The Governing Body at Barncroft

Our Governing body has three main roles:-

• Setting the school’s vision and strategic aims, agreeing plans and policies, and making creative use of resources.
• Monitoring and evaluating performance, acting as a critical friend to the Headteacher to support and challenge them in managing the school.
• Ensuring that the school is accountable to the children and parents it serves, to its local community, to those who fund and maintain it, as well as to the staff it employs.

The Barncroft Primary School Governing Body has 14 governors who meet twice a term. At the Full Governing Body meetings governors cover the following topics; strategy, curriculum, quality of education, school improvement, finance and staffing, and policy. To find out more about who is on the Governing Body, please click on the Meet the Governors menu on the left.

To be truly effective, a governing body needs members from all walks of life, with a variety of skills. Governing bodies are based on the principle that members represent every group which has an interest in the school, working together in the best interests of the children. Specifically, our governing body is comprised of :-

• The Headteacher
• One further Staff Governor who is elected by the members of staff
• Two Parent Governors who are elected by the parents
• One Local Authority Governor who is appointed by the Local Authority
• Nine Co-opted Governors who are appointed by the Governing Body

Normally the term of office for a school governor is four years and parent governors may, if they wish, complete their four year term even if their child leaves the school before their term ends. It is not unusual for Co-opted and Local Authority Governors to be asked to serve a further term if they are willing to do so.

Being a school governor is interesting, worthwhile and rewarding.

What do you need to be a governor? Well firstly, you don’t need to be an educational professional! If you have an interest in the life of the school, backed with enthusiasm and a few hours a term, then you’re ready. Training is provided by the local authority to bring you up to speed in your role as a governor and when you join the governing body, you are assigned a mentor to help you with any questions you may have. If you have skills from outside the world of education that are relevant, then you may find yourself in a unique position to contribute, but more than anything else a commitment to the school and the well-being of the pupils will help you to become an effective governor.

If you’d like to learn more about being a governor please contact the Chair of Governors or the School Office who will be pleased arrange for you to have a chat with one of the current Governors. You can find contact details by clicking the “Contact Us”