• Governors

What do governors do?

Governors are essential to the work of the school and are legally responsible for it.  They are not; however, involved in the day to day running of the school which is managed by the Senior Leadership Team.  This leaves governors free to focus on their core functions of:

• ensuring clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction
• holding the headteacher to account for the education performance of the school and its pupils and the management of staff
• overseeing the financial performance of the school and making sure its money is well spent

Governors act as a sounding board for issues being reviewed within the school and work with the senior leaders to raise standards of achievement.  They approve the school budget and appoint the Headteacher. They work as a team and make collective decisions, abiding by an agreed code of conduct. As you would expect they need to gain an understanding of the school and its overall performance in order to explain its decisions and actions.  This is done by attending regular meetings and carrying out school visits.  They also attend training in order to keep up to date with the requirements of the role.  More information about the role of governors can be found here. 

The Governing Body at Carden Primary School

Constitution

The governing body reconstituted in March 2015 and the number of governors on their instrument of government is now set at 12. This twelve is made up of different categories of governors.  There are 7 Co-opted governors, 1 Headteacher staff governor, 1 staff governor, 1 Local Authority governor and 2 parent governors.  The term of office for each governor (other than headteacher) is for four years, although being a voluntary position, governors may resign at any time.

The Structure of the Governing Body

The majority of the work of the governing body is delegated to committees and at Carden Primary there are three:

• Health Safety and Welfare Committee
• Development and Resources Committee
• Curriculum Learning and Achievement Committee

 The latest terms of reference showing the work covered by each committee may be viewed by clicking on the relevant committee. There are also two associate members, appointed by the governing body to assist them should a panel of governors be required to hear a case.

Meetings

The full governing body meet at least once a term as do each committee. The minutes from each meeting, showing who attended and what went on, will be posted in this section when they have been agreed at the next meeting. Just click on the date. Non-confidential agenda papers may also be available to view. Please refer enquiries to the Clerk of Governors via the school office.

Meetings 2021/2022

 Full Governing Body:                            16th September 8.30am    2nd December 8.30am    24th March 5.00pm    7th July 5.00pm

Development and Resources                  12th October 8.30am        9th February 8.30am     25th May 8.30am

Curriculum Learning and Achievement     11th November 8.30am      3rd March 8.30am         21th June 8.30am 

Health Safety and Welfare                      21st October 5.00pm      25th January 4.30pm    10th May 4.30pm

Meetings 2020 / 21

Full Governing Body                               29th September 2020  December 10th 2020   11th March 2021  16th July 2021

Development & Resources                    6th October 2020  11th February 2021  13th May 2021

Curriculum, Learning & Achievement      26th November 2020  24th March 2021  8th July 2021

Health, Safety & Welfare                         3rd November 2020 (Cancelled) 26th January 2021  25th May 2021 (Cancelled)

Meetings 2019/20

Full Governing Body                         24th September 2019    27th November 2019 7.45am   24th March 2020   31st March 2020

12 May 2020 (Confidential)    26 May 2020  9th June 2020  1st July 2020   15th July 2020

Development and Resources              13th November 2019 4.30pm  25th February 2020 4.30pm    5th May 8am (Cancelled)

Curriculum Learning and Achievement  11th December 2019 4pm  11th March 2020 8am    2nd July 2020 8am (Cancelled)

Heath Safety and Welfare                  5th December 2019 4pm    22nd January 4.30pm   10th June 2020 4.30pm (Cancelled)

 Meetings 2018/19

Full Governing Body                                 8th October 2018      4th February 2019   20th May 2019 7.45am  16th July 2019 4pm

Development and Resources            28th November 2018    25th March 2019 8am  18th June 2019 8am

Curriculum Learning and Achievement  6th December 2018     19th March 2019 8am   9th July 2019 8am

Health Safety and Welfare                    17th October 2018    12th February 2019 8am  7th May 2019 8am  3rd July 2019 7.45am

 Governors - current and in the last 12 months

How are governors appointed?

The majority of governors are now in the 'co-opted' category.  When vacancies arise, new governors can be appointed by the governing body as co-opted governors based on the skills they offer.  Co-opted governors can come from the general public and may include those eligible to stand for other categories, although there is a limit on the numbers that can be drawn from the staffing body.  At present the governors would be particularly interested in applicants who either self-identify with the BME community, have experience in the building industry or who might aspire to become a Chair of Governors.  Training is provided.   An application form is available here which should be completed along with a skills form here and returned to the Clerk to the Governors via the school office, or to the Chair of Governors amandamortensen@carden.brighton-hove.sch.uk  who would be happy to answer any queries.

The staff governor is elected from and by the staffing body.

Parent governors are elected from and by the parent/carer body.

The Local Authority governor is chosen then appointed by the governing body from candidates put forward by the Local Authority.

The Headteacher decides whether to take up the Headteacher staff governor position. Associate members are appointed by the governing body.

All governors and associate members need to meet certain eligibility criteria and confirm annually that these continue to be met.

Register of Interests