Governors

Who can be a governor of the school?

At Howe Park, we are able to have fourteen members on the school’s governing body.  They represent families, staff and the community.  If a vacancy arises for a parent governor, the school notifies all parents and seeks nominations from the school community. Currently the school’s governing body is made up of the following members:

Click here for full governor information covering the last 12 months. (Requires Microsoft Excel)

What is the role of the Governing Body?

The day to day running of the school is the responsibility of the Headteacher and members of the Senior Leadership Team.  However, the Governing Body has the responsibility to ensure that the school is run to promote pupil achievement.  Its duties include:

• Establishing the strategic direction of the school in partnership with the headteacher and staff.
• Establishing and reviewing school policies
• Working with the headteacher in setting targets and objectives
• Approving the school budget
• Reviewing progress against the budget and objectives
• Appointing, challenging and supporting the headteacher

How does this work at Howe Park?

The full governing body meets twice each term- six times over each academic year.  At each of these meetings, the governors discuss issues relating to the progress of the school.  However, it must be emphasised that no specific child or his / her family is ever discussed.  The governors discuss general themes e.g.

• School events
• Overall attendance
• Progress towards targets of attainment for year groups
• Support that is given for children with special educational needs
• Staffing updates

Committees:

At Howe Park, we have two committees that meet each term.  These are the Resources and Environment Committee and the School Improvement Committee.

The Resources and Environment Committee discuss all issues relates to the school’s budget, school resources and any changes to the school premises.  They also make sure that the school has the appropriate policies to guide the actions that are taken within the school e.g. Safer Recruitment; Pay Policy and Performance Management Policy.

The School Improvement Committee discuss progress towards attainment targets (this would be as an over view of the class, not individuals), policies related to curriculum subjects, SEN policy and provision.  The School Improvement committee will also monitor the school’s progress towards retaining quality marks e.g. The Inclusion Quality mark, Healthy Schools etc. 

Not all governors will sit on both committees. Governors choose which committees they will sit on, but all members of the Governing Body attend the full meeting of the governors.

How do the governors find out what is happening in the school?

• Fortnightly meetings between the Chair/ Vice Chair of Governors and the headteacher
• Governor visits.  These will focus on one aspect of school provision.  Following on from the visit the governor will produce a short report for all governors
• Headteacher reports to the governing body.  These are produced for each meeting of the governing body.
• Training courses- These are provided by the Local Authority and give information about what the school should be working on and the policies that should be in place.

How do the governors encourage the children to be proud of their achievements?

• Governors “adopt a class” and take an interest in all their activities
• The governors have their own award system. A trophy and a runner up are awarded to members of each class every term.

What guidance do governors have about their role within the school? 

The government has produced a “Governor’s Guide to the Law”, which lays out some importance guidance. Two examples are quoted below:

12 point 9. Individual governors do not have an automatic right to enter the school whenever they wish.  However, they need to be able to visit from time to time in order to develop their understanding of the school. These visits enable them to fulfil their statutory responsibility for the conduct of the school.

Page 12 point 10-…..The governing body should plan visits to cover a wide range of school work and each visit should have a clear purpose. Visits by governors can be useful and informative.  They do not replace professional inspection or the monitoring and evaluation carried out by the headteacher.

We are very fortunate that at Howe Park, the school’s governing body are very supportive of the school’s development.  The governors are all volunteers and the school greatly appreciates the time they give to ensure that the school runs effectively.