Governors

What do the governors do?

The 3 core functions of Trustees which are

• Ensuring clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction.
• Holding executive leaders to account for the educational performance of the organisation and its pupils, and the performance management of staff.
• Overseeing and ensuring effective financial performance.

The Governors have a legal obligation to ensure the school is run within current legislation – this includes:

• A balanced curriculum.
• The financial stability of the school.
• Recruitment of the Senior Leadership Team (SLT).
• Health and Safety issues.
• Agree target setting for the school.
• Monitoring standards, performance, staff sickness, staff leavers and departmental progress.
• Special Educational Needs provision (SEN).
• We act as a critical friend to the Executive Headteacher and the Senior Leadership Team (SLT).
• Termly meetings throughout the academic year and if required sub-committee meetings when required.

WE VALUE:

• The hard work and commitment of all the staff in the school.
• The ethos of the school.
• The students in the school.
• The trust and openess that we have with the Senior Management Team.
• The information and data that we get from the school to compare Queen Elizabeth High School both Nationally and locally with other schools.
• The performances, trips and activities both in school and within the local community.
• Presentations from course leaders and heads of department.

Articles of Association

Governance FAQ

Why do schools have Governors?
The Governing Body of a school is responsible and accountable for all the major decisions about the school and its future. We have a legal responsibility to make sure the school promotes high standards of educational achievement. We are responsible for appointing and reviewing the performance of the Executive Headteacher and are usually involved in other staff appointments.

What do the Governors do?
Together with the Executive Headteacher, Governors set the future direction for the school, decide how the school’s budget should be spent, and monitor and evaluate the school’s performance. In doing this we make decisions on things like performance targets, policies, staffing, and the school’s improvement plan. We provide the Executive Headteacher with support and advice, drawing on our knowledge and experience from outside school. We ask searching questions whilst respecting his position as professional leader of the school – this is often compared to acting as a ‘critical friend’.

Who can be a Governor?
Anyone over 18 with an interest in education can be a Governor. Our Governing Body is drawn from the school’s community and includes parents, school staff, and representatives of the community.

Who are our Governors?
An up-to-date list is maintained here: See Members of the Governing Body

How often do Governors meet?
There is a full Governors meeting throughout the year and various committees such as finance meet separately to look at specific issues. The minutes of meetings are available from the school office. We also visit school during the working day to meet with the Executive Headteacher and other members of the Leadership Team, spend time in classrooms and talk to the staff and students.

Are Governors paid?
No! All our work is voluntary. Across England there are around 350,000 Governors, making us the largest volunteer workforce in the country.

How do you contact Governors?
School reception will pass on a message and letters, or can give you contact details. It is also possible to speak to Governors at parents’ evenings.

When should you contact Governors rather than the Headteacher?
Whilst we are always happy to hear from and talk with parents, the Head of School is responsible for the day to day running of the school, so initially most queries and specific issues should be addressed to the school. Because we have a specific responsibility for reviewing complaints and exclusions, it is sometimes important that we don’t get involved in the first instance. For example, if you had concerns about a specific behaviour incident at the school then you should discuss it first with your child’s form tutor. If that failed to resolve the issue, or you were concerned about the general approach to behaviour management, then that would need to be discussed by the Governors and you should contact us.

In most cases, the way we want the school to operate is set out in various policies (such as the behaviour policy, homework policy, complaints policy etc) which we review on an annual or bi-annual basis. The current policies are always available in the School office and are also here. If you don’t think a policy is being followed, or that it is unclear, or even simply that it is wrong, then that should be brought to our attention.

If in doubt, then please feel free to contact either the Governors or the Headteacher and if necessary we will point you in the right direction.

The Governors and staff are all committed to making Queen Elizabeth High school the best possible learning and development environment for all students and are always happy to answer any additional questions you may have.

It is important that governors and staff not only act impartially, but are also seen to act impartially. The governing body and school staff have a responsibility to avoid any conflict between their business and personal interests and affairs and those of the school. There is a legal duty on all governors to declare an interest likely to lead to questions of bias when considering any item of business at a meeting and for the governor concerned to withdraw, if necessary, whilst the matter is considered.

To help put this duty into practice, a governing body is required to establish and maintain a register of pecuniary interests indicating, for all governors and the headteacher, any business interests. The school should keep a copy of each governor’s individual register as they must be available on request for inspection, by the local authority, governors, staff and parents. The registers will also be inspected by the auditors when carrying out during routine audit visits at the school. 

Governing Committees & Dates

Full Governing Board

Chair of Governors: Mr Mac Henderson

Clerk to the Governors: Mrs Lucy Bassett

Finance Committee

Oversees financial affairs of school.

Chair of Finance: Mrs Deb Berry

Clerk to the finance committee: Mrs Jeannine Lilley-Attwell