School Governing Body
Join our Governing Team!
We are looking for more people to join our local governing team. If you are interested, it would be lovely to hear from you.
If you are interested, Amy Buckley is our Clerk to Governors and her email is abuckley@buxton.derbyshire.sch.uk or call 01298 212159 during school hours.
The main purpose of the Governing Body is to help raise standards of achievement.
The Headteacher is responsible for the internal organisation and management of the school, but will look to the Governors for support and challenge. It is the duty of the Governors, working with the Head, to keep under review the way the school is developing.
The Governing Body helps to provide the best possible education by:
- Helping to shape the school’s future direction, setting the school values, vision and strategic aims, agreeing plans and policies and making creative use of resources.
- Monitoring and evaluating performance, acting as a critical friend to the Headteacher, and to support and challenge the Head in managing the school.
- Ensuring that the school is accountable to the children and parents it serves, to the local community, to those who fund and maintain it, as well as to the staff it employs.
Please see the documents below for more information on our Local Governing Team.
Governing Body Responsibilities
The Governing Body is responsible for tasks such as:
- Helping to shape the school’s future direction and setting the school’s objectives, targets and policies.
- Promoting high standards of education and achievement.
- Making sure the school provides for all its students, including those with special needs.
- Deciding how the school can encourage a student’s spiritual, moral and cultural development.
- Monitoring and approving budgets.
- Monitoring and reviewing the performance of the school and the progress towards targets.
- Appointing the Head Teacher
School governance is the most important volunteering role in education and an effective Governing Body is a source of enormous strength to a school. As such, governors are at the heart of how a school operates. It is important they get things right. How they do their job affects students, staff and how the school is seen by parents and others in the community.
What Do Governors Do?
Governors are expected to lend their support in ensuring that the school is doing its best for all students.
Some of the ways they offer support are by working as a team and by the following:
- Offering their skills
- Supporting the headteacher and school staff.
- Giving time to school
- Making purposeful visits
- Delegating tasks sensibly
- Preparing to volunteer
The Governing Body is informed by the following:
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- Reading school, LEA and DfES documents as identified
- Attending Governor's training
- Visiting school
- Listening to others
- Observing how things are done
The Governing Body Develops Relationships through the following:
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- Talking to teachers, parents and pupils
- Maintaining contact with their community
- Talking about the school and its success
- Attending school events and bringing others along
- Being a good ambassador for the school
- Being a critical friend to school
All governors are also expected to be involved in more specific tasks such as:
- Attend and play an active part in meetings of the Full Governing Body (5-6 per annum)
- Be a member of one of the standing subcommittees (3-4 meetings per annum for each committee)
- Be a member of staff interview panels if necessary
- Attend school events such as parents’ evenings, school plays, concerts, sporting events, open days
- Undertake training as appropriate
- Be a Link Governor with a specific department
- Keep up to date with national policy and changes in the education sector, the regulatory framework including OfSTED and the law for governors
In addition, individual governors may be asked to take a role in a number of other activities. In considering which of these governors participate in, the particular expertise, experience and interests of individual governors will be important. Examples of these are chairing one of the subcommittees; being a member of a subcommittee other than a standing committee; organising induction for new governors, working with a member of the SLT on a particular area of responsibility, such as health and safety, safeguarding, etc, participating in disciplinary procedures as appropriate.
Where Can I get Additional Information?
If you would like to contact our Governing Body for more information regarding Governors or how to become a Governor, then please email our Clerk, Amy Buckley, abuckley@buxton.derbyshire.sch.uk or call 01298 212159
If you would like to contact the Chair of Governors, Judith Vale, directly then please email Judith.vale@buxton.derbyshire.sch.uk
There are also a number of websites that can give you more general information, including how to become a Governor. Some of these are: