Governors

Introduction To John Hampden And Tetsworth Schools’ Federation Governors

Rosy Bowling (Co-Opted Governor, SEND and PP Lead Governor, Health and Safety Lead Governor)
Sarah Bradford (Co-opted Governor)
Sarah Spencer (Co-Opted Governor, Head of Teaching and Learning Tetsworth School)
Rachel Caseby (Co-Opted Governor, Co-Chair and Early Years Lead Governor)
Laura Craig (Staff Governor, Deputy Headteacher at John Hampden Primary School)
Paul Hankey (Executive Headteacher)
Luke Hanratty (Parent Governor, Finance Lead and Whistleblowing Lead)
Martin Pounce (Clerk)
Dan Hayes (Parent Governor, Safeguarding Lead)
Natalie Henderson (Co-opted Governor, Chair and Curriculum Lead Governor)

What is a school governing body?

A group of local people who work with the Head teacher and school to deliver the very best education for your children. The school is accountable to the governing body, which in turn is accountable to parents and the community. John Hampden Primary school and Tetsworth Primary school governing bodies are combined (‘federated’). This allows us to perform more effective and efficient oversight of the two schools’ activities. The schools are on different sites but are led by the same Head teacher so we work closely together.

The governing body has 3 key responsibilities:

The governing board has three core functions:

- Ensuring clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction;
- Holding executive leaders to account for the educational performance of the organisation and its pupils, and the effective and efficient performance management of staff; and
- Overseeing the financial performance of the organisation and making sure its money is well spent.

We also have one committee, the Pay Committee, which meets in the Autumn term to ensure the pay policy is followed and is effective.

It’s worth stating that it’s not the governors’ job to do the work of the school, but to provide oversight, support, and expertise. ‘Eyes on, hands off’ is a good rule of thumb for a governing body.

Parent and Staff representatives are elected to the governing body
Oxfordshire Local authority appoints our LA governors
Community governors can be anyone and are recruited by the governing body (often people with skills sets or experience that the school could benefit from)

Governors also carry out a number of other important duties, which include:

Determining how the school’s budget is spent
The appointing and dismissing of staff, including the Head teacher
Hearing appeals and grievances
Setting standards for pupils’ behaviour and discipline
Making sure the school environment is welcoming and safe
Setting and monitoring the school’s policies

What is a governor?

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. Governing bodies should have a good mix of people from the local community, from all walks of life, who can bring different viewpoints, experience, skills and fresh ideas with them. They can be parents, staff at the school, resident in the locality, or representatives of local churches and businesses.

What is a Parent Governor?

A person elected by the school community to be representative, but not a delegate, of the parent body. A parent governor is a representative, which means listening thoughtfully, and reporting to fellow governors any feelings on vital matters shared by many parents. But when it comes to taking a line in governor discussions, parent governors follow their own conviction of what is right for the school, and also heed other governors’ views.

How and when should I contact the Governing body?

Governors will encourage you to express individual concerns with a teacher or the Head teacher. There are school policies in place to help you with this. If you have a general concern, suggestion, or question about the school to raise with the governing body please email us, in confidence, at jhtgovernors@gmail.com.

I’m interested to know about the work of the governing body.

You can view the governing body constitution, and meeting minutes on the governor section of the school website. Approved governing body minutes, agendas, reports etc are a matter of public record, and can be requested by any interested party from the school office. Anything that constitutes personal data or confidential information can be withheld.

I am interested in becoming a governor – what do I do?

Fulfilling the role of a school governor is both a serious undertaking and enormously rewarding. Contributing to the growth and development of a school and seeing tangible improvements in the attainment and well being of the children is a satisfying and important contribution to the local community. Some governors volunteer to fulfil specific roles, such as being the Special Educational Needs governor, or the Health & Safety governor, or the link governor for a particular year or subject.

Vacancies do arise, so if you would like to know more about becoming a governor please let us know by emailing jhtgovernors@gmail.com.