Welcome to the Governors' section!

The Governing Body and Head Teacher - Working in Partnership

Why have a Governing Body and Head Teacher?
The Head Teacher is responsible for the management of the school, ensuring that strategic plans are implemented, the curriculum is delivered effectively and that the policies of the school are acted upon.  He or she makes the 'chalk-face' decisions to ensure that children are cared for, socially, emotionally and academically on a day-to-day basis, in line with the school's policies.

The Governing Body provides the strategic management and long-term direction for the school; it acts as a 'critical friend' to ensure that standards are high and maintained.  Governors act, not as individuals but as a group to support the work of the Head Teacher, staff and pupils.  School Governing Bodies are the largest voluntary group in the UK.  They are unpaid and give up their time freely.

What is the composition of our Governing Body?
The Governing Body of Newhall Infant and Nursery School is led by Mrs Suzanne Stubbs (Chair of Governors), elected by the Governing Body from within its membership.  Staff members, including the Head Teacher, cannot be elected to this office.  The term of office for our Governors is set at 3 years.

Governing bodies are made up of key stakeholders:
Parents - Parent Governors are elected by other parents at the school.
Staff - including the Head Teacher - Staff Governors are elected by the school staff.
Co-opted - the Governing Body appoints Co-opted Governors i.e. members of the local community.
The Local Authority (LA) - appoints a Local Authority Governor.

Our Governors are:

Committees

Register of Financial and Business Interests
All School Governors are required to declare any interests they may have, which may result in a conflict of interests when decisions are being made by the Governing Body.  This includes: ownership of a company or organisation which may supply goods or services to the school, a close relationship with someone who may provide goods or services to the school, a close relationship with someone who is employed by the school, or being a Governor or staff member at another school.

The following interests have been declared by our Governors:
Sean Bambrick - Derbyshire County Councillor for Swadlincote North (Newhall & Midway)

None of our Governors currently hold governance roles in other schools.

What do Governors do and how did they attain this role?
Great emphasis is given to recruiting Governors who can bring professional skills to their work on the various committees, so that we are qualified to conduct the School in line with our statutory duties.  These include promoting high standards of educational achievement, acting in a strategic manner to help the development of the School through effective management of resources and working closely with the School Senior Leadership Team to create and promote the school's values.

How do we do this?
We have considerable flexibility in how we achieve this but most of our time is taken up with:

• Developing and reviewing a range of written policies and procedures to address statutory requirements and our local priorities.
• Implementing actions from the meetings of our Full Governing Body and the main committees - Finance & Personnel and Curriculum & Pastoral.
• Undertaking delegated individual tasks in support of specific curriculum areas.
• Contributing to and reviewing the School Improvement Plan and using this document as one of the key resources for setting priorities and monitoring impact.
• Using a combination of reports, visits, results and other information to monitor the progress of our School.

Governors have responsibility for raising school standards through their three key roles of setting strategic direction, ensuring accountability and monitoring & evaluating school performance.

The Governing body uses a committee structure to undertake its monitoring and evaluation roles.

Membership and terms of reference of committees are determined annually.

Governing Body key responsibilities include:

• Setting strategic direction, objectives, targets and policies.
• Reviewing progress against the budget, plans and targets.
• Approving the school budget.
• Acting as a 'critical friend' to the Head Teacher by providing support and challenge.
• Appointing the Head Teacher

Our Chair of Governors, Sue Stubbs, may be contacted through the school office.