Welcome to our Governors’ section.
Please find below details of how our Governing body is structured, including the names, categories, responsibilities and terms of appointment for each Governor.
GOVERNING BODY MEMBERSHIP | 2019/2020 ACADEMIC YEAR |
STAFF GOVERNORS (2) | |
Mrs Alison Bhardwaj (Head Teacher) | Ex Officio |
Nicola Booker | 7th June 2023 |
LA GOVERNORS (1) | |
Mr Fitz Wilson | 16th January 2022 |
PARENT GOVERNORS (2) | |
Mrs Rachael Dore | 17th November 2023 |
Mrs Rachel Rodgers | 26th February 2024 |
FOUNDATION GOVERNORS (2) | |
Mr Jim Williams | 30th June 2020 |
Mr Ian Fleming | 23rd June 2022 |
CO-OPTED GOVERNORS (6) | |
Vacancy | |
Vacancy | |
Ms Natalia Levene | 24th November 2023 |
Ms Leanne Gould | 13th September 2023 |
Mrs Julie Markall | 6th December 2023 |
Mrs Kelly Melia | 24th March 2023 |
Chair: Mr J Williams | Vice Chair: Mrs K Melia |
Total Governing Board membership is 13 | thus a quorum at 50% if all vacancies filled |
MEETING DATES 2019-2020 | Autumn Term | Spring Term | Summer Term |
Full Governing Body |
9th September 2019 25th November 2019 |
23rd March 2020 | 6th July 2020 |
Resources |
21st October 2019 18th November 2019 |
16th March 2020 | 18th May 2020 |
Curriculum and Standards | 4th November 2019 | 2nd March 2020 | 8th June 2020 |
Facilities | 18th November 2019 | 10th February 2020 | 11th May 2020 |
Governors Statutory Responsibilities and Functions
In all types of schools, governing boards should have a strong focus on three core strategic functions:
Governance Handbook/Competency Framework for Governance
Please refer to the Governance Handbook and Competency Framework for Governance published by the Department for Education. The latest versions are available online below:
Governance Handbook March 2019
Competency Framework for Governance January 2017
Academies Financial Handbook
The Academies Financial Handbook sets out the financial management, control and reporting requirements that apply to all academy trusts.
Academies Financial Handbook 2019
NB: Academy trusts completing financial statements for the period ending 31 August 2019 should refer to the 2018 edition of the handbook.
Review of committees and delegation
The governing board must review the committee structure, terms of reference for each committee and the membership of each committee on an annual basis.
Terms of Reference
The following committees established by the governing board comply with The School Governance (Role, Procedures and Allowances) (England) Regulations 2013.
The head teacher/principal can attend all meetings of any committee established by the governing board but in some instances this may only be in an advisory capacity. When an issue is being discussed which directly affects the head teacher/principal they must, as with any other governor in a similar position, declare an interest and physically withdraw from the meeting.
In maintained schools the quorum for a meeting of the full governing board and for any vote on any matter at such meeting, is one half (rounded up to a whole number) of the membership of the governing board at the time of the meeting not including any vacant positions. For academies and free schools refer to their articles of association for the quorum. In the event of equal votes the chair has the casting vote.
Virtual Attendance
The Governing Board has approved the use of “virtual attendance” in exceptional circumstances (approved at FGB meeting on 9th September 2019).. Where a governor wishes to attend a meeting by either telephone or video link, the Chair and Clerk must be notified at least 48 hours in advance of the meeting to ensure that appropriate arrangements can be made, where possible.
The governor(s) will be asked their reasons for not attending the meeting in person and their attendance virtually will be subject to the approval of the governing board / committee at the beginning of the meeting, though this approval will not be withheld without good reason. Where approval is withheld the reason for this will be minuted and the governor informed immediately. For full details, please refer to the Virtual Governance Policy.
Committees
The legal minimum quorum for committee meetings is three voting governors. The quorum for committees will only include associate members where a voting right has been granted by the governing board.
In maintained schools the governing board can appoint associate members to serve on one or more committees of the board. Associate members can attend full board meetings but may be excluded from any part of a meeting where the business being considered concerns a member of school staff or an individual pupil. They can be appointed for a period of between one and four years and can be re-appointed at the end of their term. Associate members are not governors and they are not recorded in the instrument of government (Extracted from Governance Handbook March 2019 – Page 53, paragraph 45).
