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.
We have also provided a Register of Governor Interests and an Annual Statement of Issues for your information.
Foundation:
Peter Golightly (Chair)
John Hunter
Staff:
Lisa Hampson
Richard Tomlinson (Head)
Lindsey Fisher
Parent:
Safeena Higgins
Irina Richardson
Nick Baseley
Paul Verner
Local Authority:
Tracy Strutt (Vice Chair)
Community:
Tracy Strutt
The Governing Body – Roles and Activities
The Governing Body of St. Peter’s School, East Bridgford consists of governors who, with the exception of the Head Teacher, are residents of the village in which the School is situated. They are nominated to represent various stakeholder bodies including parents, staff, church, local authority and the community. There are also 2 Associate Members who act in a more limited capacity. The Governors at the School are very active, undertaking most of their work through a structure of formal and informal committees. All the Governors at St. Peter’s are highly motivated and committed to the ethos, standards and success of the School, most having specific, individual responsibilities. Governors recognise their legal, ethical and community responsibilities to the whole school, including the children, staff and parents. They also recognise the special position that being a Voluntary Church Controlled school brings and the links between church and school are very strong. The Governing Body meets each term and considers business items submitted by the local authority, and from members of its own Governing Body. The latter demonstrates that it has an active, not a passive, approach to school governance. When necessary it will convene special meetings to consider specific or urgent items not appropriate to a scheduled termly meeting.
Standards of Governance
Governors are fully aware of the obligations and responsibilities that their roles bring, and are constantly looking to improve the quality, standards, efficiency and effectiveness with which they fulfil these responsibilities. The constantly changing nature, law and requirements of school governance are recognised to place an obligation on school governors to be adequately trained and kept up to date. Governors at St. Peter’s are committed to training, both in areas of a general nature and related to their specific areas of expertise and interest. Leadership and Communication for Governors In its aim to improve standards and quality of governance within the school, the Governing Body has established a Governors’ Leadership Group. This group has a defined remit and membership, and meets at least once each term. Its remit includes providing consistent standards for the conduct and business content of its Committees.
Communication with Parents and the Community
The Governing Body is currently seeking ways to fill the communication gap created by the demise of the annual governors’ report to parent and the annual Parent-Governors’ meeting. There is a constant interaction with parents through the Parent Governors and the Chair of Governors. Parent Governors have adopted a proactive approach to their roles, including an annual presentation to parents of children in the Reception Class. The Governing Body have implemented a regular ‘Governor-Parent Focus’ newsletter’ to promote and communicate the work of the Governing Body to parents. Photographs of Governors are on public display to facilitate recognition and contact. There are important links from the Governing Body to the Parent-Teacher Association –and the Out-of-School Club. A Parent Governor contributes a monthly news item about the School to the Village Magazine to promote the school in the context of its village setting and to keep all village residents aware of the activities and successes of one of its key assets. The Governing Body also has strong links with the Parish Council.
Church Links
St. Peter’s School, and its Governing Body, prides itself in being a Church of England School. It has close links with its local church from which it takes its name. The Governing Body actively encourages the Christian nature of the school, and the understanding of other religions, within its day-to-day activities. The school has enjoyed support from the Priest-in-Charge of the Parish (currently vacant), and has been encouraged to use the Church as part of its worship and learning whenever possible.
Curriculum Links
Governors at St. Peter’s are involved not only in issues of school governance, but are actively involved in the whole school curriculum. All governors have at least one curriculum subject for which they provide a link between the Governing Body and the curriculum lead teacher with whom they will liase on a regular basis thereby facilitating both the delivery of the curriculum across the school and providing a knowledge resource for the whole Governing Body. Governors undertake regular visits to the school. Although historically these have been of a general nature, they are now focussed on curriculum link responsibilities of individual governors. The outcomes of these visits are reported to the termly meetings of the Governing Body. Governors are assisted in their visits by guidance produced by the Governing Body aimed at maximising the benefits to both Governors and teaching staff.
Governing Body Committees
Finance & General Purposes Committee (F&GP)
F&GP meets at least every half-term with a broad remit covering finance, health and safety and risk management issues, and its membership has the expertise to fulfil these roles. It considers all aspects of finance and budget control, with specific members involved in the annual budget setting and LEA service buy-back processes. F&GP monitors monthly budget statements and internal audit outcomes. It also monitors and advises on catering finance. It liases closely with other Committees when matters decisions involving finance are required.
Personnel & Pupil Committee (P&P)
Seven governors, including the Chair of Governors and the Head Teacher, form the Personnel and Pupils Committee. There are separate Pay and Pay Appeals Committees all of which are accountable to the Personnel and Pupils Committee. Meetings take place approximately once per half term, however, at busy times, frequency increases significantly. P&P is responsible for all issues relating to staff and pupils, including staffing, appointments, and policies for admissions, discipline and behaviour, complaints and infant class sizes.
Strategic Development Committee (SDC)
The work of the Strategic Development Committee is tremendously varied and is integral to many parts of the school life of St Peter’s. The committee’s role in reviewing the curriculum, alongside the Head Teacher, presents many opportunities to monitor and to genuinely develop and influence the strategic direction of the school. Many strands of the committee’s remit interlink and depend upon each other, whether this is policy development or school self-review. An example of this would be how the work this year on the Gifted and Talented policy has influenced how all children can benefit from Personal Education Plans. The pupil questionnaire has been an important tool in the self-review process giving valuable information directly from those we are here to nurture and has provided useful indicators for our work on the School Development Plan. The Committee also undertakes regular reviews of specific curriculum policies for Full Governing Body approval, including Religious Education and Social & Sex Education.
Home-School Committee (HSC)
The Home-School Committee was formed over 10 years ago from Parent Governors and teachers to draw up the Home School Agreement. Its current primary aim is to develop and maintain a strong and effective partnership between parents, governors and staff, and to ensure that communication between home and school is as good as it can be. HSC comprises all Parent Governors, Head Teacher, and teaching/non-teaching staff governors. The business of HSC is wide ranging, from ‘book buddies’ to school uniform. HSC is responsible for the development and monitoring the Home-School Agreement, the Parent Handbook and the School Prospectus, and it has strong links with the School Council and School EcoCouncil. HSC members have been responsible for the development of this website.
Academy Conversion
The Governing Body have agreed unanimously to pursue taking the school to Academy status, for which it is considered there are many advantages and few disadvantages. A 4-week consultation period with key stakeholders, principally parents and staff, started on May 7th. A summary of the issues involved, together with a covering letter/response form, have been circulated to parents/carers. These documents, together with further details, are available below.
Policies and Procedures
The Governing Body is responsible for producing a number of policies that relate to various aspects of the school and its activities. These are available fro the list below. All relevant policies an standards may also be found in the Articles & Information section of the website:
1. School Complaints Procedure See document below:
Websites for Governors