Blessed Hugh Faringdon Catholic School Governance A Note for Intending Governors

Transcription

1 Blessed Hugh Faringdon Catholic School Governance A Note for Intending Governors As a requirement of the appointment process, all governors, regardless of category, will be required to consent to the carrying out of any appropriate checks, including Disclosure and Barring Service checks, in respect of eligibility/suitability to be appointed as a school governor. All governors will also need to be willing to commit to their role as a governor. This will involve attending at least one full Governing Body meeting per short term in addition to serving on at least one committee of the governing body that meets once per short term, attending training, participating in recruitment and visiting the school from time to time. As an indication, your governorship role should take no more than hours per month. Governors contribute to the work of the Governing Body in raising standards of achievement for all pupils. This involves providing a strategic view for the school, acting as a critical friend and ensuring accountability. The individual governor has a responsibility, working alongside other members of the governing body, to the staff and pupils of the school, the school s wider community and, where they are representatives, to their particular constituency (parents; staff; etc.). Responsibilities include: Developing the strategic plan for the school Determining aims, policies and priorities of the school Setting statutory and non-statutory targets Monitoring and evaluating the work of the school Appointment of key staff and ensuring the implementation of a range of personnel procedures Management of the budget Securing high levels of attendance and good standards of pupil behaviour Ensuring that all children in the school have access to a broad and balanced curriculum which is suitable to age, aptitude and ability, which prepares them for adult life Ensuring the health and safety of pupils and staff Tasks include: Getting to know the school: its needs, strengths and areas for development Attending meetings (full governing body, committees and working groups) Working as a member of a team Speaking, acting and voting in the best interests of the school as one perceives them Respecting all Governing Body decisions and supporting them in public Acting within the framework of the policies of the Governing Body and legal requirements Committing to training and development opportunities Governors Code of Conduct: The governors code of conduct is underpinned by the following key principles: To act in the best interests of the school this may require balancing short and long term issues, school and community issues, etc. To work as a member of a team at all times and be loyal to collective decisions made by the Governing Body To recognise that all governors have the same rights and responsibilities

2 unless particular responsibilities are conferred on them by the full Governing Body To understand that no governor can act alone except in exceptional circumstances prescribed in the regulations the power of the Governing Body rests in it acting as a single body Governors must: Respect confidentiality Listen to and respect the views of others Express their own views clearly and succinctly Take their fair share of work / positions of responsibility Know, understand and work within the prescribed regulatory framework Report any evidence of fraud, corruption or misconduct to an appropriate person or Authority And should: Prepare for meetings by reading papers beforehand Take responsibility for their own learning and development as a governor, including attending training Attend meetings promptly, regularly, and for the full time DBS checking procedure: Individuals acting as members of the Governing Body of an educational establishment (defined as either an educational establishment which is exclusively or mainly for the provision of full-time education to children, or a maintained nursery school) are required to undergo an appropriate check. How does the Governing Body carry out this work? Even though they have overall responsibility, governors cannot possibly be expected to carry out all this themselves. It continues to be the job of the Head teacher and the staff to carry out all the detailed work of running the School. The full Governing Body sets the policies it wants the School to follow and checks that this is done. There are a number of committees on which both governors and staff serve and where the work of both groups can be brought together. Governors may choose which committees to join. The Governing Body must operate, collectively, in the best interest of pupils, not as a collection of individuals lobbying for the interests of the constituency from which they were elected or appointed. How much time will it take? The Governing Body meets at school at least once each short term at 4.30pm for about two and a half hours. All governors are expected to attend. Governors are also expected to serve on at least one committee. Most of the committees usually meet once each term at 4.30pm, for about two hours. All committee members are expected to attend. In addition most governors take a general interest in the School and attend School events and activities such as open days, concerts, stage productions. Each governor is also expected to take on a Link Governor responsibility and to visit their link department once per term. All governors serve for 4 years from the date of their election or appointment.

3 Governors - Essential and Desirable Qualities/Skills Essential Desirable Qualifications An interest in the High level literacy skills education of children / expertise Skills Sound communication Specific skills/experience to skills both in listening and strengthen the skill base Expression of the GB, for example: finance; accountancy; HR; legal; facilities management; contracts; Health and Safety; Sound judgement and the quantity surveying; capacity to make projects oversight or objective decisions development; Child Assimilation skills to help Protection; LAC or absorb and make use of SEND. wide ranges of information and data Knowledge / Experience The capacity to develop specific knowledge and understanding of the school and its community Personal Qualities Fairness A commitment to Equal Opportunities A commitment to securing the best educational outcomes for young people Tact and diplomacy The ability to work as a member of a team Ability to respect Confidentiality A willingness to work constructively with a team of governors who have some or all of these Qualities A willingness to learn and develop as a governor through training and self- Evaluation

