Governors
Welcome to the Governors’ section of our school website. There is a single governing body for the Federation of Bedenham & Holbrook Primary Schools made up of a group of people who are dedicated and committed to do their best for the children who attend our schools. They have considerable skills and experience and undertake regular training to ensure their knowledge is kept up to date.
Our Governing Body (GB) constitution consists of 11 places made up of 1 parent from each school, the Executive Headteacher, 1 staff member, 1 Local Authority and co-opted governors, who can also be parents or staff. The Deputy Heads are Associate Members who attend all meetings. The GB meets each term and is supported by various sub committees which governors also attend.
Our governors choose a curriculum subject or policy area to evaluate and monitor. They meet with staff and talk to children about their experiences in school and the how they have been learning.
As stated in The Department for Education (DfE) Governors’ Handbook (October 2020), governing bodies should maintain a strong focus on 3 main core areas:
- Ensuring clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction;
- Holding the Executive Headteacher to account for the educational performance of the school and its pupils, and the performance management of staff; and
- Overseeing the financial performance of the school and making sure its money is well spent.
Governance is about overseeing the success of the school. It is about agreeing priorities and monitoring progress towards them, providing constructive support and challenge to leaders and managers to enable them to do their job to the best of their ability.
Our Federation’s GB appoints its governors to:
- contribute to the school’s self-evaluation and understand its strengths and weaknesses, including the quality of teaching;
- understand and take sufficient account of pupil data;
- assure themselves of the rigour of the assessment process;
- be aware of the impact of teaching on learning and progress in different subjects and year groups;
- provide challenge and support whilst holding the senior leaders to account for improving the quality of teaching, pupils’ achievement and pupils’ behaviour and safety;
- ensure solvency and probity and that the financial resources made available to the school are managed effectively;
- monitor performance management systems and understand how the school makes decisions about teachers’ salary progression, including the performance management of the Executive Headteacher;
- create strong links between both schools, the parents/carers and our community and engage with key stakeholders;
- be transparent and accountable, including in terms of recruitment of staff, governance structures, attendance at meetings, and contact with parents and carers.
The governors are encouraged to be visible within both schools as often as possible. However, if you would like to meet or chat to any of our governors, please get in contact with either of the school offices. Whilst we strive to keep you fully informed and up to date as much as we can, if you have any feedback or suggestions for our GB, please put them in writing to the Chair of Governors and give to either school office.
Please note, any issues you may have should normally be raised with our school staff in the first instance, but if you are not sure how to proceed, we will be pleased to provide advice and look forward to hearing from you.
Jan Heath
Chair of Governors
Governors’ details, and register of interests 2023/24
Governors' meeting attendance 2023/24
Governors' meeting attendance 2022/23
Please click on this link for more information about volunteering to be a school governor in Hampshire
Governors' Newsletters