The Governing Body has a very important role in supporting the school and ensuring it runs effectively. It has a strong focus on three core strategies:
a) Ensuring clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction of the school
b) Holding the Headteacher to account for the educational performance of the school and its pupils, and the performance management of the staff, and
c) Overseeing the financial performance of the school and making sure its money is well spent.
The full Governing Body meets every term and is supported by two committees who also meet every term. The Resource Committee focuses on finance, personnel and property, while the School Improvement Committee focuses of curriculum, data and outcomes. Each term there is also a Governor Day where all Governors are invited to attend the school to gain a better understanding of a particular aspect of school life, associated with the School Development Plan. For example, previous Governor Days have looked at the role of Teaching Assistants within the school, health & safety, assessment for learning, pupil premium, etc.
Individual governors also have responsibilities for Safeguarding (including LAC), Pupil Premium, Wellbeing, Early Years, Online Safety, Sports Premium, catering, SEND and Health and Safety.
We have a Code of Practice which is signed annually (please click the document link to see this document)
The Governing Body operates within an environment of openness, trust and transparency. They have a very strong working relationship with the Headteacher and the rest of the Senior Leadership Team, and have been instrumental in supporting the Headteacher with many new initiatives including the new two year old provision Little Acorns, the building of the Hive, taking on the management of the Children's Centre, becoming a Teaching School, etc.
In July 2018 the Board of Governors at Charford First School were awarded the GLM Quality Mark for School Governance. This rigorous assessment process is designed to demonstrate that the Governing Body at Charford First School makes a positive impact on the school's performance and the outcomes for pupils. Charford was the first First School in Worcestershire to receive this award.
According to the latest Ofsted Inspection of Charford First School in April 2023, Leadership and Governance was good. In particular Ofsted stated that "Governors maintain oversight of their statutory duties very well. They support leaders in fostering an engaging and enjoyable environment for staff to work in. Staff benefit from a range of training and development opportunities that they appreciate. They feel valued by leaders and morale is high. This benefits pupils."
Please click the link below for the DfE Financial Benchmarking documents
https://schools-financial-benchmarking.service.gov.uk/School?urn=116659
There are no staff members earning a gross salary of above £100,000 and therefore no requirement to publish this information.
If you have any questions or comments about the Governing Body, or would be interested in becoming a Governor, please feel free to email them to clerk@charford.worcs.sch.uk