Springdale First School Governing Body Overview

Our governing body is made of 9 governors in total, including the Headteacher and comprises:  

Three Parent Governors:  

Miss L Hocking, Mrs M Lewis, Vacancy 

One Staff Governor:  

Mrs A-M Lawrence  

Four Co-opted Governors:  

Mrs H Heydon, Mr J Homer, Mrs C Slater, Vacancy.  

Chair of Governors:  Miss Lucy Hocking, Springdale First School, Springdale Road, Broadstone, Dorset, BH18 9BW  

Vice Chair of Governors: Mrs M Lewis 

Clerk to the Governors: Ms Katherine Hall  

The Governors are a vital part of the school partnership, working together for the benefit of the children and the effective running of the school. We work closely with teachers, non-teaching staff and parents to provide the best possible education for the children of Springdale.  

OfSTED (2013) recognised the outstanding contribution that our dedicated and hard-working governors make to the school. Governors are often in school and participate in school life.  

Our Governing Body has a strong focus on three core strategic functions within Springdale:  

· Ensuring clarity of vision, ethos & strategic direction  

· Holding our headteacher to account for the educational performance of Springdale & its pupils  

· Overseeing the financial performance of Springdale & making sure its money is well spent  

In order to meet these criteria, used by Ofsted to judge the effectiveness of governance at Springdale, we constantly:  

· Evaluate our performance and best practice  

· Challenge and support  

· Make necessary changes to improve effectiveness  

To ensure we focus as a team on our core functions we operate through  

· A Teaching & Learning Forum  

· Key Governor Roles  

· Committees  

Teaching & Learning Forum  

Governors: Mrs H Heydon, Mrs A-M Lawrence, Mrs M Lewis, Mrs L Hocking, Miss D Budden  

Teaching & Learning Forum’s primary role is to take delegated responsibility for the Governing Body in relation to the quality of teaching and learning for cross curriculum subjects and all matters in relation to pupils learning.  

The Forum monitors on behalf of the Governing Body how the curriculum is taught, evaluated and resourced, hence holding the headteacher to account for educational performance of the school, and its pupils.  

The schedule for this forum is based around termly workshops and formal meetings with governors meeting where applicable with Senior Leadership Team members and Subject Matter Experts (SME).  

Key Governor Roles  

Business Governor (Mrs L Hocking)  

On behalf of the governing body the Business Governor works closely with the School Business Manager to ensure effective financial oversight of the school’s finance and human resources, informing the FGB on a termly basis via the FGB Committee.  

Safeguarding Governor (Mrs H Heydon)  

On behalf of the governing body the Safeguarding Governor works closely with the school’s dedicated safeguarding lead (DSL) to ensure effective process is in place for the early identification of any welfare concerns about a child, additional needs they might have, indicators of possible abuse, neglect or other safeguarding concerns. Coupled with close monitoring of HET audits and action plans and informing the FGB on a termly basis via the FGB Committee.  

Health & Safety Governor (Vacancy)  

On behalf of the governing body the Health & Safety Governor works closely with the Site Manager to ensure staff, pupils & volunteers are not exposed to unacceptable risks by monitoring HET audits, action plans and educational visit risk assessments, informing the FGB on a termly basis.  

Inclusion Governor (Including SEND) (Mrs M Lewis)  

The Inclusion Governor gains specific oversight of the school’s arrangements for all children identified as vulnerable. Key to the role is building a good working relationship with the Inclusion Lead (SENCo) to understand how funding is being used & in particular what impact this is having on the pupils who receive it, in order that their achievements are at least in line with their peers.  

The Inclusion Governor monitors action plans and informs the FGB on a termly basis via the FGB Committee.  

Staffing and Recruitment Governor (Mrs L Hocking)  

The Staffing and Recruitment Governors work closely with the Headteacher and SLT to ensure there is a strategic staff structure in place, which considers succession planning. This role also collaborates with the Business Governor and School Business Manager to ensure HR and Financial elements are considered in the decision process, informing the FGB via the FGB Committee as required.  

IT (Mr J Homer)  

On behalf of the governing body, the IT Governor ensures that the school has the right measures in place to keep our children safe from online exploitation and radicalisation, and that the school is fulfilling its safeguarding duty in this area.  

EYFS Governor (Mrs M Lewis)  

On behalf of the governing body, the Early Years Foundation (EYFS) Governor should develop a supporting relationship with the EYFS Lead to gather an understanding of the curriculum, best practice and development plans in place for this provision.  

Committees  

The following committees are formed on an as and when required basis and in accordance with the Governing Body’s Terms of Reference and Membership with the exception of the Full Governing Body Committee:  

Executive, Pay review, Pay Review Appeals, Pupil Discipline, Staff Dismissal, Staff Dismissal Appeals, Full Governing Body (Meeting at least once termly)  

A quick overview of the Structure of our Governing Body can be found in the Governance section of our website.  

More information about Trust Governance including the Scheme of Delegation and Terms of Reference can be found at www.hamwic.org/governance  

If you have any questions or wish to talk to a member of the governing body then please liaise through our Clerk to the Governors, contact the school office (01202 692700).  

Minutes from each meeting once agreed and signed off (usually the term following the meeting) are available via email upon request from the Clerk to the Governors:  

khall@springdale.poole.sch.uk.