Governors
On behalf of the governing body, I would like to welcome you and your children to Buckingham Park Primary School.
What are School Governors?
School governors are people who want to make a positive contribution to children’s education
Governors are one of the largest volunteer forces in the country and have an important part to play in raising school standards. The role of the governing body is absolutely key to the effectiveness of a school. Time and time again Ofsted (the national inspection body for schools) has noted that the most effective schools demonstrate effective leadership and management – including by the governing body.
What do Governors Do?
School governors provide strategic leadership and accountability in schools. Governors appoint the head teacher and deputy head teacher. It is governors who hold the main responsibility for finance in schools, and it is governors who work with the head teacher to make the tough decisions about balancing resources.
Who are Buckingham Park's Governors?
Here at Buckingham Park we are very lucky to have a broad mix of governors, from varied professional backgrounds, thus ensuring a good mixture of expertise and skills. Some bring experience gained over decades of governance, whilst some are new to the role and bring fresh eyes and enthusiasm. Some are parents of children in school, some are members of our community and some are staff.
Each individual governor is a member of a governing body, which is established in law as a corporate body. Individual governors may not act independently of the rest of the governing body. Decisions are the joint responsibility of the governing body.
The role of the governing body is a strategic one - its key functions are to:
- set the aims and objectives for the school
- set the policies for achieving those aims and objectives
- set the targets for achieving those aims and objectives
- monitor and evaluate the progress the school is making towards achievement of its aims and objectives
- be a source of challenge and support to the head teacher
The head teacher is responsible for the day to day running of the school: the internal organisation, management and control of the school and the implementation of the strategic framework established by the governing body.
Types of governors explained:
- Local Authority (LA) Governors: appointed by the Local Authority that maintains the school.
- Co-opted Governors: appointed by the governing body to represent the community, a co-opted governor does not need to have any previous experience or knowledge of education, nor do they need to have children.
- Parent Governors: elected onto the governing body by other parents from the school, they are parents of children in attendance at the school.
- Staff Governors: elected onto the governing body by staff at the school.
Everyone appointed to the governing body is only appointed on the basis that they have in the opinion of the person making the appointment ‘the skills required to contribute to the effective governance and success of the school.'
In addition, individuals with key skills can be brought in as Associate Members to assist the governors on specific issues. They are not catergorised as governors and do not have any voting rights at FGB meeetings or committees.
School Governors
- Mrs Kim Brown Head teacher
- Dr Cheynne Gibbs-Singh Co-opted (Chair)
- Nathan Hollisey McLean Staff
- Elin Williamson Co-opted
- Nick Brook Co-opted
- Adam Walter Co-opted
- Becky Sykes Co-opted
- Nicky Doyle Co-opted (Vice Chair)
- Mr John Gadd LA governor
- Mr Paul Hallam Parent
Click here to find the register of governors' interests
Click here to find further details about our governors
Structure
The Governing Body consists of nine governors; 2 parent, 2 staff and 5 co-opted. This structure allows for a more flexible and dynamic approach. They meet as a whole team twice a term (six times per year).
School Governors discuss, decide on and monitor all aspects of governance, including:
- the school's vision and ethos
- the school's self-evaluation and School Improvement Plan
- the school's reputation
- finances
- staffing and performance management
- the curriculum, assessment and children's progress and attainment
- discipline and exclusions
- premises
- health & safety
- admissions
This means that all governors take part in monitoring the procedures in place to ensure the safety of all children in school, as well as taking an in depth look at the curriculum and how it is delivered in school. They are fully apprised of everything to do with your child’s learning from monitoring teaching and learning to reviewing performance data; from monitoring the use of Pupil Premium and SEN expenditure to pupil attendance and behaviour; from contributing to and development of the School Improvement Plan to reviewing the impact of school policies.
Some responsibilities have been delegated to individual governors and groups of governors, who then report back to the governing body. This delegation relates to both statutory functions and monitoring the progress of those priorities that have been identified in the School Improvement Plan.
Click here to see further information on these delegated activities.
The following committees meet regularly to discuss issues specific to their area of interest:
Finance/Staffing/H&S/Premises Committee - Adam Walter (Chair), Dr Cheynne Gibbs-Singh, Kim Brown, John Gadd, Lynda Hill, Nicky Doyle, paul Hallam
Pay & Performance Committee - Adam Walter (Chair), Dr Cheynne Gibbs-Singh, John Gadd, Kim Brown
Teaching & Learning Committee - John Gadd (Chair), Dr Cheynne Gibbs-Singh, Nicky Doyle, Ben Thornton, Kim Brown, Nathan Hollisey-McLean
Headteacher's performance management - Becky Sykes, Nicky Doyle
The following committees are only convened as required and suitable governors appointed at the time to attend: Staff Dismissals & Appeals, Complaints and Pupil Discipline.
All the governors listed above have voting rights on the commitees.
Dr Cheynne Gibbs-Singh
Chair of Governors