Governing Body

You can Meet our Governors here.

The list of Governors, start and end of terms dates etc can be viewed below

Charter of the Governing Body of The Village School 

Overview 

This Charter sets out the expectation on, and commitment required, from governors in order for the governing body to properly carry out its work within The Village School and the community.

The purpose of the governing body 

The governing body is responsible for the conduct of the school and for promoting high standards. The governing body aims to ensure that children are attending a successful school which provided them with a good education, supports their well-being and specific needs, and helps them to reach their full potential. 

The governing body of The Village School is a committed, collaborative and well informed body, passionate about both the mission of the school (progress, inclusion and entitlement) and also the values of The Village School and is willing to challenge and support in equal measure. 

Key functions of the governing body are to: 

Set the strategic direction of the school by: 

• Setting the values, aims and objectives for the school; 

• Agreeing the policy framework for achieving those aims and objectives; 

• Setting targets for achieving the aims and objectives; 

• Agreeing the school improvement strategy which includes approving the budget and agreeing the staffing structure. 

Challenge and support the school by having mechanisms in place to monitor, review and evaluate: 

• The implementation and effectiveness of the policy framework; 

• Progress towards targets; 

• The implementation and effectiveness of the school improvement strategy; 

• The budget, and annual expenditure in line with the budget; 

• The staffing structure; 

• The performance management regime implemented from time to time. 

Ensure accountability by: 

• Holding the headteacher to account for the performance of the school; 

• Signing off the school’s own self-evaluation report; 

• Responding to Ofsted reports when necessary; 

• Ensuring, staff, parents and pupils are involved, consulted and informed as appropriate; 

• Making information available to the community. 

The governing body and the headteacher 

The governing body appoints and performance manages the headteacher. 

The headteacher has the responsibility for the internal organisation, for the day-to-day management of the school and for the implementation of the approved strategic framework of the school, the school improvement strategy and the delivery of the curriculum. Governors are not expected to be involved in the day-to-day management of the school. 

The aims and objectives of The Village School should be set by the governing body in consultation with the headteacher or the function can be delegated to the headteacher and the senior leadership team but the aims and objectives must be subsequently agreed with and monitored by the governing body. 

The governing body will delegate enough powers to the headteacher to allow for the performance of his/her management duties. The headteacher must then report back to the governing body so that it feels confident that it is fulfilling its statutory duties. Acting as a critical friend the governing body should offer support and constructive advice but should not be deterred from questioning proposals and seeking further information or evidence to enable them to make informed and sound decisions. 

The headteacher will: 

• Respect governors as volunteers who bring additional skills, experience and perspectives, and value their contribution; 

• Work openly with the governing body and provide clear, concise and relevant information on which the governing body can base decisions; 

• Promptly provide any reasonable information requested by the governing body; 

• Ensure that appropriate paperwork is available to governors to support agenda items; 

• Be approachable and accept the governors’ role as critical friend; 

• Enable all governors to be involved in the life of the school; 

• Contribute to the induction, training and development of governors. 

The role of the governor 
In law the governing body is a corporate body which means that: 

• The governing body as a whole is liable for decisions made and individual governors are not legally liable; 

• No governor can act on his/her own without proper authority from the full governing body; 

• All governors carry equal responsibility for decisions taken; 

• The governing body can delegate specific responsibilities to an individual governor for Child Protection/Safeguarding, Special Educational Needs & Disability and Health & Safety. The individual governor must, however, report back to the governing body and is not personally liable. 

Obligations of individual governors 

General

• Respect confidentiality and support decisions of the governing body as a whole;

• Act and take decisions that are in the interests of the school and not those of self, individuals or groups; 

• Demonstrate commitment by getting to know the school and becoming involved in school life and activities while respecting and abiding by the guidelines agreed for governor visits to the school; 

• Take a proactive approach to their own training and development. In particular committing time to understanding how performance is measured and evaluated within the school taking into account Ofsted guidelines and the particular needs of the school; 

• Express views openly, courteously and respectfully in all communications with governors and staff; 

• Always have the well-being and attainment of the children and the reputation of the school at heart; 

• Act as an ambassador for the school, publicly supporting its aims, values and ethos; 

• Be aware of and accept the seven Nolan Principles of public life. 

Meetings and committees 

• Regularly attend full governing body and relevant committee meeting and, when attendance is not possible, ensure that apologies and an explanation for absence are sent in advance to the clerk or the chair of the meeting; 

• Be prepared to contribute personal skills through involvement in the work of appropriate committees; 

• Prepare for all meetings by being well informed and having read all papers sent with the agenda; 

• Encourage and contribute to open debate at governing body meetings and listen to and respect the points of view of other governors even when these differ from their own; 

• Raise concerns with the head teacher between meetings in a positive and constructive way. 

Operating principles for the governing body 

• Ensure that sufficient notice of meetings is given and paperwork is distributed to all governors in good time and at least one week before the meeting; 

• Ensure that meetings are chaired effectively so that the agenda is adhered to, that the meeting is paced so that time is given to each matter in proportion to its importance, draws on all members for contribution and that discussion id kept to the point; 

• Ensure that accurate draft minutes are produced promptly and are agreed at the following meeting; 

• Ensure that the training and development needs of all governors is supported and that there is leadership development and succession planning within the school and the governing body; 

• Ensure that there is a balance between business-focused and strategy-focused meetings with the agreement of governors regarding strategic issues for discussion at the end of each business-focused meeting; 

• Agree and agenda of key business and strategic items which must be brought before relevant committee/governing body meetings over the course of a school year; 

• Ensure that the governing body’s operations and processes are transparent and that an annual governors’ report is published to staff, parents, pupils and the wider community. 

Historic Governor Information (last 12 months) 

The Village School - Governor Attendance Register