Meet the Governors

A warm welcome to the Governor Section of the St Hild’s College School website.

It is our pleasure and our privilege to serve as the Governing Body of this fine school. St Hild’s College School has a long history of serving the whole community of Gilesgate, by providing excellent holistic education within the family of schools of the Diocese of Durham (Church of England).

Church of England schools offer education to all in the community. It is an education rooted in the Anglican Christian ethos of welcome and faith. As we write elsewhere, it is our hope that children and their families, and out staff, will experience ‘life in all its fullness’, as Jesus Christ Himself promised.

Our responsibility as governors is to oversee the running of the school - the quality of teaching and learning, leadership and management, pupil and staff welfare, spiritual development – and we exercise this through regular meetings of the Governing Body, its sub-committees and by frequent visits to school.

We have had a challenging couple of years at St Hild’s, but through the hard work and dedication of Mrs Ryder, her staff, the children, and with the support of both the Diocese of Durham and Durham County Council, we are confident that we are making excellent progress, confirmed by our Good Ofsted in May 2019.

If you are not already a parent/carer of a child at St Hild’s, we look forward to welcoming you to our school. This is a caring, happy and life-giving community.

Come and meet us.

Jen Moss

Chair of Governors.

June 2019

Register of Governors’ Interest 2018 - 2019

Governor	Category	Date Appointed	Term of Office	Committees	Monitoring responsibility	Business interests	Pecuniary Interest	Governance roles in other educational establishments	Attendance at Full Gov. Body Meetings over last Academic Year 2017 - 2018	Attendance at Committee Meetings over last academic year
Reverend Canon Dr Alan Bartlett	Chair	10.10.18 Resigned 22/05/19	4 years	Finance & Personnel Appeals Governor Scrutiny Group	Safeguarding Leadership	None	None	No	3 of 3	7 of 10
Reverend Tom Glover	Vice Chair	16.5.18	Ex officio Time in Office	Finance & Personnel School & Community Appeals Governor Scrutiny Group	Church School Siams	None	None	No	1 of 1	N/A
Mrs Alex Ryder	Head Teacher	1.1.15	Time in Office	Finance & Personnel School & Community Governor Scrutiny Group	N/A	None	None	Yes Wynyard Primary School	3 of 3	12 of 13
Mrs Julie Winkless	Foundation	15.4.16	4 years	Finance & Personnel First Committee Governor Scrutiny Group	Health and Safety GDPR	None	None	No	3 of 3	11 of 12
Mrs Jennifer Moss	Foundation Chair from 24.05.19	18.2.18	4 years	Schools and Community First Committee	Behaviour and Attendance	None	None	No	2 of 2	N/A
Mr Roger Ward	Foundation	17.5.17	4 years	First Committee Governor Scrutiny Group	Achievement & Outcomes SEND	None	None	Yes Wynyard Primary School	2 of 3	N/A
Reverend Tim Ferguson	Foundation	9.1.17	4 years	Schools and Community Appeals Governor Scrutiny Group	Pupil Premium	None	None	No	2 of 3	N/A
Mrs Jane Holmes	Foundation	13.12.16	4 years	Finance & Personnel First Committee	Early Years	None	None	No	0 of 3	4 of 13
Mrs Heather Troupe	Foundation	11.2.16	4 years	Schools and Community	N/A	None	None	No	3 of 3	2 of 3
Councillor Katie Corrigan	Local Authority	8/2/17 Resigned 8/9/18	4 years	Schools and Community	Behaviour and Attendance	None	None	Yes Member of Durham County Council Member of Belmont Parish Council Governor at Laurel Avenue Primary school Belmont CE Primary	2 of 3	N/A
Mr Andy Nicolson	Parent	26/4/12 Resigned 26/6/18	4 years	Finance & Personnel	Achievement and Outcomes	None	None	No	1 of 3	3 of 10
Mrs Julianne Thompson	Parent	5.5.16	4 years	Schools and Community Governor Scrutiny Group	Church School Siams	None	None	No	2 of 3	4 of 4
Mrs Marie Hann	Staff	30.4.18	4 years	Schools and Community	N/A	None	None	No	3 of 3	2 of 3
Miss Kate Bell	Parent	27.2.19	4 Years	Appeals		None	None	No	N/A	N/A
Mrs Julie Smith	Co opted Resigned 30.4.19	1.9.15	4 years	Finance & Personnel	N/A	None	None	No	3 of 3	9 of 9

Governor Attendance at Full Governing Body and

Committee Meetings 2018 – 2019

Yes = attended A = Apologies Accepted XA = No apologies given N/A = Not applicable

