Governors

Purpose of the Governing Body

The Department for Education describes the purpose of a governing body as follows. The governing body should:

  • help the school to set high standards by planning for the school's future and setting targets for school improvement

  • keep the pressure up on school improvement

  • be a critical friend to the school, offering support and advice

  • help the school respond to the needs of parents and the community

  • make the school accountable to the public for what it does

  • work with the school on planning, developing policies and keeping the school under review

  • exercise its responsibilities and powers in partnership with the head teacher and staff

  • not intervene in the day-to-day management of the school unless there are weaknesses in the school, when it then has a duty to take action.

Structure and Membership of Cossington's Governing Body

A governing body is made up of Local Authority, parent, staff and co-opted governors from which a Chair and Vice Chair are elected.

Cossington's governing body comprises:

  • 5 Parents

  • 3 Foundation governors

  • 1 Local Authority

  • 1 Head Teacher

  • 2 staff (elected)

  • 3 community/co-opted

(Co-opted governors can be parents, staff or community governors but the proportion of staff on a governing body, including the Head, cannot exceed one third of the total.)

A Chair of Governors and a Vice Chair are elected from the parent, Local Authority and co-opted governors (staff and the ex-officio head cannot take on these roles).

Full governor meetings are clerked by an appointed Clerk to the Governors.

Committees


To achieve these goals governors meet to discuss, challenge and support the school and its staff. The full Governing Board meet half termly, but governors will also attend committee meeting to focus on particular areas of the school. These committees are:

  • Finance, Personnel & General Purposes

  • Standards

  • Health, Safety & Safeguarding

  • Christian Distinctiveness

  • Headteacher Performance Management

  • Pay

  • Engaging Parents


Full Governors' Meetings

Cossington's governing body meets half-termly for meetings.

These are chaired by the chair of governors and clerked by a trained clerk.

The head teacher is also present at all regular meetings.

The head teacher presents a half-termly report which outlines the progress of teaching and learning in the school based on the results of lesson observations and data from assessments, along with progress on the School Improvement Plan, staffing, concerns, absences, exclusions and budget.

A typical meeting includes:

  • Declaration of interests

  • Ratifying minutes of previous meetings

  • Matters arising from previous meetings

  • Head teacher's report

  • Reviewing and approving policies

  • Reports from governors with special responsibilities

  • Correspondence sent to the Chair

  • Any other urgent business

Paper copies of minutes from the governors meetings, are available, upon request, from the school office.