Broadgate Primary School

The governing body of Broadgate Primary School conducts its business to take account of the three roles of the governing bodies as outlined in the Governors’ Handbook:

1. Ensuring clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction;
2. Holding the head teacher to account for the educational performance of the school and its pupils;
3. Overseeing the financial performance of the school and making sure its money is well spent.

The day-to-day management of the school is the responsibility of the head teacher and senior leadership team.

The governing body also ensures that the school complies fully with statutory safeguarding procedures. All staff have signed a record to confirm they have read Part 1 of the DfE statutory guidance “Keeping Children Safe in Education”. The governing body has familiarised itself with the document and works with the safeguarding lead in school to complete the annual safeguarding audit.

The composition of the governing body

The governing body comprises 14 governors in total.  Every governor appointed to the governing body is appointed on the basis of the skills required to contribute to the effective governance and success of the school. The number of governors in each category is determined through the Instrument of Government and is currently:

1 head teacher

1 elected staff governor

4 elected parent governors

1 local authority governor

6 co-opted governors

1 associate member

There are currently no vacancies on the governing body.  The governing body will identify potential skills and expertise for any newly recruited governors, as required, through the skills matrix which is completed annually.

Meetings of the governing body

The full governing body meets four times a year; all meetings are clerked by a trained professional clerk. There are also three main governing body committees which meet a minimum of three times a year and which have delegated authority. The committees are:

Resources – finance, personnel and premises

Teaching and learning

Pupil support

There is also a staffing committee and a head teacher performance management committee which meet as required.

Attendance at meetings

Governors have good attendance at meetings overall. Apologies for non-attendance are considered on an individual basis; governors are aware through the code of conduct that non-attendance, which includes apologies not being accepted, will result in the removal of a governor six months from the date of first non-attendance. 

The remit of the governing body and its committees

The governing body and senior leadership team regularly complete a self-evaluation of the school and its priorities. This self-evaluation is then used to inform our school improvement plan. The monitoring and evaluation of progress towards the priorities will be through the teaching and learning committee and reports to the full governors’ meetings.