Governor	Schools and Community 26.9.18	Governor Scrutiny Group 20.9.18	Finance and Personnel 3.10.18 *postponed	Full Governing Body 10.10.18	Governor Scrutiny Group 29.11.18	First Committee 3.12.18	First Committee 18.12.18	First Committee 14.1.19	Governor Scrutiny Group 15.1.19
Reverend Canon Dr Alan Bartlett	N/A	Yes		Yes	Yes	N/A	N/A	N/A	Yes
Reverend Tom Glover	Yes	Yes		Yes	Yes	N/A	N/A	N/A	A
Mrs Alex Ryder	Yes	Yes		Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Mrs Julie Winkless	N/A	A		Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	A
Mrs Jennifer Moss	Yes	N/A		Yes	N/A	Yes	Yes	Yes	N/A
Mr Roger Ward	N/A	Yes		Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	A	A
Reverend Tim Ferguson	Yes	Yes		Yes	Yes	N/A	N/A	N/A	Yes
Mrs Jane Holmes	N/A	N/A		Yes	N/A	Yes	Yes	Yes	N/A
Mrs Heather Troupe	Yes	N/A		Yes	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Mrs Julianne Thompson	Yes	Yes		Yes	Yes	N/A	N/A	N/A	Yes
Mrs Marie Hann	Yes	N/A		Yes	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Mrs Julie Smith	N/A	N/A		Yes	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

Governor

Schools and Community Committee

23.1.19

Finance and Personnel 6.2.19

Finance and Personnel

25.2.19

Full Governing Body

27.2.19

Finance and Personnel

5.3.19

Governor Scrutiny Group

25.3.19

Finance and Personnel

8.5.19

21.5.19

Schools Committee

20.5.19

Full Governing Body

22.05.19

Schools and Community

10.07.19

Reverend Canon Dr Alan Bartlett

N/A

Yes

N/A

Reverend Tom Glover

Yes

A

Yes

A

Yes

A

Yes

Mrs Alex Ryder

Yes

N/A

Yes

Mrs Julie Winkless

N/A

Yes

N/A

Mrs Jennifer Moss

Yes

N/A

Yes

N/A

Yes

Mr Roger Ward

N/A

Yes

N/A

Yes

N/A

A

N/A

Reverend Tim Ferguson

Yes

N/A

Yes

N/A

Yes

N/A

Yes

Mrs Jane Holmes

N/A

Yes

N/A

A

Yes

A

N/A

Mrs

Heather Troupe

Yes

N/A

Yes

N/A

Yes

Mrs

Julianne Thompson

Yes

N/A

Yes

N/A

Yes

N/A

Yes

Mrs Marie Hann

Yes

N/A

Yes

N/A

Yes

Annual Governance Statement for the

Governing Body of St Hild’s College CE Aided Primary School

September 2019

School Vision/Mission Statement

A warm welcome to St Hild’s College CE Aided Primary School. Our school vision is of ‘life in all its fullness', where everyone is supported and able to learn and grow to their full potential through a creative education. It is driven by our desire to offer the best possible education for our pupils in partnership with parents, churches and the local community that can stretch the mind and enrich imaginations, strengthen the body and enliven the spirit.

We aim to provide a happy and secure environment, where children think for themselves and use their own initiative as often as possible. The acquisition of the necessary basic skills is of great importance but we try to teach the children how to learn, rather than drill them with facts.

This school is for children between the ages of 2 and 11 years. Its existence ensures the right of parents to have their children instructed in the Faith of the Church of England, in a Christian atmosphere, within the family of the Church.

Pupils of faiths other than Church of England are welcomed at St Hild’s CE Aided Primary School. We are committed to promoting the fundamental British Values of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty, mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs.

St Hild's School Stands for:

Christian teaching and values

Creative learning in a caring environment

A commitment to fulfilling each child’s potential

Our school motto is:

‘We teach minds to think, hands to do and hearts to love.’

The Governing Body of St Hild’s College CE Aided Primary School has a strong

focus on its three core strategic functions:

1. Ensuring clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction;

2. Holding the Headteacher to account for the educational performance of the school and its pupils, and the performance management of staff; and

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

Governance arrangements

The Governing Body of St Hild’s was re-constituted in September 2015 and consists of the following members; The Headteacher, 1 staff governor, 2 elected parent governors, 1 Local Authority Governor, 1 co- opted governor and 9 Foundation Governors. Foundation Governors are appointed by the following Bodies:

1 ex officio, (The Incumbent or Priest in Charge for the time being of the Parish of St Giles, Durham City). 4 appointed by the Diocesan Board of Education, 3 appointed by the Parochial Church Council of Durham St Giles, 1 appointed by the Trustees of St Hild & St Bede Foundation.

The Full Governing Body meets once each term and we also have committees who meet to consider different aspects of the school in detail. Here at St Hild’s, we have a Finance and Personnel Committee, which focuses on finance, spending of pupil premium funding, premises and some personnel matters and a School’s and Community Committee who receive regular updates from subject leaders, as well as updates in relation to Safeguarding and Special Educational Needs, Attendance and policies. We also have committees that meet if required to consider pupil discipline and staffing matters.

