Governors
West Byfleet Junior School Governing Body
Message from the Chair of Governors
The governing body is made up of a group of volunteers from a mix of staff, parents and members of the wider community. The role of the governing body is strategic. Its core functions are to:
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Ensure clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction for the benefit of pupils.
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Ensure the educational performance of the school and its pupils, and the performance management of staff.
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Oversee the financial performance of the organisation..
Governors work in partnership with the Headteacher and the senior leadership of the school to support and act as ‘critical friends’ to the Headteacher and staff. Governors are not involved in the day-to-day operations of the school. However, there are some statutory responsibilities set out by the Department for Education (DfE) in The School Governance Regulations 2013 (January 2014) and The Maintained Schools Governance Guide (March 2024).
Our governing body currently comprises 12 governors. The governing body members are appointed for a term of four years. We operate with one full governing body meeting every term, in addition to a business meeting and budget approval meeting.
Much of our work is done through committees, to whom responsibilities are delegated to ensure the work the school delivers the strategic objectives set, and to benchmark the school’s performance against external comparators. These committees report back to the full governing body.
We promote a safe, secure and nurturing environment to embed our school values:
A-Aspiration R-Resilience O-Opportunity C-creativity K-Kindness
amongst our pupils, staff and parents and governors.
The Committees are:
Children & Learning - which includes monitoring the attainment and progress of pupils, quality of learning, effectiveness of teaching and quality and effectiveness of the curriculum.
Business & Safety - which includes overseeing the setting and management of the school budget, and ensuring the school meets its safeguarding and health and safety responsibilities. In addition, it supports the Headteacher and senior leadership team in their management of staffing strategy including wellbeing.
We also have a standing panel for Headteacher Performance Management.
Additionally, all governors have individual responsibility for specific aspects relating to the school. These are called ‘link roles’ and we undertake school visits to familiarise ourselves in these areas to a greater depth. We do this by talking to staff and pupils, and observing and participating in lessons (each governor is allocated a curriculum subject).
Developing our skills and knowledge, and keeping them up to date, is very important to us. Our governors and clerk regularly attend training provided by Schools Alliance for Excellence and Strictly Education.
Do visit our governor list to read our pen portraits for further details about us.
Governing Body Autumn Term meeting dates
- FGB, Tuesday 24th September 2024, 7-9pm
- B&S, Friday 4th October 2024, 8-10am
- C&L, Friday 18th October 2024, 8-10am
- B&S, Friday 22nd November 2024, 8-10am
- FGB, Friday 6th December 2024, 8-10am
The Governing Body has agreed that Full Governing Body (FGB) meetings will be 'open'. Open meetings are those to which members of the public, including school staff and parents, can request, in writing, to attend as observers. Please email clerk@west-byfleet-junior.surrey.sch.uk or write c/o Clerk to the Governing Body, West Byfleet Junior School.
Open Meeting Protocol:
- Governing Body meetings are notified on the school website and through newsletters.
- Requests to attend the meeting must be sent to the Clerk to the Governing Body no less than 14 days before the date of the meeting.
- If there is sufficient capacity/space, an invitation will be sent by email 7 days before the meeting.
- Anybody attending the meeting will be recorded as "in attendance".
- Persons attending meetings do so at the invitation of the governing body as observers only and must agree to:
- Not speak or, in any way, interrupt the meeting.
- At the request of the Chair leave the meeting if any part is deemed by the governing body to be confidential.
- Not record any part of the meeting electronically or in writing.
- Return any papers at the end of the meeting.
Failure to abide by these expectations may result in an individual being asked to withdraw from the meeting and potentially be refused an invitation to future meetings.
Thank you for all your support.
Marian Pearson
Chair of the Governing Body
September 2024