Role of the Governors
Introduction
The Local Governing Body (LGB) of Christleton High School is responsible for overseeing the management, performance and the strategic direction of the school and for determining the policies of the school, within the framework set by The Learning Trust and national legislation.
The Governors work in partnership with the Headteacher, Senior leadership Team and other staff. They are accountable to pupils, parents, The Learning Trust, Ofsted and the Local Authority for the school’s performance and the standard of teaching and learning at Christleton High School.
All governors are unpaid volunteers and are drawn from a wide variety of different backgrounds. Each has a particular set of skills and has specific responsibilities commensurate with those skills. Further training is provided as required.
We hold one or two meetings of the full LGB each term. In addition, each Governor is expected to attend one or two Advisory Panels each term and to act as Departmental Link Governor for a couple of departments. Governors also act as designated lead on key issues such as Safeguarding, SEND and Health and Safety.
Governor duties
- Setting, in consultation with the Headteacher and Senior Leadership Team, the Strategic Direction of Christleton High School
- Setting of robust policies to manage the school and reviewing their effectiveness
- Appointing, challenging and supporting the Headteacher and the Senior Leadership Team
- Ensuring the best use of financial resources including approving the school budget and overall monitoring spending
- Agreeing and reviewing the school’s progress against its development plan
- Monitoring overall student progress and attainment
Download Governor Role Description
Strategic Goals
| Title | |
| Strategic School Development Plan | Download |
How is the Governing Body made up?
The school has the following Governors, as set out in The Learning Trust’s Scheme of Delegation:
- up to 2 Trustees of The Learning Trust, who may also be Parent or Co-opted/Community Governors
- up to 2 Staff Governors appointed by peer election
- up to 5 Parent Governors who are elected by parents of registered students at the school
- up to 5 Co-opted/Community Governors
- the Headteacher
How are Governors appointed?
Parent Governors are elected by the parents or carers of students attending the school. Staff Governors are elected by the staff of the school. With the exception of the Headteacher, other Governors are appointed by the Board of Trustees of the Learning Trust taking advice from the LGB.
The Chair of Governors (and Co-Chairs) and Vice Chair are elected by the Governing Body at the first meeting of the full Governing Body each year.
Governors are appointed for a four year period, except that this time limit does not apply to the Headteacher. Subject to remaining eligible to be a particular type of Governor, any Governor can be re-appointed or re-elected.
When appointing new Governors, the LGB and Trustees will give consideration to the candidate’s commitment to our Values, their skills and experience and the skills and experience mix of existing Governors in order to ensure that the Local Governing Body has the necessary range of skills and experience to contribute fully to the school’s development.
How does the governing body carry out its role?
The full Governing Body meets once every term (twice in the Autumn term). Members of the Governing Body also sit on at least one Advisory Panel which concentrate in more detail on specific areas of the school. These Panel meetings are also held termly and each Panel has an elected chair whose responsibility it is to feed findings, discussions and actions into the Full Governing Body meeting. Governors also sit on Appeals and Interview Panels as required.
In addition to attending Panel meetings and to help them develop a better understanding of school life, Governors visit the school to meet with staff and pupils and are linked to specific departments to gain a more in depth understanding of the work of the school.
Our Governors are expected to attend internal and external training and development courses to help them perform their role. This training is co-ordinated by the Training and Development Governor to ensure that all Governors have the relevant skills and ensure their knowledge is up to date. All Governors are required to undertake Safeguarding training and a DBS check.
How can I contact the school Governors?
The Governors welcome any feedback on the school and are particularly interested in the views of parents and carers. Governors regularly attend school events such as Open Evenings, Parents Evenings, School Shows and Concerts and are happy to receive comments or answer general queries although matters relating to individual students are best directed in the first instance to the teaching staff who know them.
You can also send your comments to chairofgovernors@christletonhigh.co.uk
Parents are encouraged to use the school’s complaints process in the first instance for any complaints, as governors only become involved when a satisfactory resolution of a submitted complaint has not been possible.
How do I become a parent governor?
Parent governors are elected by the parents and carers of students attending the school. Whenever there is a vacancy for a parent governor, this will be advertised on the school website. Requests for nominations and details of the election process will be circulated electronically.
Elections are held for parent governors whenever a term of office ends or a Parent Governor resigns. The Co-Chairs of Governors will be pleased to discuss the role with you at any time.