Attendance record

Governors have excellent attendance at meetings and we have never cancelled a meeting because it was not “quorate” (the number of governors needed to ensure that legal decisions can be made).

The work that we have done on our committees and in the governing body and its impact

Governors have shown commitment to improve their practice since the previous Ofsted inspection. The Governing Body commissioned an external review of governance in a timely manner. This year they have developed an action plan to develop systems to check the effects of leaders’ actions. They receive regular updates on pupils’ progress from the Headteacher and they visit the school more frequently to see for themselves what this progress looks like and to challenge leaders.

The formation of a Governor Scrutiny Group (GSG ) has ensured that a core group of governors have an accurate understanding of the school’s strengths and areas that require further development. The GSG work with senior leaders and subject leaders to check the pace of progress against clear milestones in the school development plan. They have worked with representatives from the Diocese of Durham who have trained members of this group to monitor the work of the school more effectively. Members of the GSG now have a more accurate view of the school’s effectiveness and priorities for improvement and in order to review progress, a number have undertaken learning walks with a focus upon challenge, questioning, reading and classroom learning environments. Through their monitoring reports, they have generated questions for Senior Leaders to respond to at Full Governing Body meetings. Along with training session for governors about how Maths and English are taught, all this has considerably increased the confidence in governors at being a ‘Critical Friend’ to the School.

Our Ofsted report May 2019 confirmed that ' Governors keep a close eye on the school's work. They are well informed and are ambitious for pupils. They take their role seriously, providing very effective support and challenge to leaders.'

A governor had responsibility for monitoring behaviour and attendance trends in school and reported this back to the Governing Body.

Church School Governors have monitored the action plan in place to implement the new Diocesan curriculum ready for September 2019 and attended

The Safeguarding Governor has observed a safeguarding team meeting and an audit by the Local Authority and fed back to the Full Governing Body.

The governor responsible for Health and Safety has worked alongside members of the SLT to monitor Health and Safety procedures in school. This Governor will also have responsibility to monitor GDPR legislation in school this year, ensuring the school is compliant.

The Finance and Personnel committee looks at the maintenance and development of the school premises and makes decisions about how the school should use its budget. This year decisions have been made to increase school security by improving the quality of security fencing around school using money made available by Diocesan funding.

The Finance and Personnel committee have also ensured staff stability continues and have appointed new teachers into Y3 and Y4 this year. The governor responsible for monitoring pupil premium spending and actions in school has regularly attended monitoring visits to scrutinise data, evaluate the pupil premium strategy with senior leaders, talk to pupil premium children and teaching assistants and observe intervention groups. This governor also scrutinises the attendance of PP children and has, through scrutiny of some case studies, recognised some improvements.

One of the roles of the School's Committee is reviewing and agreeing school policies and this year we have considered a number of key policies. The online safety and acceptable use policies for staff, visitors and volunteers and for cameras and mobile phones have been reviewed. Governors were made aware of the Business Continuity Plan that the school signs into with the Local Authority to ensure school has procedures in place in the event of an emergency. .

Governors were able to find out more about the positive impact the Prince William Award was having on the Year 6 cohort when a group of children delivered a presentation to the School's Committee. Governors recognised how it was supporting the children, particularly to become more confident and resilient. Governors on the School's Committee have also become aware of the Artsmark accreditation to school and the Platinum Sports Award.

In September, a new Child protection policy was adopted. More recently the School's Committee have discussed and agreed a new SEND, Inclusion, Packed Lunch, Attendance, Health and Safety and Behaviour all in line with current legislation. The School's Committee discuss attendance at each meeting and are fully updated on actions that are in place to improve the attendance of some children with the support of the school’s Positive Future Worker. Noting the improved attendance of children as a result of the meetings, Governors recognised that overall school attendance improved to 96% this year.

This year governors have examined in detail and questioned how sport premium money is spent. They have listened to children present their views on sport in school and questioned them about the positive impact children feel it has had on their well-being. They have noted the impact of the sports premium spending through discussions with the PE coordinator invited to talk to governors at a School’s Committee.

Minutes of Governing Body and Committee meetings are public documents you can ask at the school office if you would like to see any of the minutes of our meetings.

Future plans for the Governing Body

· To further develop the monitoring timetable for governors and to ensure that new governors are up to date with the school and governor development plans.

· To develop the knowledge and understanding of the new Ofsted Framework

Contact Details

The Governing Body welcomes suggestions, feedback and ideas from parents/carers. Please contact the Chair of Governors c/o the school office.

