Governors
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Sarah Elliott-HammondHead Teacher Appointed: September 2016
Sarah Elliott-Hammond
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Adrian JacksonChair of Governors and Literacy Governor Appointed: July 2017
Adrian Jackson
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Louise SilkClerk Appointed: February 2024
Louise Silk
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Lauren CampbellSEND and Pupil Premium Governor Appointed: April 2019
Lauren Campbell
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Caroline HibberdFinance Governor Appointed: July 2021
Caroline Hibberd
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Jo StewartLocal Authority Governor, Vice Chair and Safeguarding Governor Appointed: October 2021
Jo Stewart
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Matthew EvansHealth and Safety and Maths Governor Appointed: October 2021
Matthew Evans
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Ed ThompsonParent Governor Appointed: January 2024
Ed Thompson
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Katharine DoddDeputy Head and Staff Governor
Katharine Dodd
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Heather VallettaCo-opted governor Appointed: February 2024
Heather Valletta
What do Governors do?
The governing body's main aim is to help raise standards of achievement and make sure the school provides a good quality education.
The day-to-day management of the school is the responsibility of the headteacher and staff. Rather than manage, governors are there to help shape the school's future direction and focus.
Governors work as a team. Individual governors have no power or responsibility. It is only the full governing body which has legal duties and powers and all governors share in that corporate responsibility.
Governors are at the heart of how a school operates. It's important they get things right. How they do their job affects the interests of pupils, staff morale and how the school is seen by parents and others in the community. They are not there to rubber stamp decisions. Governors are responsible for how the school is performing. They have to be prepared to support and challenge their headteacher by gathering views, asking questions and deciding what's best for the pupils.
The task can be divided into three main roles – providing a strategic overview, acting as a critical friend to the school and ensuring accountability.
Governor AllowancesGovernor AttendanceThe roles of a school governor:
The strategic role
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helps to set standards and targets for performance for the school
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has an overview of the curriculum
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helps to set policies for itself and the school
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selects the head and deputy headteacher
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makes decisions about the school's budget and staffing
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delivers effective planning, including post-inspection duties
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makes sure the school provides for all its pupils, including those with special needs
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decides how the school can encourage pupils' spiritual, moral and cultural development
The critical friend
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the governing body has a good working relationship and regular meetings with the headteacher
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it can therefore monitor how well the school is doing, and how well policies and plans are being implemented
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the governing body will get to know the school well, and have clear lines of responsibility between it, the headteacher and the various school committees.
Ensuring accountability
The governing body gets regular reports from the headteacher. It provides information to the Local Authority (LA) and parents by producing:
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an annual report to parents, backed up by an annual parents meeting
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a school prospectus
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a post-inspection action plan.
Governors attend school events and regular meetings, and read relevant reports and background papers. You can expect to attend around 3-4 meetings every term, either full meetings of the governing body or appointment, admissions and exclusion panels.
Terms of Reference
Terms of reference define the purpose and structures of a project, committee, meeting, negotiation, or any similar collection of people who have agreed to work together to accomplish a shared goal.
Heather Ridge Infant school's Governing Body Terms of Reference can be found below.
Terms of Reference DocumentGovernors TOR
Contacting the Governors
If you need to contact the Governors then please use the email below:
governor@heather-ridge.co.uk
Please note that this email account is monitored but not daily. Should you need a quicker response then please call the school office and we will let the Chair of Governors know.
Governors Meetings
Full Governing Body meetings are held twice a term. The approved minutes of the meetings are available below.
The approved minutes of previous meetings are available on request. Please contact the school office if you would like to request these.
Full Governing Body - L & T focus
FGB_Minutes_LT_Focus_07_07_22FGB_Minutes__LT_Focus__20_10_22
FGB_Minutes__LT_Focus__23_03_23
FGB_Minutes__LT_Focus__03_07_23
FGB_Minutes__LT_Focus__09_11_23FGB_Minutes__LT_Focus__21_03_24Full Governing Body - Finance Focus
FGB_Finance_Focus_Minutes_25-11-21
FGB_Finance_Focus_Minutes_24-03-22
FGB_Finance_Focus_Minutes_23-06-22
FGB_Finance_Focus_Minutes_24-11-22
FGB_Finance_Focus_Minutes_23-02-23.
FGB_Finance_Focus_Minutes_15-06-23
FGB_Finance_Focus_Minutes_28-11-23FGB_Finance_Focus_Minutes_29_02_24