Harmans Water Primary School

School governors are one of the largest volunteer forces in the country.

The board of governors have 3 core functions:

• Ensuring clarity of vision, ethos, and strategic direction;
• Holding the executive leaders 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.

Our Governing Body consists of parents, staff, and members from the local community. The Headteacher is a member and, as the most senior teacher, is responsible for the day-to-day running of the school. The Governing Body works hard to support the Headteacher, staff, and pupils to ensure that Harmans Water Primary School is the best that it can be.

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All of our Governors have their own careers and responsibilities but they dedicate time to the school. Our Governors bring a wealth of different experience to the Governing Body including financial expertise, strategic planning, and more practical skills.

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The Governing Body meets monthly.

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It also has the following panels / committees whose terms of reference ensure decision-making and actions are appropriately discharged:

• Pay Panel - responsible for teachers' annual pay awards
• HPM Panel - responsible for the performance management of the Headteacher
• Finance Committee – responsible for overseeing the financial performance of the school
• Hearings & Appeals Panels - responsible for hearing complaints and appeals. These two panels are convened when necessary and only governors who are not members of staff can serve on them.

Co-opted Governors

Co-opted governors are appointed by the governing body. Co-opted governors 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. Staff members can become co-opted governors, however, staff cannot number more than one-third of the total number of governors.

Parent Governors

Parents, including carers, of pupils are eligible to stand for election as governors. Parent governors are elected by other parents at the school. If fewer parents stand for election than vacancies, the governing body may appoint a parent governor.

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Staff Governors

Staff, both teaching and support, may become governors (volunteers do not qualify). Staff governors are elected by the school staff. The governing body cannot appoint a staff governor. If no one stands the post remains vacant.

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Headteacher

The Headteacher is a governor by virtue of their office, but they can choose not to serve as a governor.

Local Authority Governors

LAs are encouraged to nominate high-caliber governors for appointment by school governing bodies and to nominate candidates irrespective of any political affiliation or preference. The governing body makes the appointment.

Associate Members

Governing Bodies can choose to appoint associate members to help them with their work. Associate members cannot vote on governing body decisions.

Clerk

Appointed by the governing body or school, the clerk's role is to make sure the governing body's work is well organised. The clerk is able to offer information and advice to the governing body, particularly on matters involving the law and procedures to be followed at meetings.

Please see the link below for a model job description produced by the National Governance Association:

Please click on the attached PDF to learn more about the Governor Role 

Harmans Water Primary School's Governing Body is constituted to have 13 governors:

8 Co-opted Governors

2 Parent Governors

1 Staff Governor       

The Headteacher

1 Local Authority Governor

GOVERNOR BUSINESS INTERESTS

Meet Our Governing Body 

Harmans Water Primary School - Board of Governors (Updated 6/11/24)
Chair and Vice Chair of Governors
	Christopher Best Chair of Governors	Co-opted Governor 19/06/23 - 18/06/27	Safeguarding & Attendance Curriculum & EYFS Governor Development Finance Committee Headteacher Performance Management Pay Panel
	Louise Hayward Vice Chair of Governors	Parent Governor         19/06/23 - 18/06/25	Health & Safety    Equality, Inclusion & SEND     Monitoring Pupil Premium                Pay Panel
Parent, Co-Opted & Staff Governors
	Paul Simpson	Co-opted Governor 18/10/21 - 17/10/25	Finance Finance Committee Chair Pay Panel (Chair)
	Jarleth O'Brien	Co-opted Governor 17/6/24 - 16/6/28	Equality, Inclusion & Send Headteacher Performance Management (Chair)
	Elaine White	Co-opted Governor 23/9/24 - 22/9/28	Curriculum & EYFS
	Chris Turrell	LA Governor 18/1/21 - 17/1/25	Community Behaviur Headteacher Performance Panel
	Mark Ison	Parent Governor 28/11/22 - 27/11/24
	Stephen Vegh	Co-Opted Governor      21/10/24 - 20/10/28	Safeguarding & Attendance Behaviour
	James Dyson	Co-Opted Governor 21/10/24 20/10/28	Health & Safety Finance   Finance Committee
	Jemma Shakespeare	Staff Governor 18/10/21 - 17/10/25	Website Policy & Procedures
Ex Officio Governor and Clerk
	Matthew Irving	Ex-Officio:  Term of Headship 01/9/24 - Ongoing	Pay (adviser role) Finance Committee
	Vacant	Clerk to Governors	Clerk to: FGB Pay Panel Finance Committee
Previous Governors (served in the previous 12 months)
Katherine Saunders		Ex-Officio; Term or Headship 1/9/23 - 31/8/24
Andrew Taylor		Co-Opted Governor 1/12/22 - 1/10/24
Sarah Rose		Co-Opted Governor 1/12/22 - 31/3/24
Amanda Hughes		Co-Opted Governor 9/7/23 - 31/7/24
Donna Sidebotham		Co-Opted Governor 17/1/22 - 31/7/24
Katherine Lobo		Co-Opted Governor 17/4/23 - 31/3/24

Governor Attendance

The governing body is required to publish information about governor attendance at meetings in the last academic year.

COLLECTING AND PUBLISHING GOVERNING BOARD DIVERSITY DATA

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The governing board of Harmans Water Primary School believes it is important that the board reflect the diversity of the school communities they serve. Diverse boards promote inclusive school environments and provide diverse role models for staff and young people.

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The governors are currently collecting data on the diversity of the board, including data on age, gender, and ethnicity. They will use that data to inform their recruitment and training needs and ensure there is always a diverse range of perspectives around the table to support robust decision-making.

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Due to our relatively small governing body, we do not publish this diversity data online as indivdual governors could be identified and we have legal obligation to protect their personal data.

CONTACT

If you would like to know any more about the governing body, or would like to get in touch for any other reason, please email via our Clerk - clerk@harmanswater.co.uk