About the Governing Body

Did you know that school governors are one of the largest voluntary groups in the UK? There are over 300,000 people across the UK volunteering their time to be a part of a school’s governing body 

What is a governing body?

The Governing Body is an integral part of any school structure. The Body works with the Headteacher and school staff to make sure it provides high quality education for all its pupils, and constantly strives to improve. However, the Governing Body is not expected to make day-to-day decisions about how the school is run, this is left to the experts – the Headteacher and senior leadership team.

The Governing Body helps shape the vision and direction of the school and ensures that it fulfils its statutory duties. Governors are expected to have a good understanding of the strengths and any weaknesses of the school so that the Senior Leadership Team can be challenged and supported through decisions that arise. Through this, the school is then able to evaluate its performance and plan strategically to improve all aspects of school life. 

The Governing Body acts as an important link between the school, parents and the local community and forms part of the education partnership responsible for providing the best possible education for the children in our school. Maintaining this important link will ensures Cromwell Park continues to be a thriving and successful school.

At Cromwell Park, we are fortunate to have committed and able Governors who come from diverse backgrounds and are able to bring a wealth of knowledge and experience to their roles.

What responsibilities does the Governing Body have?

There are three key roles of the governing body:

• To provide strategic direction for the school
• To support the Headteacher, but constantly look to raise standards
•  Ensure accountability

So, in practice this means that a governor may get involved in:

• Deciding how the budget is spent and ensuring good value for money
• Making sure the curriculum provides for and stretches all pupils
• Making sure the school buildings are welcoming, safe and well used
• Setting and monitoring the school’s values, aims and policies
• Appointing staff and making sure the right development and rewards arrangements are in place

What is the structure of a governing body?

The Governing Body is entitled to consist of the following representatives; however, in reality most Governing Bodies carry a few vacancies at any given time:

• Three authority Governors       (appointed by the Local Authority)
• Five parent Governors              (elected by parents)
• Headteacher Governor
• One teacher Governor              (elected by school staff)
• One non-teaching Governor       (elected by school staff)
• Four Community Governors       (appointed by the Governing Body)

Governors serve on a range of committees, support school events and make visits to the school during term time. The entire Governing Body meets twice a term, although, to increase efficiency much of work is undertaken through various sub-committees. The regular and main committees are:

• Curriculum Standards and Community Links Committee
• Resource Management Committee
• Pre School Management Committee

(In addition to these, there are a small number of committee groups/panels that only meet occasionally or for a specific reason).