Our Governors

In accordance with the Government’s requirement for all governing boards, the three core strategic functions of the Governing Board are:

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

Governance Arrangements.

In September 2022, a new Instrument of Governance was established and the Governing Board is now made up of 10 Governors:

  • LEA Representatives: 1
  • Foundation Governors: 2
  • Parents: 2
  • Co-Opted Governors: 3
  • Staff: 1
  • Headteacher: 1

Skills and knowledge required that contribute to effective Governance and the success to the school:

  • Knowledge of the school and local area
  • Finance
  • Personnel H/R
  • Health and Safety
  • Information Technology
  • Buildings
  • Communication
  • Leadership and Decision Making

How to contact your Governors:

Governors can be contacted by the following methods:

Telephone:
Stretton Handley 01246 590418
Letter:
Chair of Governors, Stretton Handley, Beresford Ln, Woolley Moor, Alfreton DE55 6FH
E-mail:
info@strettonhandley.derbyshire.sch.uk

Governing Board

Terms of office and membership of committees to be confirmed at a Full Governing Board meeting on October 18th, 2022.

Governor Category of Governor Date of appointment Term of office end Committee Specific area of responsibility
Louise Nicholson Head Teacher 01/09/22 31/03/23 All All
Fran Roberts Foundation, Ex Officio 10/12/22 10/12/26 School Improvement, Safeguarding & Pupil Progress Church/School LinksSEND
Vacancy Foundation        
Vacancy Parent 13/10/22 13/10/26 School Improvement, Safeguarding & Pupil ProgressHTPM Anti-bullying
Scott Macpherson Parent 13/10/22 13/10/26 Finance, Property and Personnel MathsY5/6
Margaret Gill  LEA Governor Chair 01/09/22 01/09/26 Finance,  School Improvement, Safeguarding, Pupil Progress, Property and Personnel Pupil Premium, Safeguarding
Vacancy Co-opted 01/09/22 04/01/26 Finance, Property and Personnel Finance, Safeguarding
Liz Cooke Co-optedVice Chair 01/09/22 01/09/26 School Improvement, Safeguarding & Pupil ProgressHTPM  EYFS / Curriculum
Sally Moore Co-Opted 13/10/22 13/10/26 Finance, Property and Personnel.HTPM  Y3/4
Jasmine Barratt Staff  01/09/22  31/08/26 School Improvement, Safeguarding  & Pupil Progress Curriculum
Ben Cooke Associate  01/09/22  31/08/26   Sports Premium

Appointing Bodies

  • Headteacher – by virtue of their position
  • Staff – elected by school staff
  • Parent – elected by parents
  • Local Authority – nominated by the local authority
  • Co-opted – appointed by the GB

Named Governors with specific responsibilities

Some governors will have specific areas of responsibility that they will report on to the FGB.

Instrument of Governance 2022 (PDF)

Governor Visits

The governors visit the school as part of their involvement with SDP, Safeguarding and other areas of Governance. Governors with specific responsibilities meet for regular reviews and updates and then present a report to the Full Governing Board. Governors regularly attend school open evenings, assemblies, presentations and information evenings including sports and musical events in order to engage with parents and seek their feedback. Furthermore, they actively seek opportunities for our children to be ambassadors for the school both within our community and further afield.

Declaration of Pecuniary & Personal Interest

All governors sign a declaration of pecuniary interest at the start of each year.
Conflicts of interest 2021/2022 – Liz Cooke Parent of member of staff (Stretton Handley)

At the start of each governors meeting, any conflicts of interest for agenda items are recorded and acted on accordingly.

