Governors

Northolmes Junior School is part of Greenfields Federation with Littlehaven Infant School. There is a shared Governing Body across both schools.

What is a School Governor?

Our governors come mainly from our local community and consist of three staff and two parents from across the federation schools, a governor representing the local authority and eight governors who are co-opted on by the governing body for the skills and experience they bring. No governor can act on their own without the authority from the full governing body and all governors carry equal responsibility for decisions made.

Our governors support the schools within Greenfields Federation by:

• contributing to developing and monitoring the strategic development plan for the federation.
• determining the vision, ethos, aims, priorities and policies of the federation, together with the headteacher and other senior leaders.
• ensuring all children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, have access to a broad and balanced curriculum.
• using relevant data, feedback from leaders and external sources and the outcomes from self-evaluation to inform school priorities.
• overseeing the staffing structure and schools’ budgets, including additional funding, to ensure value for money and that staff have the resources, training and support they need to do their jobs well.
• when required, serving on a panel, e.g. appointing the headteacher and other senior leaders, headteacher appraisal, pay recommendations, complaints, grievances and exclusions.
• ensuring appropriate procedures and policies are in place to safeguard pupils.
• setting expectations for high levels of attendance and good and consistent standards of pupil behaviour across the federation.
• ensuring the health and safety and wellbeing of pupils and staff.
• listening and reporting to the schools’ stakeholders.

Who can be a school governor?

All governors are volunteers. You don’t have to be an education expert, but effective governors have the skills to challenge and support senior leaders and time to carry out their role, including preparing for and attending meetings and participating in visits to get to know the schools and monitor progress against school improvement priorities. To assist in their role, governors are expected to undertake face to face/online training provided by the local authority and other partnerships. The role does not stop at governing the schools; governors are an active part of the school community and regularly attend assemblies and performances, support school PTA events and help at parents’ evenings.  For more information on what the role involves and skills needed to be a governor, please see the GFGB Governor Job Description and GFGB Code of Conduct available on the school website. If you would like to express an interest in becoming a governor, please contact the clerk, Heather Deacon, c/o Littlehaven School office.