Governors

All schools in England have a Governing Body which is responsible for overseeing many of the strategic decisions of the school. A key role is to act as a ‘critical friend’: to support, to challenge, to ask questions, ultimately to represent the school community.

The Governing Body works in close partnership with the headteacher, staff and the local authority. Whilst the headteacher is, of course, responsible for the day to day running of the school, the governors are involved with such things as staffing, curriculum, school buildings and finance. It ensures the school functions well and maintains the proper range of academic and social objectives.

The standard term of office for a governor is four years. The chair and vice-chair are elected annually at the first meeting of the academic year.

The chair of governors is Mr Jamie Clements who can be contacted via the school office at admin@st-michaels.essex.sch.uk.

The vice chair of governors is Mrs Rebecca Grant, who can be contacted via the school office at admin@stmichaels.essex.sck.uk. 

 At St Michael's Primary, we have the following meeting structure, which is reviewed annually:

• Finance, Resources, Personnel and Premises FGB
• Business Matters FGB
• Pupil Related FGB

Full training is available to everyone who becomes a governor.

Minutes of governor meetings are available from the school office on request.

   Annual Governance Statement

In accordance with the Government’s requirement for all governing bodies, the core strategic functions of the St Michael’s Governing Body are:

●       Ensuring clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction;

●       Ensuring the safety and well-being of pupils and staff;

●       Holding the headteacher to account for the educational performance of the school and its pupils;

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

The Governing Body of St Michael’s was re-constituted in 2024 and is now made up of:

●       1 Local Authority Governor

●       2 Elected Parent Governors

●        1 Staff Governor

●       The Head Teacher

●       2 Co-opted Governors

The Governing Body appoints co-opted Governors who are people who, in the opinion of the governing body, have the skills required to contribute to the effective governance and success of the school. We re-organised our meeting structure in  2017 and no longer have standing sub-committees. The full Governing Body meets six times a year and other committees meet as required to consider Headteacher Performance, pay, discipline and other staffing matters.

The Governing Body continues to focus on:

●       School improvement

●       Developing our SEND provision hubs

●       Monitoring budgets to ensure future school sustainability

●       Ensuring that our children with special needs and/or disability are well supported

●       Focusing on how the pupil premium grant is spent and its impact on the outcomes for these children

●       School leadership with particular focus on delegated leadership

One of the roles of the Governing Body is to review and agree school policies and this year we have considered, among others, the following:

●       Safeguarding Children and Child Protection

●       Special Educational Needs

●       Health and Safety

●       Physical Contact

●       Supporting Children with Medical Conditions and Intimate Care

●       Educational Visits

●       Recruitment

Full details of policies reviewed and approved are available in minutes. Minutes of Governing Body meetings are public documents – they are available from the school office if you would like to see them.

The Governing Body is currently focusing on:

●       The development of SEND Provision Hubs

●       The plan to be an Oracy Centre of Excellence in the 3 years.

●       School improvement

●       Assessment

●       Leadership

How to Contact the Governing Body:

We always welcome suggestions, feedback and ideas from parents and other stakeholders – please contact the Chair of Governors, via the school office. The minutes of governing body meetings are available from the school office.

Attendance Record of Governors

Governors at St Michael’s are fully committed to their roles and responsibilities and fulfill their statutory duties as required.
Meetings are recorded by the professional services of a clerk and any non attendance by governors is noted in the minutes.

Training

To effectively fulfil its role, the Governing Body must ensure that all of its governors have the required skills and knowledge to support the achievment of the school's priority objectives.  All members of the Governing Body are encouraged to take part in training on a regular basis.  As parts of its key role, governors must take part in regular Safeguarding training in order to ensure that it is holding the school to account with regards to its Safeguarding duty. 

Responsible Areas for 2024/2025

The governing body is looking forward to supporting the plans in place for the next academic year.  Each governor has a key responsibility and monitors this area on a termly basis.  Areas of responsibility and monitoring for this academic year are:

We always welcome suggestions, feedback and ideas from parents – please contact the Governing body via the school office or the school’s website.

You can see a full list of governors below. 

Members of St Michael's Governing Body

Governor Meeting Dates