that are affected by the decisions makes for sound and efficient leadership and governance.

The current government’s commitment to the ‘Big Society’ supports this, and the school governance model fits into this concept neatly. Fulfilling the role of a school governor is, therefore, both a serious undertaking and enormously rewarding. Not only do governors bring their own knowledge and skills to the role, but, in learning how schools are run, they often develop their understanding of leadership. The majority of employers appreciate this and are supportive of their staff taking on the responsibility. In addition, contributing to the growth and development of a school and seeing tangible improvements in the attainment and well-being of the children is a satisfying and important contribution to the local community.