What can parents expect from the Governing Body?

Parents should have high expectations of the school’s governing body. The Governors are the strategic leaders of our school and have a vital role to play in making sure every child gets the best possible education. The governing body works to ensure it has a strong focus on three core strategic functions:

Ensuring clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction;

Holding the head teacher to account for the educational performance of the school and its pupils, and the performance management of staff; and

Overseeing the financial performance of the school and making sure its money is well spent.

As an Academy School our governing body also has numerous other roles and responsibilities including but not limited to land ownership, acting as employers, an admission authority and a board of company directors.

This all amounts to a demanding role for governors who all seek to ensure the group is comprised of a wide range of skilled volunteers who are able to offer the necessary level of commitment to this role. All governors at Winchcombe School are fully committed to challenging the school to continually bring about improvement, hold leaders to account and maintain a productive and supportive relationship with our head teacher Mr Templeton.

How does the Winchcombe School Trustee Board operate?

The governance of the school is structured in accordance with the Department of Educations Governors’ Handbook, which sets out how governance is structured in an academy school. We are an academy trust that is a charitable company limited by guarantee. An academy has two layers of governance:

• The members of the trust (Members) who are akin to shareholders and have ultimate control of the direction of the academy trust
• The trustees, who are also directors of the charitable company.

There are 11 trustees completing the school’s trustee board and the Company Secretary who also fulfils the role of Clerk to the Trustees. Winchcombe School has four Members.

The overall chair of the trustees is Mrs. S Proctor (chair@winchcombeschool.co.uk). Trustees are then divided into two Committees – Resources (Chair. – Mrs. P Sissons) and Curriculum (Chair. Mr. G Cove). In addition, every trustee takes responsibility for a “Lead Trustee” role which attaches them to an individual department or curriculum area to ensure high quality links between all school staff and the trustee board.

Committees meet at least every half term to discuss, review and consider issues pertinent to their Terms of Reference (i.e. what they are responsible for within the school). Their reports are provided to the Full Trustee board (FGB) which meets as a whole also every half term. Lead Trustees meet with their allocated department/curriculum area every term and again, full reports are provided to both the head teacher and the FGB.

Trustees undertake regular training both in school, online and with external providers. Trustees are expected to maintain and expand their knowledge of the education system’s challenges, planned changes and their impact upon Winchcombe School. The trustees share training, knowledge and other resources via group communications within the school’s network infrastructure.

Finally, trustees are also involved in a variety of other aspects of school life including open evenings, parents evenings, Review of the Year, sports events, assemblies, flexible days, visits to other schools and many more too numerous to mention here.

Should you have any queries about the work of the FGB or wish to contact the board directly, please feel free to do so via the Clerk to the Governors who can be contacted at clerk@winchcombeschool.co.uk