Introduction

How does the Governing Body Operate?

As Eythorne Elvington school is in federation with Sibertswold school the Board of Governors has responsibility for both schools. The Board of Governors is made up of a number of different types of Governor. These different types of Governor result from the different ways Governors can be appointed (by Parents, Local Authority, Staff, Church etc) but all have the same powers and responsibilities. The Federation Governing body is made up of Governors who have been elected by electing bodies from both schools.

The Governing Body comprises 2 Parent Governors, 1 Staff Governors, the Head Teacher of each school, 3 Foundation Governors (one of whom is the local Rector), 1 Local Authority Governor and 6 Co-opted Governors.

The majority of the work is done in 3 sub-committees, Strategy, Resources and Learning & Development which are given terms of reference by the main Governance Board and meet 3 to 6 times per year. These committees are made up of a small number of the Governors (and on occasion other experts) and are empowered by the Board of Governors to carry out specific work. The Head Teachers is a member of all committees.

The main Governors Board meets once per term and receives information from the Head Teachers on the running of the schools and the Federation, and from the Chairperson of the committees. At these meetings the reports, new policies, targets and plans are reviewed and can be approved for action. In addition Governors will report back on any visits they have made to the school in relation to the School Improvement Plan during the prior term.

Once a year the Governors, SLT and Teachers gather feedback on the progress of the school from all interested parties and meet to review the schools key strategic document – the School Improvement Plan (SIP). This document identifies the key areas for the Schools development over the next year and beyond.

The main committees and their responsibilities are:-

• Learning and Development– responsible for reviewing the curriculum and ensuring it is balanced and broadly based and meets the needs of pupils in the school.
• Resources – responsible for monitoring and ensuring the Governing Bodies responsibilities in terms of producing a balanced budget, monitoring expenditure and ensuring suitable financial controls are met in the school. This group also cover matters relating to staffing and are responsible to ensure the school meets its statutory responsibility with regard to the health and safety of pupils, staff and visitors to the school
• Strategy – comprising of the Head Teachers, Chair of governors, Chair of Resources and Vice-chair of Governors (as needed). The group looks at the short and long term strategy for each school and the Federation

The Governors are also responsible for monitoring the performance of the school. This is done by gaining feedback from a range of sources including the Head Teacher, the Local Authority and Ofsted and by benchmarking performance against similar schools.