Chair of Governors - Introduction

I was appointed as Chair of Governors at the end of last term (March 2023) and would like to thank Mrs Hills for all the work she has done leading the school out of Covid and through a successful SIAMS inspection. Mrs Hills remains as a Foundation Governor on our Governing Body.

My governance experience includes Coteford Infant and Junior School, Meadow High School and Bishop Ramsey C of E School where I chaired the local governing body. Away from education I am Parish Safeguarding Officer at St Lawrence's Church in Eastcote and a member of the National Council of the Co-operative Society.

Since becoming involved with Holy Trinity I am very impressed by the warm feel of the school, and the efforts of staff and families in making it a very welcoming place. I look forward to meeting more of you in the future, working closely with staff and governors to ensure that our pupils receive the best possible start to their life's journey.

Mrs C Edwards ~ Chair of Governors  

Contact email: clerk@gov.holytrinitynorthwood.org

Every school has a Governing Body and at Holy Trinity, we currently have twelve governors:

Specified Governors also have responsibility for:

•   Safeguarding
•   Finance
•   Health and Safety
•   SEND (Special Educational Needs) 

It is important that our community knows our Governing Body and its many purposes.  As a faith school, all actions ensure that we promote and safeguard our distinctive Christian ethos and fulfil our vision.

We are rigorously striving to make known to our community the importance of the Governing Body; we are establishing a presence in school on appropriate occasions to enable children and governors to know each other.  In essence, we are here to support, challenge and encourage staff and all decisions made are underpinned by the school’s Christian vision. *

Below is a condensed summary of our responsibilities but I hope we also provide sincere pastoral care and support for the wellbeing and safety of all.

CORE FUNCTIONS

Every governor’s role is to govern the school in the best interest of the pupils, in line with the school’s vision.

All boards have three core functions:

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

EFFECTIVE GOVERNANCE

Effective governance is based on six key features:

•   Strategic leadership that sets and champions vision, ethos and strategy. 
•   Accountability that drives up educational standards and financial performance. 
•   Ensures we appoint people with the right skills, experience, qualities and capacity. 
•   Structures that reinforce clearly defined roles and responsibilities. 
•   Compliance with statutory and contractual requirements. 
•   Evaluation to monitor and improve the quality and impact of governance.

*OUR VISION and STRATEGIC FOCUS

•  The school has a distinctive Christian vision which is theologically underpinned.
•  The whole school community knows and understand the school’s Christian vision.
•  The vision underpins and shapes the direction of the school, its policies and practice? 
•  All faith schools are subject to Statutory Inspection of Anglican and Methodist Schools (SIAMS) Inspection   Framework: Inspectors will grade the school on the following question: How effective is the school’s   distinctive Christian vision, established and promoted by leadership at all levels, in enabling pupils and   adults to flourish.

GOVERNANCE -v- MANAGEMENT

Governance is strategic and management is operational. This distinction between governance and management needs to be clearly understood by all, so that governors and trustees are not asked to, and do not try to, involve themselves in day-to-day management. The governing board concentrates on matters related to strategy and school improvement, delegating to school leaders those tasks which are operational (for example, drafting policies, making judgements about teaching quality, and recruiting and deploying staff below senior leadership level).

CORPORATE AND INDIVIDUAL RESPONSIBILITY

Authority and responsibility rest with the full board. Governors must act with integrity, objectivity, and honesty, in the best interests of the school. Individual governors may not act or speak on behalf of the board or use their position as a governor unless they have been given authority by the board to do so. The Chair can act alone on behalf of the board in an emergency (a Chair’s Action) but must inform the board at the earliest opportunity.

Individual governors are generally protected from personal liability as a result of the board’s decisions and actions, provided that they act honestly, reasonably and in good faith. Foundation governors have a particular purpose to safeguard the (religious) character of the school and ensure it is conducted in accordance with any founding documents, but otherwise every governor’s role is to govern the school in the best interest of the pupils.

STRATEGIC FOCUS - PLANNING

The school’s strategic direction: 

• Governors know the school’s strengths and significant strategic challenges.
• We have a strategic plan (the Three-Year School Development Plan) for the school’s educational and  financial performance, addressing Ofsted and SIAMS recommendations.
• We have a robust process and framework for setting priorities, creating accountability and monitoring progress.
• All our work as governors links back to our strategic plan.
• Our committee structures and link governor roles (and reporting) serve our strategic plan and vision
• The Headteacher’s performance objectives refer back to the strategic plan.