Governors

Our Current Governors are:

LEA Clerk: Area Education Office, Southern Area, St Andrew's House, County Hall, Ipswich IP4 1LJ

The Governors meet as a whole group twice a term, once with a representative of the LEA present and once with Mrs McCullum  as clerk.  In between, the various sub-committees and working groups meet.  The minutes of these meetings are then fed back to the whole Governing Body at the next meeting.  The Governors have to have some committees by law, for Hearings, Appeals and Pupil Discipline.  At East Bergholt, we also have sub-committees for Finance, Strategy, Personnel, Premises and Curriculum.

GOVERNING BODY DELEGATION STRUCTURE

Terms of Reference:

·        To keep the GB informed of developments

·        To carry out the GB’s duties in relation to these specific issues

·        To act as liaison between GB

Committees and Terms of Reference

Governing bodies may delegate responsibilities to committees and working parties. The information set out below is an extract from the DfEE document Guidance on Good Governance, but has been slightly modified to take into account recent legislation. Note how committees differ from working parties.

Committees and Working Parties

Governing bodies can delegate some but not all functions, either to the Headteacher or to individual governors. They can also establish governor committees with delegated functions to help share the workload. Committees with delegated authority can make decisions, which they must report back to the governing body. Those without delegated authority can make recommendations to the next meeting of the governing body, but not decisions. Where governing bodies set up working parties these have no formal delegated powers to take decisions, and are usually set up to consider a specific issue or to deal with a particular area and report back to the governing body.

But there are different legal requirements in different types of schools for the establishment of committees and working parties and how they operate. Readers are strongly recommended to refer to the section concerning committees and working parties in School Governors A Guide to the Law. The Guide explains which committees must, by law, be established in the different types of schools and how their decisions should be reported to the governing body and what matters may or may not be delegated.

For each committee and working party (where working parties are appointed), the governing body must determine and set out in writing:

·         the terms of reference, for each committee, specifying the extent of the powers delegated to the committee

·         the membership, (which in statutory committees must conform to the minimum number set out in the Education (School Government) (England) Regulations 1999)

The governing body should also consider the arrangements for the following:

·         the chairmanship (NB anybody employed to work at the school cannot act as chairman);

·         the clerking;

·         determining the quorum;

·         the frequency with which the committee or working party should report to the governing body;   and

·         in the case of working parties, the date by which the working party should complete its work.

At an agreed point in each school year, the governing body reviews the number, membership and operation of committees and working parties appointed for a particular task. A quorum of two thirds of current members of the governing body is required when establishing or reviewing committee membership, constitution or terms of reference.

The governing body needs to be aware of which members can not sit on certain committees (e.g. the Headteacher can not be appointed to the Hearings, Appeals or Pupil Discipline Committees).

The terms of reference which are set out under the various committees indicate items and issues which can be dealt with outside meetings of the full Governing Body. These statements are fairly broad and in some cases cover wide areas of responsibility.

Management Structure of the Governing Body

All Governing Bodies will create their own structures and a description of that structure will help all members of the Governing Body to understand how the Governing Body operates as a whole. An example of a possible outline is given below:

Management by the Governing Body

The vast majority of the work of governors will be conducted within the

Governing Body itself or delegated to nine committees; 4 statutory and 5 non-statutory:

Statutory Committees:                              Hearings Committee

                                                                    Appeal Committee

                                                                    Pupil Discipline Committee

                                                                    Admissions Committee (Aided schools only)

Non-Statutory Committees:                     Personnel Committee

                                                                    Finance Committee

                                                                    Curriculum Committee

                                                                    Premises/Health & Safety Committee

                                                                    Strategy Committee

At first sight, the idea of 9 separate committees will seem daunting, but bear in mind 2 points:-

(i)                   The Statutory Committees will rarely if ever meet

(ii)                 Committees can be combined e.g.  there could be a Hearings and Personnel Committee,

            or a Finance, Premises and Health and Safety Committee.