4 RULES FOR PARENT GOVERNOR ELECTIONS Notifying parents of the vacancy: As soon as a resignation is received from a parent governor, or one month before the term of an existing parent governor ends, the returning officer, or someone nominated by them, should send a letter to parents inviting nominations. The letter may be sent by pupil post, electronically or by mail. If a vacancy arises at short notice the letter should be sent as soon as possible. Where this occurs near the end of the summer term, the process may be delayed until the beginning of the next term, in order to include the parents of new pupils joining the school. The election process will take a minimum of three weeks to complete. Seeking nominations: All potential candidates must be made aware of the disqualification criteria; these should be reproduced with the letter notifying parents of the vacancy. Governing Bodies should inform the electorate of any skills, experience or attributes they are seeking to strengthen the work of the governing body, but these cannot be made a condition of nomination. The Governance Handbook states: Where governors are elected, every effort should be made to inform the electorate about the role of a governor and the specific skills the board requires and the extent to which candidates possess these. It is important to have sufficient information available for parents so that they can understand what the role of a governor involves, what the time commitment will be within your setting and what expectations the governing body has for training, committee membership and/or lead governor roles. It is also important to be clear on the role of the parent governor; The Governance Handbook states: Meaningful and effective engagement with parents, staff and the wider community is vital and not achieved by the presence of various categories of governor on the board. All parents/carers of registered pupils are eligible to nominate, be nominated and to vote. Parent governors are nominated and elected by other parents/guardians of registered pupils at the school. To be eligible, a nominee must, at the time of election, have a child on the school register. The elected does not have to stand down if his/her child leaves the school although he/she may resign. Candidates may nominate themselves or their spouses, or may be nominated by another parent/guardian. Nomination forms must be returned to the Returning Officer by the date specified. Nominations should be countersigned by the nominee. Nominees will be invited to supply a short, personal statement demonstrating suitability for the role, for circulation to voters. A list of nominations will be published on the school notice boards. Processing nominations: When the closing date for nominations is reached the returning officer should check the nominations to ensure the eligibility of each prospective candidate. We strongly recommend each prospective candidate signs the Declaration of Eligibility, before proceeding to election. Under the Constitution Regulations, no parent (or carer) engaged in paid employment at the school for more than 500 hours in any consecutive 12 month period (at the time of election or appointment) can stand for election/appointment as a parent governor of that school, nor can any parent who is an elected member of the Local Authority. If a serving parent governor subsequently starts to work at the school for more than 500 hours they may serve out their term of office. A parent whose child ceases to be a pupil at the school may also serve out their term of office. The ballot and voting: If the number of nominations received are fewer than, or equal to, the number of vacancies available, no voting is required; those nominated are elected unopposed. If there are more nominations than vacancies available then an election will be needed. Ballot papers, or details of how to vote, along with a pen portrait for each nomination, and the closing date for voting must be sent to all eligible parents. One vote per parent is allowed regardless of how many children they have in school. Ballots, when

5 required, must be secret. The information about the candidates may be sent by pupil post, electronically or by mail. Electronic voting is permitted. The Returning Officer and Governing Body will need to ensure that any electronic process is secure, that voters can only vote once and that individual voters, or how they have cast their votes, cannot be identified. If an electronic process is adopted the school must provide an alternative paper ballot and means of submitting the ballot paper for parents who request it. Voting must be open for a minimum of one full school week. For a paper ballot, enter the full name of the candidates in alphabetical order and the date and time for the return of the completed ballot papers. Print sufficient copies to allow one for each eligible voter and distribute to eligible parents by pupil post and/or by mail. All returned completed unopened ballot papers should be kept in a secure place as should any that are unused. The count: Candidates have the right to attend the count if they wish, and must be advised of the venue, date and time of the count at the same time as the ballot papers are sent out. The count will be conducted by the Clerk to Governors, as Returning Officer, and should be witnessed by at least one person unconnected to the election. The candidate(s) to be elected will be the candidate(s) gaining the highest number of votes in the election. If there is a tie in the numbers of votes cast, the first step should be to recount the votes. If the votes are still equal for two or more candidates then the Returning Officer should arrange for them to draw lots. The count should normally take place at the school, after the closing time for voting on the day (or the following day) by which completed ballot papers are to be returned. Nomination forms and ballot papers that are returned outside the return dates are to be treated as invalid. The decision as to whether a vote is valid falls to the Returning Officer. Completed ballot papers should be kept in a safe place for a period of three months, after which they may be destroyed. The start date: The successful candidate(s), subject to signing the declaration of eligibility and initiating a DBS check as appropriate, will take up post on the day after the present parent governor s term of office comes to an end. Where the post is already vacant the start date is the date of the count or, when an election has not been necessary, the day following the closing date for nominations. Election timetable Midday Friday 22th June 2018 Thursday 28th June 9am Friday 29 June pm Tuesday 10 July 2018 Wednesday 11 July 2018 Closure of nominations Issue of instructions regarding the ballot and ballot papers Ballot opens Ballot closes Ballot counted and results announced on school website