Governors Information and Duties

GOVERNOR UPDATE - January 2022

There is a vacancy for a parent governor on this school’s governing body. If you are interested in becoming a parent governor, please complete this Microsoft Form asap.

If you would like to stand for election, please complete and return the nomination form, found below, to the school office by midday on Friday 4th February 2022. You will need to ask another parent of a student at this school to sign the form to support your application.

Please be aware that regulations require everyone elected or appointed to a governing body to undergo a pre-appointment check which may include a criminal background check. This is to ensure the safety of the pupils. If you are elected and you subsequently decline to undergo such a check, you will disqualify yourself.

If there is only one nomination, then the person nominated will be deemed elected unopposed. If there are no nominations, the governing body has the duty to appoint parent governors to fill the remaining vacancy. If an election is necessary, we will send you a ballot paper on Monday 7th February 2022.

The governing body has determined that the term of office for a parent governor is 4 years. If you are elected, you may serve the full term of office even if your child leaves the school before your term of office finishes.

Only parents/carers of children registered at the school are entitled to stand or vote in the election. A parent/carer who is paid to work at the school for more than 500 hours in a school year or is an elected member of the LA may not stand for election.

Each parent/carer will be sent one ballot paper regardless of how many children they have at the school, and each parent/carer will have one vote per vacancy. The ballot will be secret, and you will be notified of the result as soon as possible afterwards.

If you have any questions about whether you are eligible to stand or vote in the election or about anything else in this letter, please Mrs D Board, Clerk to Governors (d.board@barnwell.herts.sch.uk)

GOVERNORS

School governors are members of the school's Governing Body. They have responsibility for raising school standards through their three key roles of setting strategic direction, ensuring accountability and monitoring & evaluating school performance.

The governors have three committees:

• Quality of education
• Personnel and Finance
• Conduct and Learning Environment

The committees and Full Governing Body meet at regular intervals through the school year.

Members of the Senior Leadership Team also attend committee and Full Governors’ meetings and the governors may invite any other person to attend their meetings where there is a clear rationale and purpose for their attendance. For example report to governors on specific areas.

CONTACTING THE GOVERNORS

The normal channels for parent consultation with school are through the Headteacher or their representative, although in most cases parents should contact the Form Tutor or Head of House in the first instance. Governors can make themselves available for consultation with parents if required but it is normally advisable to ensure that matters requiring the attention of the governors are first taken up through normal channels within the school.

THE GOVERNORS

Governors details and register of interest can be found in the featured content.

Clerk to the governors: Mrs D Board

'Over time, governors have effectively held leaders to account for the quality of
provision. Staff are particularly appreciative of their and leaders’ support with staff
well-being and workload.'

Ofsted - November 2022