Governors

The function and role of governors

The three key functions of governors at any maintained (Local Authority) school are defined by the Department for Education as:

ensuring clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction for the school
holding the headteacher to account for the educational performance of the school and its pupils, and the performance management of staff
overseeing the financial performance of the school and making sure its money is well spent.

In order to carry out these functions well, the Governing Body needs members who:

have a clear commitment to the vision and ethos of the school, which are shared with the headteachers, staff, parents and others of our school community
understand well how the school works, including its strengths, weaknesses and current development priorities
are committed to personal development to make sure the Governing Body has the necessary skills and experience to challenge and support the school in its development.

The Governing Body at Hardwick & Cambourne acknowledges that it has a collective responsibility to appoint, train and support new governors so that they can become effective as quickly as possible. It also has a responsibility to the school to make sure that its members have the range of skills and knowledge necessary to carry out the three key governor functions well.

For anyone considering applying to be a governor

Sometimes the Governing Body seeks people with specific skills or abilities, to fill a gap in its combined skill set. These will be outlined in any communication that seeks applicants. Generally, though, the attributes needed to become an effective governor are enthusiasm and commitment.

The commitments to becoming effective include:

commitment to the school’s vision and ethos – these can be found on the school’s website
commitment to attending appropriate training – some is provided by the Local Authority, some is done within the Governing Body
commitment to the workload of being a governor – including attending evening and daytime meetings as needed.

Note that anyone applying to become a governor at our school will need to have an enhanced disclosure check from the Disclosure Barring Service (DBS). See https://www.safeguardinginschools.co.uk/governors-and-mandatory-dbs-checks/ for more info.

Meeting schedule

The full Governing Body usually meets one evening each half-term, to discuss issues related to its three key functions.

In addition, all governors take part in monitoring an area of the School Development Plan for the year. This involves meeting with school staff several times during the academic year, sometimes with pupils or other members of the school community. These meetings are usually (though not exclusively) during the school day. This work is essential to developing an understanding of how the school works, and see first-hand how areas of development are progressing.

Governor logon for Its Learning – governor section

Co-opted Governors

Jane Cadwalladr (Chairperson)

Sue Kearsey (Vice-Chairperson)

Shani Lee

Alison Rawlinson

Claire McDonald

Sujit Bhattacharya

Cait Dawkins

Christopher Mela

Parent Representatives

Nigel Maguire