NB: Associate members are not governors and therefore do not have a vote in full governing board decisions, but may be given a vote on decisions made by committees to which they are appointed.
No vote on any matter can be taken at a committee meeting unless the majority of members present are members of the governing board.
The appointed clerk will undertake the clerking of the committees.
The committee minutes shall be included as an agenda item for consideration/information at the next meeting of the full governing board where appropriate.
All decisions made by committees with delegated powers should be reported to the next full meeting of the governing board. If the minutes are not finalised a brief statement of the conclusions reached should be given.
The chair of the committee will be appointed at the first full governing board/committee meeting of the academic year. Governors who are employed by the school are not eligible to be appointed as chair.
Committees will have delegated powers to approve policies as relevant to that committee.
The governing board cannot delegate any functions relating to:
Resources Committee
The committee has responsibility delegated by the governing board to: |
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Finance: Review/approve all policies relevant to finance and roles of the committee.
Staffing:
Any item referred by the full governing board
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Membership |
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Minimum of three members required |
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Chair of Committee |
Jim Williams |
Clerk |
SIPS Clerking |
Curriculum and Standards Committee
The committee has responsibility delegated by the governing board to: |
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Achievement:
Teaching and Learning:
Curriculum:
Behaviour and attendance:
Any item referred by the full governing board |
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Membership |
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Minimum of three members required for quorum |
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Chair of Committee |
Kelly Melia |
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Clerk |
Clerked in school |
FaFacilities Committee
The Committee has responsibility delegated by the Governing Board for: |
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Behaviour:
Premises Health & Safety: Premises Health & Safety:
Any item referred by the full governing board |
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Membership |
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Minimum of three members required for quorum |
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Chair of Committee |
Ian Fleming |
Clerk |
Clerked in school |
Staffing Committee
The committee has responsibility delegated by the governing board for hearing: |
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Membership |
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Minimum of three members required |
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Chair of Committee
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To be elected at each meeting
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Clerk
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Pupil Discipline Committee and Complaints Committee
The committee has responsibility delegated by the governing board to: |
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Any item referred by the full governing board |
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Membership |
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Minimum of three members required |
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Chair of Committee
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Clerk
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Appeals Committee
The committee has responsibility delegated by the governing board for hearing appeals with regard to: |
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When dealing with an appeal the committee should be equal to or greater than the original committee that made the decision. |
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Membership |
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Minimum of three members required |
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Chair of Committee
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To be elected at each meeting
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Clerk
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Pay Committee/Head Teacher Appraisal/Pay Progression
The committee has responsibility delegated by the governing board to: |
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Committee to meet once per year in the autumn term. |
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Membership |
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Cannot be a governor employed by the school |
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Chair of Committee
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To be elected at each meeting
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Clerk
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Selection Panel
The panel has responsibility delegated by the governing board for the: |
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Guidance on this process will be provided by your school improvement partner. The appointment must always be ratified by the full governing board. |
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Membership |
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All members must be available at all stages of the process. |
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Chair of Committee
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To be elected at each meeting
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Clerk
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Special Responsibility Governors
Chair
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Jim Williams |
Vice-Chair
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Kelly Melia |
ASGB Representative
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Jim Williams |
Safeguarding Governor
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Jim Williams |
Health & Safety Governor
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Jim Williams |
Quality of Education Governors
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Jim Williams Leanne Gould |
Leadership & Management Governor
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Jim Williams Kelly Mellia Ian Fleming |
Personal Development Governor |
Ian Fleming
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Behaviour & Attitudes Governor
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Leanne Gould
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SEND/Inclusion Governor
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Nicola Booker |
General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) Governor
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Ian Fleming |
Early Years Foundation Stage Governor
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Kelly Melia |
Safer Recruitment Governors *
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Jim Williams Ian Fleming Head Teacher Kelly Melia Leanne Gould |
*In accordance with Keeping Children Safe in Education 2019 and Working together to safeguard children ‘Governing bodies and proprietors should have a senior board level (or equivalent) lead to take leadership responsibility for their schools or college’s safeguarding arrangements.’ The DfE have confirmed that this can be a member of staff, but that person must be a member of the board as well (for example, the head teacher or a staff governor) and that this must be a separate person from the DSL, in order to ensure there is sufficient challenge to the organisation's safeguarding arrangements and performance.
