Netherfield CE Primary School

The Governors of  Netherfield CE Primary School have an overall responsibility for the strategic management of the school and for determining its aims, objectives and policies.

The Governing body is made up of:

• Parent Governors - Parents or Carers of children registered at the school (3)
• Foundation Governors - Representatives of the Church of England (2)
• LA Governors - Appointed by the Local Authority (1)
• The Head Teacher
• Staff Governors - Members of the school teaching or support staff (1)

Working with the Head Teacher, we set and monitor the School Budget, the School Development Plan, Curriculum Targets and other Management Initiatives.  We meet six times a year as a Full Governing Board. This includes monitoring visits, strategic discussions and safeguarding requirements. We also have a finance committee who scrutinise the budget and work with the School Business Manager.

The principal objective of the Governing Body is to provide a safe and happy environment where our children can learn and grow.  As a Governing Body, we are responsible to parents, funders and the community, and are thus always keen to invite comments from all involved with, or interested in, the school.

If you have any questions regarding the work of our Governing Body please leave your details with a member of the Office and our chair of governors will get back to you as soon as possible.

What is the role of School Governors?

Governors work as part of the Senior Leadership Team of the school. They are involved in the strategic development of the school and are responsible for holding the senior leaders in the school to account. They ensure that the school provides a good quality education, as raising educational standards in all schools is a key priority. This will happen when there are high expectations of what pupils can achieve.

Governors also promote effective ways of teaching and learning when setting the school’s aims and policies. They do this together with the Head, to whom they delegate the day to day management of the school. Heads are appointed by Governors - and most heads choose to be Governors themselves.

The number and variety of Governors varies in each school depending on it’s size and community. At Netherfield, appointments are for four years and we are responsible to parents, the Local Authority and the community.

One of the governing body's key roles is to help raise standards of achievement. It:

• Is accountable for the performance of the school to parents and the wider community
• Plans the school's future direction
• Selects the headteacher
• Makes decisions on the school's budget and staffing
• Ensures the national curriculum is taught
• Decides how the school can encourage pupil's spiritual, moral and social development
• Ensures the school provides for all its pupils, including those with special needs
• Ensures that key policies (e.g. safeguarding policy) are upheld by all members of staff

Governors are at the heart of how a school operates and it is important we get things right. How we do our job affects the interests of pupils, staff morale and how the school is seen by parents and others in the community.

Governors support and challenge heads by gathering views, asking questions and deciding what's best for the school. We are not here to rubber stamp decisions. We have to be prepared to give and take and be loyal to decisions taken by the governing body as a whole

As long as Governors act within the law we are protected from any financial liability for the decisions we take.

Governors have a very important and essential role to play as we are ultimately responsible for how the school is performing. Analysing school data, visiting the school and following up OFSTED and SIAMS inspection reports are some of the extremely important tasks that governors undertake. It is, therefore, essential that Governors have their finger on the pulse of the school, aiming to identify problems and tackle them in advance.