What do school governors do?
The governing board exists to make sure that the school runs effectively. It is a strategic role and the governing board performance manages the headteacher, who runs the school on a day-to-day basis.
The core functions of the governing board are:
- Ensure clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction of the school;
- Hold the head teacher to account for the educational performance of the organisation and its pupils, and the performance management of staff; and
- Oversee the financial performance of the school and making sure its money is well spent;
In practice, this means the board oversees strategy and holds the school and its leaders accountable through a governance routine, without getting involved in day to day matters.
Who makes up the Governing Board?
How do I become a governor?
- Anyone can become a school governor if you are over 18.
- At Lickey End there are 5 types of governor: Parent, Staff, Co-Opted, Local Authority, Associate.
- Parent Governor vacancies are advertised through the school and may be elected if there is more than one candidate.
- Governing bodies can stipulate the skills sets they are seeking when advertising for new governors.
- Governors normally serve a term of 4 years after which time they can be re-elected or co-opted again.
How will I know what to do?
If you haven't been involved with governance (or something similar) before it's normal to be wondering if it's going to be right for you, however, the Board aims to give you all the support you may need. There is an induction process which is led by the Clerk and the Chair, and we also aim to 'buddy up' new governors with a more experienced member of the Board.
It is true that, like many professions, education is rife with jargon, initialisms and acronyms, and this can be a little scary at first. We do try to avoid using them, although it's inevitable some slip through. So, here are explanations for the terms commonly used in and around school, it's documentation and this website.
- SEND stands for Special Educational Needs & Disabilities.
- The SENDCO is the member of staff who coordinates SEND provision.
- E&D is short for Equality & Diversity
- Pupil Premium Grant is shortened to PPG or sometimes just PP. What is the Pupil Premium?
- LAC means Looked After Children
- The DSL is the Designated Safeguarding Lead, which is the member of staff.
- The Early Years Foundation Stage (Reception Year and earlier) is shortened to EYFS
If you are thinking about becoming a governor and have any questions, or simply want to talk it through, please contact the Clerk to the Governing Board.
Governance Documents & Forms
Contacting the Governing Board
All Board members as well as the Clerk can be contacted in the first instance by emailing the Clerk.
clerk@gov.lickeyendfirstschool.co.uk.