Governors

As the Governing Body of Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School, we are proud of the school and its welcoming, inclusive ethos and strong family atmosphere. The Governors, in partnership with the Headteacher, ensure that the overall management of the school is in keeping with the Catholic ethos.
In accordance with the Government’s requirement for all governing bodies, the three core strategic functions of the Governing Body at Sacred Heart are:

1. Ensuring clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction
2. Holding the Headteacher to account for the educational performance of the school and its pupils
3. Overseeing the financial performance of the school and making sure its money is well spent

Governance Structure

The structure of the Governing Body is as follows:

• Full Board,
• School Improvement Committee
• Resources Committee

Sub Committees:

• Resources
• Curriculum
• Admissions
• Pay
• Discipline
• Complaints
• Staff Disciplinary Appeals
• Head Teacher’s Performance Appraisal

Governors are volunteers who apply for and are appointed to their roles (except for the Headteacher), are independent and have equal status to each other. A Chair and Vice Chair are elected by the Governing Body and work closely together with the Headteacher and the Clerk.

Governors attend Full Board and committee meetings where the schools policies and procedures. They also visit school where they monitor key priority areas identified in the annual School Improvement Plan. These monitoring arrangements are in place also for the Nursery and specific monitoring is undertaken for the areas of Health & Safety, Safeguarding and Finance. Formal monitoring visits allow Governors the opportunity to observe and communicate with staff and pupils and to ensure that actions agreed in the School Improvement Plan are being actively undertaken by the school. After each visit, a report is prepared and presented at the next Governing Body meeting. From this, the progress in the delivery of agreed school priority areas can be actively monitored and impact on the education of the pupils more effectively assessed.
The Chair of Governors has regular meetings with the Headteacher and Clerk outside of full Governing Body meetings.  Governors attended strategic and finance meetings in school and reported accordingly to the full Governing Body.

The Headteacher’s Appraisal Committee is supported by an external advisor. Additionally, there is a facility to bring together small panel/committees as and when needed.  The Governing Body and the committees all have clear terms of reference and all Governors are required to abide by a Code of Conduct.

Governing Body Skills & Knowledge Development
The Governing Body recognises that to effectively fulfil its role, it must ensure that all of its Governors have the required skills and knowledge to support the achievement of the school’s priority objectives. Recognising the importance of training and development, the Governing Body has a Training Policy in place and appoints a Training Governor to ensure that there is a committed and consistent focus on the areas where the Governing Body needs to develop. Regular skills audits are undertaken to identify and address any skills gaps together with an annual self-evaluation of the effectiveness of the Governing Body over the school year. These are identified and monitored through regular skills audits of the Governing Body and an annual Governing Body self-evaluation.  The Governing Body is a member of the National Governors Association and uses this and other relevant information channels to ensure it remains abreast and up to date on relevant developments in the education sector.

Governor Focus in Academic Year 2021-22

At the beginning of the school year, the Governing Body agreed with the Headteacher and the School Leadership Team a School Improvement Plan. This annual planning document is used to identify the key areas on which the school and the Governing Body wish to focus during the academic year.  It includes scheduled milestones and measures to assist with ongoing monitoring as well as impact indicators so that the Governing Body can assure itself that the actions taken within the plan will improve teaching and learning outcomes for all children. In addition to school monitoring visits, the Governing Body uses other school data including, SATS results, Local Authority data, government data (Analyse School
Performance), Phonics Screening Check, Baseline Assessment, the Ofsted Data Dashboard and regular internal school assessment data. Pupil progress and attainment is scrutinised through data analysis. Vulnerable groups including pupil premium and SEN children are closely monitored.

Governor focus areas for 2022/23

The Governing Body will continue to develop and work towards the longer-term strategy of the school, to closely monitor financial status and progress against plan and to work closely with the Headteacher, SLT, staff and parent communities to deliver the best outcomes for our pupils.

How to become a Governor