Dates of Meetings for the academic year 2023-2024

Full Governing Body
28.09.23
29.01.24
22.04.24
15.07.24

Finance, Personnel & Premises Committee
20.10.23
13.11.23
01.03.24
26.03.24
15.04.24

School Improvement Committee
21.09.23
8.02.24
11.07.24

Head Teacher Performance Management Committee
28.11.23

Dates of Meetings for the academic year 2022-2023

Full Governing Body
01.09.22
18.10.22
08.11.22
17.01.23
21.03.23
27.06.23

Finance Committee
06.12.22
14.02.23

School Improvement, Safeguarding and Pupil Progress
08.12.22
06.02.22

Head Teacher Performance Management
08.12.22

Dates of Meetings for the academic year 2021-2022

Full Governing Board
29/09/21
w/c 24/01/22
w/c 29/05/22
w/c 11/07/22

School Improvement & Pupil Progress
w/c 13/12/21
w/c 04/04/22
07/07/22

Finance & Resources
12/10/21
08/11/21
21/03/22
28/03/22
09/05/22

School Improvement and Pupil Progress Committee

This committee is responsible for monitoring:

  • The delivery of the National Curriculum
  • Pupil Progress
  • Quality of Education
  • The SEND provision
  • Pupil Premium
  • Sports Premium
  • Behaviour and attitudes

Finance and Resources Committee

This committee is responsible for:

  • Agreeing and monitoring the school budget, including staffing and resource costs
  • Monitoring systems that promote the health and safety of the pupils and staff within school
  • Monitoring buildings and premises work carried out
  • Monitoring the spending of grants, such as the Pupil Premium or Sports Premium funding
  • Agreeing the Published Admission Number (PAN)
  • Reviewing staffing structures and pay progression
  • Monitoring staff and pupil absence
  • Monitoring exclusions
  • Monitoring behaviour
  • Parental complaint

Governor Training

Governors attended various training events as necessary to fulfil their roles and responsibilities including Safeguarding and GDPR.

Induction pack for new governors (Revised March 2022)

Attendance of meetings

A record is kept, by the clerk to the governing board, of governors’ attendance at meetings. Apologies for absence are presented to meetings for acceptance.

Attendance by Governors to all meetings is reviewed annually.
Attendance record 2022-23

Data Analysis

Data is made available to governors through the Headteacher Report with verbal and written presentations followed by question and answer sessions with the Headteacher which includes scrutiny of the data from all year groups in order to heighten their awareness of focus groups and vulnerable areas, whilst maintaining governor knowledge.

Policies

Governors review all relevant policies on a scheduled basis to ensure that all guidance is current, relevant and up to date. Specific attention is paid to ensure that the school complies with the Department of Education mandatory policy list

Staff Recruitment

The Headteacher and a number of governors are trained in Safer Recruitment. Governors are involved in the recruitment and selection of all teaching staff and use the appointment process to ensure that high quality staff, who share the schools’ vision statement and aims, are appointed. Governors work hard to recruit quality teachers and leaders. They have considered a wide range of strategies to ensure that the right staff are appointed to drive forward the actions that are necessary to improve the school.

Financial Management

The governing body has been trained in School Finance management. The governors work with school staff to achieve ‘The Schools Financial Value Standard and Assurance’ (SFVS) on an annual basis. The impact of the governors’ role in the school ensures that the budget is well managed and improvements are effective and continuous. External audits confirm that finances are well managed.

Safeguarding

Governors take responsibility for ensuring that safeguarding arrangements meet current statutory requirements. They evaluate and review the annual safeguarding audit.

Strategic Planning for the future

Governors work co-operatively with the Headteacher and senior leaders in the writing and monitoring of the School Improvement Plan (SIP). The SIP details aims for the forthcoming year and is based on priorities identified from data, school self-evaluation and Ofsted priorities. The SIP lays out clear strategies and tasks, details who is responsible for carrying these out and the resources required. Monitoring procedures and tasks for the governing body are also included.

Wider Contribution of the Governing Board

The wider contribution of the Governing Board to the leadership and management of the school  has involved:

  • Monitoring Safeguarding and attending safeguarding briefings.
  • Monitoring the current budget and approving the budget for 2021 -2022 including the allocation of Pupil Premium funding, Sports Premium funding and monitoring its impact.
  • Reviewing a wide range of existing and new policies.
  • Undertaking the performance management of the Headteacher.
  • Monitoring regular updates on behaviour, attendance and SEND
  • Monitoring new developments within the curriculum such as the continued development of Guided Reading
  • Analysing a range of data sources and agreeing targets
  • Monitoring the condition of the school building
  • Approving various educational visits
  • Engaging in Governor training
  • Engagement in Curriculum Development Day
  • Learning Walks around school