Governors
Welcome from the Chair of Governors
"Governors are highly committed to the school. They attend regular training and updates. Governors know the school well and provide a good level of challenge and support for leaders." OfSTED September 2018.
Hello! I am Helen Dutton, the Chair of Governors for AddMore Federation - the governing body across both Adderley CE and Moreton Say CE Primary Schools. On behalf of the Governing Body, I offer you a very warm welcome to our governor pages.
Governors are a group of committed people from across the community, who work to support our Federation and ensure every child feels happy, safe and secure whilst receiving the best education possible. Governors are volunteers and do this important work without pay.
What does the Governing Body do?
The Full Governing Body
Our governors meet as a Full Governing Body twice a term. These meetings are where all major decisions are made. Our meetings start at 6:00 pm and are on a Wednesday evening at the school. They generally last between 2 and 3 hours, but this depends on the agenda and the matters which need to be discussed.
The Clerk
The Governing Body is supported by our clerk Sharon Dutton. Although clerks are not entitled to vote, they are considered to be an integral part of the Governing Body. They provide advice and updates on the administrative structure and regulations and help the Governors to interpret the latter. The clerk also prepares and distributes the minutes and agendas and deals with any correspondence.
The Governing Body is essential to the effective running of the school. Governors set the overall strategy, vision and direction of the school, act as a critical friend and are responsible for the school budget.
As well as regular meetings to discuss and review the school’s business Governors also make visits to the school to evaluate how procedures and policies work in practise, to support the delivery of high-quality education. Governors measure the impact of school developments and constructively challenge school leaders to ensure we best meet the needs of all our children.
The work of the Governing Body focuses, principally, arounf the following key areas: Finance; the Premises, Security, Health and Safety; Standards and Curriculum, Safeguarding, links with the Church and Salaries, Performance Management and Employment Issues. There are also a number of other statutory committees which only meet as and when required.
Our school governors:
- have a genuine interest in our children's future
- offer time, energy and enthusiasm
- have a desire to make a difference
- accept responsibility
- work as a team
- are happy to ask questions, listen and learn
How do I become a governor?
Being a governor is a rewarding way to make a difference to the lives of our children. From time to time we have vacancies on our governing body. Vacancies will be posted on our newsletters and in local news forums. If you feel you have what it takes to be part of our team, working to achieve the best for our children, we would be pleased to hear from you. You do not have to have previous governor experience to join our team. All our governors receive regular information and advice to help them in their roles and full training is provided.
Our governing body is made up of several different types of governor. The headteacher and the vicar are what is known as ex officio governors. This means they are automatically entitled to be a governor as part of their office. The Federation also has a number of other types of governor: Foundation governors are appointed by the diocese; Parent governors are elected by the parent body; LA governors are appointed by the Local Authority; Co-opted governors are elected by the governing body; Staff governors are elected by the staff. The number and ratio of each type of governor is laid down in our constitution also known as the ‘instrument of government’. Our governors are elected to serve for 4 years, except for our ex officio governors who remain in post for the length of their employment in that role.
Who are our governors?
You can find a full list of our governors, their term of office and their roles on the 'Meet the Governors Page'. Business and financial interests and attendance records for meetings are also detailed below.
The importance of transparency
Governors are held account to the highest standards in serving in this role. They are required to declare if they have or could be seen to have a conflict of interest in any decision making. For Parent governors this means that they are expected to put the interests of every child and the whole school community ahead of any personal interest or passion relating to their own child’s education. Declarations of conflicts of interest are an agenda item for every committee meeting, so that transparency can be upheld. Governors are expected to attend governors’ meetings regularly. Apologies for absence have to be accepted and agreed by the committee in order for governors to continue to serve.