School Profile

Governing Body Information

Contact Us
Roles and Responsibilities
The different types of governors and who appoints them.
What is expected of a governor?
Meeting Attendance & Terms of Office
Register of Business Interests of the governors
Current Governors
Training
Minutes of Meetings
Policy for Governors' visits to School

Reconstitution of Governing Bodies: Maintained Schools

The constitution, or structure, of the governing body determines how many and what type of people govern the school.
By 1st September 2015 all governing bodies of maintained schools must have reconstituted using the School Governance (Constitution) (England) Regulations 2012 (as amended).

Following our reconstitution Stanford in the Vale Primary School governing body shall now consist of:

• 4 parent governors
• 1 LA governor
• 1 staff governor
• 1 headteacher
• 3 foundation governors
• 5 co-opted governors

Reconstitution Document

Roles and Responsibilities

The governing board is the school's legally accountable body and must operate in the best interests of the school. The task of the governing board is to lead the school strategically, focusing on the three core functions set out below

As set out in the Governance Handbook, all boards have three core functions:

1. Ensuring clarity of the vision, ethos and strategic direction.


2. Holding the executive leaders to account for the educational performance of the school(s) and its pupils and the effective and efficient performance management of staff.


3. Overseeing the financial performance of the school(s) and making sure that its money is well spent.

The board may delegate functions to individual governors, the Headteacher (in certain circumstances) and committees of the board, but it remains accountable and is responsible for all decisions made.

It is responsible for the general control and management of the administration of the school with headteachers operating within the autonomy, powers and functions delegated to them by the board.

The board must act with integrity, objectivity and honesty and in the best interests of the school and should avoid conflicts of interest.

The board should make sure it does not get involved in the day-to-day running of the school (operational), which is the responsibility of the Headteacher.

It must operate and make decisions in the best interests of the school and in line with its strategic priorities, including in relation to school finances.

As the strategic lead for the school, it is vital that the board understands, and engages with the communities it serves.

The board, with advice from its Clerk, is also responsible for ensuring legal and regulatory compliance across a range of areas, including:

• education and equalities laws.
• safeguarding.
• responsibilities as operators of an educational institution, such as health and safety, information management and employment law.
• conditions and obligations imposed by funding or regulatory bodies.

Governing boards should also have regard to the need for the Headteacher and teachers in their school(s) to be able to achieve a satisfactory work life balance, and, through their strategic role, should provide support and challenge to help reduce unnecessary burdens, for example, in relation to the number of data requests that are made

The different types of governors and who appoints them.

Governors who will be staying on the governing body in their existing category will serve their existing term of office. Any governor appointed to a different category will start a new term of office. All terms of office are 4 years unless you choose to change this in your new instrument of government (minimum is 1 year).

Parent governor places: elections by parents of children at the school decide who fills those places. The child must be on the school roll at the time the election is held. However, parent governors do not have to resign if their children leave the school before their term of office has expired. Having "parental responsibility" is not limited to biological parents, but will cover you if you are a step-parent, foster parent, grandparent bringing up the child, or permanent partner of the child's biological parent. A few people cannot be school governors; those who have been made bankrupt or who have been in prison for certain offences may not serve for at least three years afterwards.

Headteacher: this place can only be held by the head teacher of the school and they have a legal right to their place due to their position in the school.

Staff governor place: the holder of this place is decided by a staff election. All teaching and non-teaching staff are entitled to stand and to vote. Any contested election must be held by ballot.

Local Authority place: the local authority must make a nomination and take into account any eligibility or skills criteria the governing body has provided. The governing body decides whether it will appoint the nominee.

Co-opted governor category. A Co-opted governor is 'a person who, in the opinion of the governing body, has the skills required to contribute to the effective governance and success of the school'. Governing bodies can include as many places as they wish in this category.

Foundation Governors: In addition to the above, Voluntary Aided (VA) schools must have at least two more foundation governors than all other categories combined. Voluntary Controlled (VC) schools must have at least 2 foundation governors.

