Governance

Made of up individuals who are elected or appointed to voluntarily represent the church, parents and carers, the local authority and the staff; our governing body are the strategic leaders of the school with a vital role to play in making sure every pupil receives the best possible education while achieving his or her full potential, irrespective of age or ability.

Governors

We are proud to have a committed governing body made up of a team of individuals with a wide range of backgrounds and experiences. The number of governors for our school is 12 and our primary role is to ensure that the school discharges their statutory duties under the law as well as act as a ‘critical friend’ in supporting and challenging the leadership and management.

We also help to set the vision and strategic direction of the school, oversee the maintenance of the premises and management of budgets, monitor performance and attainment of pupils and engage with key stakeholders.

The school and governing body also benefit from the support of the Trustees who look after the endowment left by Baroness Angela Burdett-Coutts and periodically gives grants to the school. The chair of the Trustees is Mrs Fiona Burdett-Coutts.

Structure

Our governing body is highly active and motivated both in celebrating the school’s successes and in concentrating on their improvement. All members are expected to familiarise themselves with the schools’ strengths, weaknesses and targets for improvement especially in reference to two key documents, the Self Evaluation Form (SEF) and the School Improvement Plan (SIP).

In addition, governors are encouraged to involve themselves in the school directly, perhaps attending a school assembly or event, accompanying children and staff on a school trip or simply talking to pupils and staff.

Our governors are also appointed to strategic link roles related directly to the Key Priorities and School Improvement Actions of our School Improvement Plan, as well as other statutory positions eg: Safeguarding, Pupil Premium, Health & Safety etc. In all cases, their objectives are to monitor the progress and impact of their specific areas and report to the FGB at strategic points during the academic year.

Following recent guidelines, we have streamlined our governing body’s processes and procedures to ensure our focus remains primarily on strategic issues. Our ongoing aim is to ensure the sharing of all key information and effective use of governors’ and school leaders’ skills and time.

As well as meeting 5 times a year, we also meet to form the following committees – Pay, Headteacher’s Performance Management, and Admissions – in order to be able to discharge certain statutory functions. We further meet at the following Forums – Finance & Business, Outcomes, and Ethos – to monitor and ensure the effectiveness of our school in these important areas.

Key Documents

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Register of Business Interests

In May 1996 the Nolan Committee published a report on standards in public life as applicable to local public spending bodies. The report identified seven principles which should be applied in public life. These are selflessness, integrity, objectivity, accountability, openness, honesty and leadership.

It is important that our governors act and are seen to act impartially. One important means by which a self-governing school demonstrates that it is applying these principles is by maintaining detailed information including a register of business, pecuniary and material interests.

Information on the Membership of the Governing Body of Burdett-Coutts and Townshend CE Primary School (re-constituted 4th August 2015)