Our Governors: what do they do? Who are they?

The Governing Body (GB), together with the Headteacher and senior staff, forms the School Leadership and Management Team. The GB works closely with the school staff to ensure that high standards are maintained in all aspects of school life. Although the governors’ role is a voluntary one, it has an important purpose in holding the school to account for standards of teaching, learning, behaviour and welfare and for the management of the school’s finances, staffing and buildings. The GB appoints the Headteacher to whom the operational responsibility for the school is delegated.

The GB is therefore a key part of the system for school accountability, offering challenge and support to school staff. Governors help to form the School Improvement Plan and are responsible for monitoring its effectiveness.

Governors come from the school and its wider community, with diverse professional backgrounds: they can be co-opted governors, staff governors, parent governors, a local authority (LA) governor and the Headteacher.  Romsey Primary School is constituted to have 12 governors:

The full GB (above) is made up of all governors who meet together each half term: in addition, members belong either to the Curriculum, Standards and Teaching (CST) Committee or to the Resources Committee (RC) both of which usually meet twice a term.

Individual governors are linked to specific subjects and sections of the School Improvement Plan so that they can closely monitor performance against the objectives which have been agreed, working alongside members of staff and with children on visits to the school. This is how governors can really get to know the school and be constructive in challenging and supporting staff. Governors also attend school events, when they welcome the opportunity to talk to parents, staff and children.

With best wishes