Our School Governors
Every school has a governing body.
Governors work as a team called the governing body. They are responsible for making sure the school provides a good quality education. Raising educational standards in school is now a key priority. This has the best chance of happening when there are high expectations of what pupils can achieve.
Governors also promote effective ways of teaching and learning when setting the school aims and policies. They do this together with the Headteacher, who is responsible for the day to day management of the school.
All governing bodies include governors who are:
- Parents elected by parents at the school;
- Staff elected by the Headteacher, teachers and support staff at the school;
- Persons appointed by the local authority (Devon County Council);
- The Headteacher is entitled to be a staff governor without an election.
Additionally:
- Community schools have at least one community governor who is appointed by other members of the governing body.
Different schools have different numbers of each type of governor.
Usually a Governor is appointed for a period of four years but may be eligible for re-appointment or re-election.
Great Torrington Junior Governors
At our school we have ten governors:
- three Parent Governors;
- two Community Governors appointed by the Governing Body to represent the local community;
- two Staff Governors elected by the teaching and non-teaching staff of the school;
- the Headteacher of the school;
- two Local Authority Governors appointed by the local authority.
In order to provide additional expertise and experience, the Governing Body has co-opted Alison Homa as an Associate Governor.
Who are the Governors at our school?
| Name | Type of Governor | Area(s) of responsibility | Contact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marten Gallagher | Parent Governor | Chair of Governors Teaching & Learning | |
| Sean Harrison | Parent Governor | APMC | |
| Tracey Martin | Parent Governor | ||
| Martin Shepherd | Community Governor | Finance Premises APMC | |
| Suz Tyrrell | Community Governor | Safeguarding | |
| Nicky Brown | Non-teaching Staff Governor | ||
| Ian Bartlett | Teaching Staff Governor | ||
| Sandy Brown | Headteacher Governor | ||
| Andrew Skinner | Local Authority Governor | ||
| Ruth Trundley | Local Authority Governor | Chair of APMC | |
| Alison Homa | Associate Governor (non-voting) |
Clerk to the Governors
The business of the Governing Body is looked after by the Clerk to the Governors. You can contact any of the governors by sending an email to the Clerk to the Governors or by writing to us at the school address. Letters addressed to ‘The Governing Body’ or to the ‘Chair of Governors’ are always passed on unopened.
Our Clerk to the Governors is Tanya Gasiorowski who you may know. She also works part-time in the school office. You can talk to her if you have any questions about the Governing Body.
The Governing Body would like to thank Miriam Kerr who has been our Clerk for several years and has recently retired from that post although she remains part-time working in the school office.
Action Plan Monitoring Committee
The school has an Action Plan for improving standards and the quality of teaching and learning, and any other improvements that are found to be required.
The Governing Body has one permanent committee at the moment. The Action Plan Monitoring Committee is responsible for ensuring that the school’s Action Plan is implemented effectively and according to the times set out in the Action Plan.
The Action Plan Monitoring committee consists of three governors: Sean Harrison, Martin Shepherd and Ruth Trundley.
Governing Body Responsibility
The Governing Body is responsible to parents, the community and to those that provide the money to run the school. The Governing Body’s main role is to help raise standards of achievement.
The Governing Body:
- is accountable for the performance of the school to parents and the wider community;
- plans the school’s future direction;
- selects the Headteacher;
- makes decisions on the school’s budget and staffing;
- makes sure the national curriculum is taught;
- decides how the school can encourage children’s spiritual, moral and social development;
- makes sure the school provides for all its pupils, including those with special needs.
Governors are at the heart of how a school operates. It is important they get things right. How they do their job affects the interests of pupils, staff morale and how the school is seen by parents and others in the community.
Governors support and challenge heads by gathering views, asking questions and deciding what’s best for the school. They are not there to rubber stamp decisions. They have to be prepared to give and take and be loyal to decisions taken by the Governing Body as a whole.
So long as they act within the law governors are protected from any financial liability for the decisions they take.
A governing body is not a supporter’s club. Governors are responsible for how the school is performing. Following up inspection reports is an important job. Governors should try to be ahead of the game - identifying problems and tackling them in advance.
