Snaith Primary School Governing Board

 Snaith Primary School has a committed team of governors who play an important role in the   leadership and everyday life of the school. The governors are unpaid volunteers and are either   elected or appointed to serve a four-year term of office.

Governors Vision

 The School motto is Let’s Shine; central to which is one key concept that runs through everything   that we do, Respect. 

 Snaith Primary School’s ethos is evidenced specifically in how we go about building an inclusive   and positive culture in which children, and staff, can grow in knowledge, confidence and virtue. It is   created through having high expectations in all aspects of school life and a robust and relentless   focus on ensuring the best opportunities for all while being encouraging, kind and compassionate   to one another. We acknowledge the importance of teamwork and value each and every one.

 The Governing Body extols the school vision achieved and sustained through excellent knowledge of where the school is, self-reflection, self-evaluation and looking outwardly for new initiatives to   enable continuous development and improvement. 

 There has always been a culture focused on staff, pupil and community wellbeing.  Governors aim   to identify the balance between wellbeing with the need to achieve and progress.  The Governing   Body  understands that striving for continuous improvement can place staff under significant   pressure.   Staff wellbeing is paramount and governors are keen to listen to the feedback of all   stakeholders to ensure an effective balance is achieved. 

OFSTED Ungraded report 2024 noted that ‘Staff are overwhelmingly positive about the support they receive from leaders around workload and well-being. Governors ensure that the workload and well-being of staff and leaders are given focus.  Parents are also effusive in their praise for the school.'

 While a critical friend to the school, Governors act with integrity and professionalism. We value the   contributions of all members of the school community. 

How the Governors Operate

Governors have equal rights to participate in the work of the governing body and to state their own views, but always work as a team and are bound by the collective decisions of that team. They have a responsibility to provide strategic leadership which leads to robust accountability, oversight and assurance for educational and financial performance. They work in partnership with the Headteacher who is responsible for the day-to-day management of the school and is the principle professional advisor to the Governing Board.

The Governing Board has three core functions:

• Ensuring clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction;
• Holding leaders to account for the educational performance of the organisation and its pupils, and the effective and efficient performance management of staff; and
• Overseeing the financial performance of the school, making sure its money is well spent.

All governors are linked to specific teams to oversee the leadership and development of school, welfare and learning. Some governors have specific responsibilities such as safeguarding and SEND.  

To monitor the effectiveness of the school governors:

Hold full governing body meetings four times each year – to discuss the Headteachers termly review, the safeguarding report, progress towards the School Development Plan, receive minutes of committee meetings and review policies.

The Governors for safeguarding meet at least termly with the schools Designated Safeguarding Lead to receive information regarding the school’s overview of this and developments, along with checking the single central register and ensuring all staff safeguarding training is up to date. The Governor for site safeguarding periodically visits the school to undertake a site inspection in regard to site safety and security and reviews all related documents.

The Governors for SEND and Disadvantage pupils meet to review the school work and an overview of progress at least termly with the school SENDCO and Disadvantage leads.

The Governor for Sport meets at least twice a year with the PE lead to review the schools action plan.

Curriculum  Committee

This committee is made up of a group of Governors with responsibility for keeping informed of the current statutory requirements of the National Curriculum, assessment and teaching and learning developments in the school. They also ensure that the individual requirements of children with special needs are met as well as contributing to the School Development Plan. 

Each year the Governors, together with the school’s leadership team, identify three key areas of the School Development Plan for focused reviews. The reviews take the format of observing teaching and learning, looking at work undertaken, discussions with subject leads, wider staff and children along with a review of any relevant data.  This provides the Governors with a comprehensive and insightful view of the schools work, enabling them to triangulate their understanding to create robust and comprehensive reports.

Resources Committee (premises, finance, and staffing)

This committee supports the school on all matters relating to the school premises, staffing and finance, including overseeing the school’s budget and monitoring income and expenditure throughout the year. We also oversee all matters relating to the maintenance and development of the premises and grounds, including Health and Safety and ensure that annual inspections are carried out and any issues identified are dealt with and resolved. The committee ensures the school is staffed sufficiently for the fulfilment of the school’s Development Plan and the effective operation of the school and that the school conforms with safer recruitment practices. The committee also makes decisions on behalf of the Governing Board on matters relating to staff appointments and disciplinary proceedings.

The Governors, while strategic in our work, work effectively with the school staff to ensure that there is a clear and joined-up vision for school development that we all work hard to achieve.

There is a clear Code of Conduct and framework which ensures that Governors share the same professional attitude when carrying out our role, including in the visits we make to school and this ensures we carry out our duties with respect to all of our stakeholders.

 

The Governing Board is made up of a number of different types of governors and the normal term of office is four years. However, after four years, any governor who wishes to remain on the Governing Board can offer to stand for a further term of office and (if no-one else has expressed an interest in the position) be re-elected or reconfirmed in his/her position.

We recognise and appreciate that governors bring different areas of expertise to the Governing Board.

Parent:
If you are a parent of a pupil(s) at the school or the primary carer, you can stand for election as one of the Parent Governor positions, (once a Parent Governor post becomes vacant). If more than one parent expresses an interest in filling a vacancy, elections are held in which all parents can vote. Parent Governors do not formally represent parents on the Governing Board but they do act as a link between parents and the Governing Board and try to keep in tune with parents’ views.

Co-opted:
A Co-opted Governor is a person who in the opinion of the governing board, has the skills required to contribute to the effective governance and success of the school.

Staff:
A member of staff paid to work at the school and elected by the staff.

Local Authority Governors:
A Governor who is normally appointed by the local education authority (i.e. East Riding Council).

Headteacher:
A member of the Governing Board by virtue of their office. (If the Headteacher elects not to be a Governor then his/her place cannot be taken by anyone else.)

 

THE GOVERNORS AT SNAITH:
Our current Instrument of Government is for a Governing Board of 11 members, made up as follows:
3 Parent Governors
1 Local Authority Governor
1 Staff Governor
1 Headteacher
5 Co-opted

Contacting the Governing Board
If you have an idea or a suggestion that you would like the Governing Board to consider, please leave a note with the office staff for the attention of Mr Emsen. We actively welcome input and contributions from parents and from others in the local community who support the school. Any issues concerning pupils at the school should, in the first instance, be discussed with the class teacher and thereafter with Mrs Calpin, the Headteacher. If you do not feel the matter has been resolved to your satisfaction, then you can write to Mr Emsen c/o the school.