What do the Governors do?

The Governing Body has a strategic role in ensuring the school fulfils its mission. It:

Thinks and works strategically to help raise standards
Monitors and evaluates progress towards the school’s priorities and targets
Supports the head and staff and challenges them
Is accountable to all stakeholders for the school’s overall performance and for the decisions they have made

The Governing body is not responsible for the day to day management of the school but it must ensure that systems are in place for the school.

The key words for describing the Governing Body is as a critical friend - somebody who encourages, supports and challenges. We have to be able to recognise when:

The school deserves recognition and celebrate achievements
The school is not achieving as well as it could

Some of the things we do as a Governing Body include:

Meet regularly. The full Governing Body meets once a term. Committees, of which there are four (finance, premises, curriculum), meet once a term on top of this.
Assist in all senior staff appointments including setting and then reviewing salaries.
Visiting the school, in school time, to see and speak to the children.
Attend school events such as parents evenings and the new reception intake morning.
Having members with a specific role. For example there is one Governor specifically to oversee safeguarding and child protection. Another is our representative on the Cluster Governing Body.
Communicating with parents through stakeholder questionnaires and newsletters.