Governance & Financial Management

The Governing Body

The governing body delivers three core functions :

Setting the vision, ethos and strategic direction of the school
Holding the headteacher to account for the educational performance of the school
Overseeing the financial performance of the school to ensure money is well spent

Responsibilities:

Ensure that the vision and values of the school are clear
Act as a critical friend to the headteacher and school
Support and challenge the headteacher
Ensure the school is managed as well as it can be
Ensure that money is spent wisely and properly, to ensure high quality teaching and learning
Monitor school performance, gathering evidence to show progress is being made towards strategic
priorities and school targets
Monitor the implementation of school policies
Account for the school’s overall performance
Ensure that statutory requirements are met
Monitor the strategic direction and performance of the Children’s Centre, including setting it’s budget
Appoint governors to the Children’s Centre Advisory Board, including the Chair of the Advisory Board

Role of Governor Summary

Governing Body Code of Conduct

Statement of eligibility and disqualification criteria

The Governors

Our governing body currently consists of 9 members who are appointed for a 4 year term of office, after which time they can be re-appointed or re-elected as appropriate. We have lead governors for finance and personnel but there are no separate committees. There are two formal governing body meetings per term, and in addition each term the governors spend a day in school together monitoring a chosen aspect of school life.

Governing Body Register 2022-2023

Financial Management

The Governing Body has a formal, statutory responsibility for the financial management of the site and is accountable to the Local Authority.

The Governing Body needs financial skills to provide strategic leadership, financial accountability and acts as a critical friend to the leadership team. The composition of the governing body is therefore balanced to ensure there are adequate financial skills available to meet the statutory responsibilities for the financial management of the school and can safeguard the large amounts of public money for which they are responsible.

The key principles of good governance and financial management are openness, transparency and integrity. The school is willing to demonstrate the effective use of resources and answer questions about the financial probity.

Effective financial management ensures this money is spent wisely and properly, and allows schools to optimise their resources to provide high-quality teaching and learning and so raise standards and attainment for all their pupils.

In November 2010, the Secretary of State launched the new Schools Financial Value Standard (SFVS). The SFVS has been designed in conjunction with schools to assist them in managing their finances and to give assurance that they have secure financial management in place. The SFVS is subject to annual review and approval by the Governing Body before submission in March.

Behaviour Principles - Governors Written Statement 2023/25