A message from our chair, Mrs Rachel Brain
School Governors are people who wish to make a positive contribution to children’s education. Together with the Headteacher they set the future direction of the school and decide how the school’s budget should be spent. Governing bodies make decisions collectively on matters such as school policies and the school’s development plan.
Our Governing Body
As Chair of the Governing Body of Meadowside School, I feel privileged to work with a dedicated group of people who have so much knowledge and experience to bring to the school. Although we all come from very different backgrounds we have one overwhelming desire; to keep Meadowside flying the flag for quality, excellence, high standards and innovation in primary education and ensuring that through this every child has chance to develop to their full potential and our job is only made easier by the highly-skilled and motivated staff who strive to maintain the school’s well-deserved reputation. Our governing body have no governance roles in other schools.
So … the Role of the Governing Body
All schools in England have a Governing Body which is responsible for overseeing many of the strategic decisions of the school. This is done by reviewing and agreeing policies, targets and priorities and monitoring and reviewing aims and objectives. The key role is to act as a ‘critical friend’, this means to support, challenge and ask questions and ultimately to be accountable to the school community and the Government for the standards, resources and finances of the school.
In carrying out its duties, the Governing Body works in close partnership with the Headteacher, the staff and the Local Authority to create a clear understanding of the challenges faced in managing the school. Whilst the Headteacher is, of course, responsible for the day-to-day running of the school, the Governors are involved with such things as curriculum, safeguarding, school buildings and finance. They ensure that the school functions well and maintains its high standards of attainment and achievement for all pupils by providing a broad and enriching curriculum and ensuring that staff training, resources and accommodation are available to facilitate this. In consultation with all the relevant groups or leads we regularly monitor and review progress.
Who are Meadowside’s Governors?
On 1st March 2015 the Governing Body was reconstituted under the 2012 School Governance Regulations. The new regulations allowed us to change the numbers and types of governors we had and to invite people to join us at different times and in different roles on the basis of the skills they can bring.
The standard term of office for a governor is four years; however our staff governor is elected for a two year term. The Chair and Vice-Chair are elected annually at the first meeting of the academic year.
The full Governing Body meets at least six times per year. In addition, much of the work of the Governing Body is done by committees. At Meadowside Primary School we currently have two committees: Resources and the Teaching and Learning Committee. Working groups are formed when the need arises to address specific issues.
All business and financial interests have been declared.
Mrs Rachel Brain
Governor list and term Dates Oct 2024
