Langar Church of England Primary School an Aspire Academy
Governors
Welcome to the Governors’ section
This section is designed to help you understand what a school’s governing body does, who the individual governors at Langar are, when we meet and how to contact us. Please feel free to speak to any one of us if you would like to know more about the work of the governing body.
Who are school governors and what do they do?
School governors come from every walk of life. There are over 300,000 school governors in England and they form the largest volunteer force in the country. Each individual governor is a member of a governing body, which is established in law as a corporate body. Individual governors may not act independently of the rest of the governing body. Decisions are the joint responsibility of the governing body.
Our Governing Body sits at the heart of school leadership. Governors do not manage the day-to-day running of the school; instead, we provide strategic oversight and supportive challenge.
We focus on four core functions:
- Ensuring clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction
- Holding the headteacher to account for educational performance and staff development
- Overseeing the financial performance of the school and ensuring money is well spent
- Upholding the distinct Christian ethos of our school
We also:
- Monitor the quality of education and pupil progress
- Ensure safeguarding procedures are robust
- Review policies and statutory documentation
- Support school improvement priorities
- Represent the views of our community
The composition of our governing body
A governing body should reflect a wide range of groups from the community which the school serves. Therefore, there are several different types of governor. Governors normally hold office for a period of four years. Our governing body is made up of 9 governors:
- 2 parent governors
- 2 staff governors (1 of which is the headteacher)
- 2 foundation governors
- 3 co-opted governors
Parent governors are elected to be representative of the parent body. They should keep in touch with those who elected them but make up their own minds on how to vote on any specific issue. No-one who works in the school for more than 500 hours a year is eligible to be a parent governor.
Staff governors include the head, teaching and non-teaching staff. With the exception of the headteacher, staff governors are elected and should communicate with those who elected them. All staff governors should make up their own minds on how to vote on any specific issue.
Foundation governors are appointed by either the Diocese or the local church, or by some other foundation body.
Co-opted governors are invited to join the governing body based on their skill set and the needs of the school.
Governance Structure
As well as meeting as a whole governing body that meet once per term, we have two committees that also meet once per term :
Finance and General Purposes Committee
Pupil, Personnel and Strategic Development Committee
If you require more information about school governance, or to request meeting minutes with any confidential or sensitive information redacted as appropriate, please contact Mr Walker-Jones through the school office.