Governors

Welcome

Dear parents,

Welcome to The Horsell Village School’s Governors section of the website. The aim of this is to outline what the Governors at our school do.

Who we are

As a group of governors we form the Local Governing Committee (LGC) for the Horsell Village School. Other schools within the SWAN Trust have their own LGC and we collaborate with them on various themes.  You can read more about the SWAN Trust elsewhere on this website. The Swan Trust

The Local Governing Committee of The Horsell Village School currently comprises seven Governors, including Mrs Shaw who is our Staff Governor.  Some of our Governors are parents of children who are currently at the school, and most of us have had children at the school at some stage.

If you would like to know what we all look like please visit the ‘Meet the Governors’ section of the Parents’ Information page on the school website.  We come from all different walks of life and have a variety of different skill sets and perspectives which we bring to our discussions.

What we do

The Local Governing Committee.  as a whole, is responsible for making decisions regarding staffing, curriculum, admissions, buildings and finance. We help interview new staff, consider, and agree curriculum changes and monitor the standards that our children achieve. We help, support, challenge and question.

A large part of our role is to be a critical friend and to help Mrs Reeve and the leadership team set the direction and tone of the school as well as making sure all the necessary policies and procedures are in place and adhered to. We contribute to the development and implementation of the of the School’s strategic plan.

As a critical friend we ask the questions we believe you, as parents, carers or members of our community would ask. We also help to make decisions over how the budget should be spent and regularly monitor the expenditure. At the heart of our discussions is the question: “How will this help the children of The Horsell Village School?”

Staying in touch

For regular governor updates, keep an eye out in Mrs Reeve’s newsletter for the section titled ‘Governors’ News’.  The aim of this is to keep everyone in our school community up to date and informed of the sorts of things that the Governors have been involved with in respect of supporting and challenging the school.

If there are any areas that you feel you would like me to address then please do not hesitate to contact me via the school office or by using our email address: governors@horsell-village.surrey.sch.uk .

John Lockwood, Chair of Governors

governors@horsell-village.surrey.sch.uk

Meet The Governors

The Governing Body

As a Local Governing Body we work with the Trust Board, our Headteacher and staff sharing their vision and values for The Horsell Village School. We joined the SWAN Trust, a local Multi Academy Trust on 1 September 2019. The SWAN Trust is the Trust Board for the MAT and The Horsell Village School is the Local Governing Committee.

Together we decide the school’s strategy for improvement so that pupils learn most effectively and achieve the highest standards. Governors focus on where they can add most value, drawing on their knowledge and experience. They act as a critical friend to the school, providing support, information and advice as well as asking challenging questions and pressing for improvements.

The Governing Body is essentially responsible for ensuring good quality education in the school by holding the Headteacher and her team to account, always remembering to respect the professional roles of all the school staff. In its turn, the Governing Body has to answer to parents and other stakeholders in the wider community for the school’s overall performance.

We are always looking for enthusiastic new Governors from the local community who wish to volunteer their time and skills to join our governing body.  As a governor you would be expected to attend at least two meetings a term.  

There are separate committees which you may be asked to sit on, including the Admissions committee amongst others.

In addition to reading papers, preparing for and attending meetings, Governors are expected to visit the school each term and attend training courses to keep their knowledge and skills current.

If you are interested in becoming a governor or would like to explore this further, please contact me via the school office, or by email to admin@horsell-village.surrey.sch.uk

Further guidance on becoming a governor can also be found at www.nga.org.uk/BeaGovernor.aspx

The Constitution and Membership of the Governing Body

School governance is regulated by law, in particular the “School Governance (Roles, Procedures and Allowance) (England) Regulations” of 2013. Governors are required to publish information about their governing body and Governors, and also to declare any financial or other interest that could potentially lead to a conflict of interest.

Our Local Governing Committee is elected or appointed in different ways to be representative of the different stakeholder groups who have an interest in the school.  Whenever possible Governors are recruited for the skills and commitment they can bring that enhance the role of governing body.

All Governors are expected to attend the Full Governing Body meetings. However not all Governors are able to attend all meetings.  When this happens, Governors send their apologies for absence and this is recorded, and agreed as appropriate.