Items Delegated to an Individual(s)
That sums below £5000 (agreed 9.9.19) be delegated to the head teacher/principal.
Delegated to Head Teacher/Principal with the approval of the chair of the governing board.
That suspension be delegated to the chair in instances where the head teacher/principal is the person in question or involved in the case. That the chair be given delegated powers to lift the suspension after taking advice from LA Human Resources or any other organisation providing the service to the school.
The chair of governors or chair of finance committee be given approval for expenditure above the set limit prior to the finance committee meeting – only in cases of emergency
Lunchtime/Cleaning/Administration Support Staff |
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Educational Support Staff |
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Business Manager |
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Teaching Staff |
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Senior Management Team* * Head Teacher and Deputy Head Teacher appointments must be ratified by the relevant body. |
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Governor Name | Type of Governor | Date appointed/reappointed | Appointing Body | End of Term Date | Reason for stepping down | Chair/Vice Chair | Committee Chair | Committee Membership | Business Interests (specify) | Staff/Governor/member/trustee connections | other Governor posts held | 2018-19 Meeting Attendance |
Alison Bhardwaj | HT | Ex-Officio | Board | N/A | N/A | Resources, Curriculum & Standards, Facilities | None | None | None | 93% | ||
Nicola Booker | STF | 8/6/19 | Staff | 7/6/23 | N/A | Curriculum & Standards | None | None | None | 100% | ||
Rachael Dore | PAR | 18/11/19 | Parents | 17/11/23 | N/A | Curriculum | N/A | |||||
Ian Fleming | FDN | 24/6/18 | Trust | 23/6/22 | N/A |
Chair Facilities |
Resources, Facilities |
None | None | None | 100% | |
Leanne Gould | COP | 14/9/19 | Board | 13/9/23 | N/A | Curriculum & Standards | None | Related to a staff member | None | 100% | ||
Natalia Levene | COP | 25/11/19 | Board | 24/11/23 | N/A | Resources | N/A | |||||
Julie Markall | COP | 7/12/19 | Board | 6/12/23 | N/A | Resources, Curriculum & Standards | None | None | None | 91% | ||
Kelly Melia | COP | 25/3/19 | Board | 24/3/23 | N/A | Vice-Chair FBG |
Chair Curriculum & Standard |
Curriculum & Standarrds, Pay/HT App |
Chocolate gift business |
None | None | 100% |
Rachel Rodgers | PAR | 26/2/20 | Parents | 25/2/24 | Resources | N/A | ||||||
Jim Williams | FDN | 1/7/16 | Trust | 30/6/20 | N/A |
Chair FGB |
Chair Resources |
Resources, Curriculum & Standards, Pay/HT App | None | None | None | 100% |
Fitz Wilson | LA | 17/1/18 | LA | 16/1/11 | N/A | Resources, Curriculum & Standards, Facilities | None | None | None | 70% | ||
Resignations/End of term of office | ||||||||||||
Laura Richards | COP | 24/6/18 | Board | 15/10/19 | Time constraints | Curriculum & Standards | None | None | None | 75% | ||
Rebecca Flood | STF | 19/10/18 | Staff | 12/4/19 | Left school | N/A | None | None | None | 50% | ||
Joanne Totney | PAR | 23/3/16 | PAR | 13/6/19 | Time constraints | Facilities | None | None | None | 50% | ||
Stuart McGeogh | COP | 24/6/18 | Board | 9/9/19 | Time contraints | Resources, Facilities | None | None | None | 50% | ||
Kelly Melia | PAR | 5/12/19 | PAR | 24/3/19 | Change of Category | Curriculum & Standards, Pay/HT App | None | None | None | 100% | ||
Jayne Cotter | COP | 7/12/19 | Board | 12/3/20 | Time constraints | Curriculum & Standards | None | None | None | 75% | ||
LA - Local Authority | PAR - Parent | STF - Staff | COP - Co-Opted | FDN - Foundation | PS- Partnership | HT - Head Teacher |
* Committe Chairs to be appointed after the first meeting of the relevant committee in the autumn term