Governors

Our Aims and Accountability

1          Purpose

Our purpose is to support and challenge the school to provide the best possible education for its pupils. We have three statutory strategic functions:
  • to ensure the school has clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction;
  • to hold the Headteachers to account for the educational performance of the school, and for the performance management of staff;
  • to oversee the financial performance of the school to ensure its money is spent well.
Ofsted judges our effectiveness by reference to these functions.  It uses The School Inspection Handbook to consider how well we:
  • carry out the three statutory duties and understand the boundaries of our roles
  • support the school in preparing the children for life in Britain and ensure it promotes respect for people of differing beliefs, cultures and lifestyles
  • ensure the school’s clarity of vision, ethos and strategic planning
  • contribute to the school’s self-evaluation and understand its strengths and weaknesses
  • understand data about the pupils, particularly the data dashboard, and ensure the school acts upon the information it shows
  • assure ourselves of the rigour of the assessment process
  • are aware of the impact teaching has on learning and progress in different subjects and year groups
  • challenge and hold the Headteachers and other leaders to account for improving the quality of teaching, pupils’ achievement and pupils’ behaviour and safety, and that we do not hinder school improvement by failing to tackle key concerns or by not developing our own skills
  • ensure the school uses the pupil premium and other resources to overcome barriers to learning
  • ensure solvency and probity and that the financial resources made available to the school are managed effectively
  • monitor performance management systems and understand how the school makes decisions about teachers’ salary progression
  • are accountable, including in terms of recruitment of staff, governance structures, attendance at meetings, and contact with parents and carers.

2          Accountability and Responsibility

We are accountable to:
  • the children
  • their parents and guardians
  • the Local Education Authority
  • the wider community.
Together with the Headteachers we bear overall responsibility for determining the aims and conduct of the school, deciding how it should develop, and approving policies and procedures which support that development.  This strategic responsibility means that we:
 
  • seek a shared understanding of the school’s strengths and weaknesses
  • assist in the planning and agenda for school improvement
  • self-evaluate, so that we can ably plan further development
  • monitor school performance through school visits, meetings with subject leaders and examination of pupil data
  • use external reports about the school to drive improvement
  • endeavour to reflect the views of parents and the wider community by engaging with them
  • ensure we understand the school and confirm that our strategic aims are being met by spending time on site during the school day in order to build and refresh our knowledge.

To this end governors serve for a term of four years. We meet as a Full Governing Body twice a term, plus each committee, Resources and Curriculum meet twice a term, we also have Pay committees and Head Teacher Performance Review committees, plus adhoc parents committees, all committees report back to the Full Governing Body.

Volunteering as a School Governor

Reasons to volunteer
Being a school governor means being interested in getting the best education for the pupils at the school. Governors can become involved in a range of school matters, which can include recruitment, finance and curriculum. They also provide a strong link between the school and the local community, and an independent view to support the school on long term development and improvement.

Governing bodies meet on at least a termly basis and governors are also expected to get to know their schools through visits. There are a range of training opportunities available to help governors undertake their duties and develop their understanding of the key areas of school management.

Please click on this link for more information about volunteering to be a school governor.

Governor Attendance Record 2022 – 2023

FGB Meeting Dates 2023-2024

Governors Statement of Behaviour Principles

Governors

Name

Governor

Category

Appointing Body & 

Date of Appointment

Term of Office Expiry Date

Position Held

Register of Interests

Pippa Bostock Chair of Governors

Governing Body

01.03.2023

28.02.2027

Online Safety & GDPR

HTPM Committee

 

Vicki Clarke

 

Parent

 

Election

26.01.2022

25.01.2026

 

Safeguarding Governor

PHSCE PDL

 

Emily Cole

Co-Opted Governor

Governing Body

 

SEND 

 
Odele Davies Headteacher

Co-Headteacher

2.09.2017

  Associate Headteacher  
Claire Edwards Parent

Election

26.01.2023

31.01.2027 Attendance & Behaviour  
Alex Emery Staff

Staff Election

21.09.2021

20.09.2025

Development & Training Governor

Website

Mengham Junior employee
Garath Greaves Co-Opted

Governing Body

26.03.2023

26.03.2027

Health & Safety/Annual Site Survey

Internal Control Checks

Pay Committee

 
Edward Harrison Co-Headteacher     Headteacher  
Ronald Harman Co-Opted

Governing Body

28.11.2022

27.11.2026

Finance Governor

Governor for Allegations against the Head Teacher

SEND/LAC/Pupil Welfare/Diversity

HTPM Comittee
Governors who have resigned in the last 12 months 
Peter Griffiths Chair of Governors

Governing Body

10.09.2022

Resigned 23.01.2024

20.09.2025

Governor for Allegations against the Head Teacher

SEND/LAC/Pupil Welfare/Diversity

Grandfather of two children in Y3 & Y6.
Johanna Birch Vice-Chair

Governing Body

17.10.2022

Resigned

24.10.2023

16.10.2026

Attendance & Behaviour

Pay Committee

Community Fridge co-ordinator.

OSCA Childcare Limited.

 

CODE OF CONDUCT – MENGHAM JUNIOR SCHOOL GOVERNING BODY