Governing bodies decide whether to have Associate Members. They are not governors and cannot vote on full governing body decisions, but the governing body may decide to give voting rights to them in the context of a committee. There can be as many associate members as the governing body likes.

What is expected of a governor?

The commitments a school governor must make and how much time they are expected to put in.

Meetings

Governors are required to attend meetings. There are five full governing body meetings per year and failure to attend for any six-month period could result in disqualification.

Much of our detailed business is delegated to the following committees:

Curriculum and Communication Committee (C & C) and Resources, Pay and Personnel committee (R.P & P), who meet at least once a term before the full governors' meetings. All governors belong to one of the committees.

Working with the governing body

As a governor, you must work as members of the governing body for the best interests of the school. This involves asking questions on a range of matters, perhaps when you are visiting the school, attending an open evening or during a meeting. It also means contributing your opinions to the discussions of the governing body and accepting the majority view, which may not always reflect your own opinion.

You are expected to represent the views of those who appointed or elected you. Remember that you represent a group (parent, teacher, Church, business, community) which may have a range of views. You do not necessarily have to vote in accordance with their opinions, but you should listen to them and convey their views to the governing body. You could also report back to interested parties on matters which aren't confidential.

School activities

You must show an interest in school activities. This means the everyday work of the school as well as special events. Find out as much as you can about your school. There really is no better way of finding out about your school than by visiting during working hours. It is courteous to make an advance arrangement with the headteacher and teachers you are intending to visit.

Current Governors

Stanford In The Vale Governors 2024-2025	Name	Special Responsibilities	Term Start	Term End	Committees
Foundation Governor	Janet Warren	Vice Chair Teaching & Learning Assessment & Targets	12/03/2023	11/03/2027	R,P&P Headteacher's Appraisal
	Yvette Upton	SIAMS RE British Values	03/11/2022	02/11/2026	C&C
	Elizabeth Ward	Chair of Curriculum & Communications Committee Safeguarding & Health & Safety	22/02/2021	21/02/2025	C&C
Local Authority Governor	Amanda Bellerby	Foundation Stage	01/09/2021	31/08/2025	Curriculum & Communications
Co-Opted Governors	Claire Lewis	Chair of Governors Finance Computing & Website French	21/09/2022	21/09/2026	C&C, RP&P, Headteacher's Appraisal
	Mary Vizoso	Science History Geography	27/06/2023	26/06/2027	C&C, Headteacher's Appraisal
	Jane Lawson-Smith	Special Educational Needs Equality	28/09/2021	27/09/2025	C&C
	Caroline Smith	English Community Links Wrap Around Care	01/10/2023	30/09/2027	C&C
	Vacancy
Parent Governors	Keith Stuchbury		27/02/2023	26/02/2027	RP&P
	Jonathan Davis	Chair of Resources, Personnel and Pay Committee Premises Maths	19/10/2021	18/10/2025	RP&P
	Craig Goulding	Chair of Resources, Personnel and Pay Committee Premises Maths	30/03/2022	29/03/2026	RP&P
	Lisa James		13/09/2023	12/09/2027	R,P&P
Staff	Amanda Willis	Head Teacher			C&C, RP&P
	Laura Jamison	Inclusion Manager			C&C
Clerk	Kate McConaghy

Committee Structure - Roles And Responsibilities

Register of Business Interests of the governors 2024/25

Meeting attendance 2023 - 2024

Training

Although new governors don't need any educational experience or expertise, you should be prepared to attend the free training course provided by Governor Services for newly appointed governors, so that you are fully aware of your role. Governor Services also provide a variety of other courses to help us carry out our roles as Governors of Stanford School.

Contact

We are happy to talk to parents whenever there is a concern and some governors are usually present at most school events. We will be wearing official badges identifying ourselves.

The minutes of the full governors' meetings are displayed on the governors' notice board, once they have been approved at a full governors' meeting. We will also make them available on the web site.

Correspondence for the attention of the Governors should be addressed to the Chair of Governors and left at the school. We can also be contacted by e mail at chair@stanford.oxon.sch.uk

Policy for Governors' visits to School & form