Current Members of the Governing Body

Please see school website

http://www.st-hilds.durham.sch.uk/meet-the-governors/

St Hild’s College CE Aided Primary School

Code of Conduct for Governors

Aims

All Governors are expected to contribute to the development of the school in setting the strategic framework within which the school operates; determining the character, aims and ethos of the school and developing and monitoring school policies, plans and procedures. Governors have a responsibility to support, promote and uphold school policy and procedures with particular reference to Health & Safety, Child Protection and Safeguarding.

Governors need to have a clear understanding of their role and that of the head teacher and have an effective working relationship which facilitates good leadership and management.
The aim of the code is to therefore to provide Governors with a clear understanding of their role and provide a framework within which they will be able to carry out their duties effectively.

Commitment

Those accepting the office as a Governor will need to be mindful that the role does require a significant level of commitment.
Governors will be expected to regularly attend meetings of the full Governing Body as well as Committees and Working Groups where necessary. Regular non-attendance at full Governing Body meetings can lead to disqualification.
Governors should ensure they attend meetings promptly and for the full duration whenever possible. When this is difficult Governors should give as much notice as possible to the Head teacher or Chair so that they can ensure that meetings will still be quorate and rearrange agenda items if necessary.
Governors should ensure they are prepared for meetings by reading all papers beforehand.
Governors should attend induction and other relevant training courses in order to aide their development and help them discharge their duties responsibly.
Governors should make every effort to get to know the school and involve themselves in school activities.
All governors should involve themselves actively in the work of the Governing Body and will be willing to carry out their fair share of responsibilities including serving on Committees and working parties and taking on links with other areas of special responsibility.

Relationships

Governors should operate as a team and always in the best interests of the school.
Governors should recognise that each member of the governing body has equal status irrespective of their appointing body (i.e. parents, staff, LA, diocese or the governing body) unless particular responsibilities are conferred on them by the full governing body. This also applies to the chair and vice chair.
Governors should listen to and respect the views of others and be loyal to collective decisions made by the governing body.
Governors should develop effective working relationships with the head teacher, senior management team, teachers, support staff, parents, LA and other relevant agencies where appropriate.

Confidentiality

Decisions reached at governing body meetings are normally made public through minutes and reports, however, Governors should ensure confidentiality, when required, in respect of the discussions on which the decisions are based.
Individual Governors should observe complete confidentiality in all matters discussed at governing body meetings especially in relation to matters concerning staff or pupils and also any other matters agreed by the governing body. Failure to comply may lead to disqualification.
Governors should exercise the highest degree of caution when involved in sensitive issues arising outside the governing body which may have an impact on the work of the governing body or the operation of the school.
On ceasing to be a Governor individuals should ensure all information relating to the school is returned to the school for disposal as soon as possible.

Conduct

Governors must accept collective responsibility for all decisions taken by the governing body that is they do not have the legal authority to act individually except when the governing body has delegated authority for them to do so.
Governors should never speak out against decisions in public or in private, outside the Governing Body.
Governors have a duty to act fairly and without prejudice with the overall good of the school overriding any personal feelings or individual concerns they may have.
Governors should not use the governing body to enhance or influence the education of their own children or pursue personal agendas. This can cause conflict with the strategic role of the governing body. Governors with issues regarding their own children should raise the matter in the normal way for any parent.
Governors, when carrying out their monitoring role, should not make any judgements about the quality of teaching.
All governors’ visits to the school should be carried out within a framework that has been established by the governing body and agreed with the head teacher
When discharging their duties governors will need to be mindful of their responsibility to maintain and develop the ethos and reputation of the school and acting the best interests of the school.
Governors have a specific responsibility to support and promote the development of a strong counter fraud culture in school including mechanisms to monitor and report inconsistencies and risks.
Apart from very specific instances where the chair has to actor take decisions on behalf of the governing body, governors should recognise that they have no individual powers and should only speak or action behalf of the governing body when specifically authorised to do so by the corporate body.
Governors should be able to express their views openly within meetings but should ensure that they relate to matters proper for discussion by the governing body. Discussion should be conducted in a respectful manner to ensure that any governor does not feel uncomfortable.
Governors will be required to declare any personal or financial interest on an annual basis by completing and returning to school, the Governor Declaration of Interest Form. A declaration may also be made arising from a matter before the Governors or from any aspect of governorship. In such situations the individual Governor should declare the interest and withdraw from the meeting. Governors should not use their position as governor to benefit them or other individuals or agencies.
When Governors are unable to attend meetings they should ensure that the Clerk to the Governors and the head teacher are notified in advance of the meeting.
Governors should be aware of the procedures established by the governing body for responding to criticism or complaint relating to the school, not allow themselves to be included personally. Instead refer parents to the General School Complaints Procedure.

September 2019

Governor Committee Membership

Foundation Governors Nominations

Committee Terms of Reference