Terms of Reference

Hearings Committee  (Staff Dismissal Committee: “The First Committee")

·         to make any determination to dismiss any member of staff

·         to make any determination or decision under the governing body’s personnel procedures e.g. disciplinary, grievance, capability

·         to make any determination or decision under the governing body’s General Complaints

Procedure for Parents and others

·         to make any determination or decision under the governing body’s Curriculum Complaints

Procedure, in respect of National Curriculum disapplications, and the operation of the

governing body’s charging policy;

Appeal Committee (Staff Dismissal Committee: "The Appeal Committee")

·         to consider any appeal against a decision to dismiss a member of staff made by the

Hearings Committee (The First Committee)

·         to consider any appeal against a decision short of dismissal under the  governing body’s

personnel procedures e.g. disciplinary, grievance, capability

·         to consider any appeal against selection for redundancy

Pupil Discipline Committee

·         to decide whether pupils excluded for more than 5 days in a term should be reinstated

·         to consider representations from parents in the case of exclusions of more than 15 days

in a term or where a pupil is denied the chance to take a public examination

·         to be familiar with the guidance contained in the DfEE Circular 10/99 to help monitor its use in school

Personnel Committee

·         to oversee the system for appraisal of staff

·         to make recommendations to the governing body in respect of the annual performance

review of the Headteacher

·         in consultation with the headteacher, to make recommendations to the governing body in respect of the annual performance review of the deputy headteacher and other staff

·         to be involved with the interviewing and appointment of teaching staff

·         to draft salary policies for all categories of staff for approval of the governing body, and  to be responsible for the administration and review of these policies

·         to monitor staff absence

Finance Committee

·         to draft, in consultation with the headteacher, the school’s annual budget

·         to prepare a budget position statement including virement decisions for each termly meeting of the full governing body

·         to prepare a financial statement for inclusion in the governing body report to parents

·         to monitor the expenditure of all voluntary funds kept on behalf of the governing body

·         to ensure that the school operates within the Financial Regulations of the County Council

·         to prepare a medium-term financial plan and set broad priorities for expenditure

Curriculum Committee

·         to regularly monitor standards of attainment of the pupils

·         to consider and advise the governing body on matters relating to the school’s curriculum,

including statutory requirements and the LEAs Curriculum Statement

·         to consider and advise the governing body on curricular issues which have implications for Finance and Personnel decisions

·         to make arrangements for the governing body to be represented at discussions with the LEA on Statutory Targets

Premises/Health & Safety Committee

·           to advise the governing body on priorities, including Health & Safety, for the maintenance and development of the school’s premises

·           to keep under review the governing body’s Health & Safety Policy and make recommendations for revisions

·         to oversee arrangements for repairs and maintenance

·         to oversee arrangements for the use of school premises by outside users subject to governing body policy

·         to plan a rolling programme of improvements with reference to the school’s Asset Management Plan

Strategy Committee

·         to review the governing body’s strategic framework and plans for the short and medium terms and agree issues for the next meeting(s) of the Committees/ Working Parties and the governing body

·         to keep under constant review the standards of achievement of the pupils in the school

·         to keep under review the long-term targets of curriculum development and balance

·         to discuss and decide, with the senior management team, tasks which have to be dealt with on an annual basis – including the preparation and delivery of the school development plan and the necessary contact with staff at the school – and oversee the three-year SDP

·         to keep under review matters relating to public relations, publicity and marketing including

preparation of the school prospectus

·         to be available and respond to matters of particular difficulty, sensitivity or emergency and offer advice to the headteacher

·         to plan for and prepare the annual report to parents for the approval of Governing Body

·         to draft the staffing structure after consultation with the headteacher and the finance committee

·         to oversee the appointment procedure for all staff

·         to monitor and to review the staff development policy

·         to oversee the process leading to staff reductions

·         to plan provision of staffing levels and expertise with reference to the SDP

Delegation of Responsibility to individuals

For:    Special Needs, Child Protection, Primary Strategy, Collective Worship, Health & Safety, School Council, Link Governor, Eco-School, Foundation Governors, Communications Group

·         to liaise with the subject co-ordinator

·         to visit the school and see the lessons in operation

·         to discuss the existing use of resources and future needs

·         to regularly report to the Governing Body on developments and progress and be an advocate for the subject

·         to have a clear understanding of assigned subject and the subject development plan

September 2004

Contact us on Tel: (01206) 298202  Fax: (01206) 299369. E-mail adminebp@talk21.com

EAST BERGHOLT VC PRIMARY SCHOOL

SCHOOL LNE.

EAST BERGHOLT

COLCHESTER 

ESSEX CO7 6SW

Last updated on 24/04/09