Harmans Water Primary School

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

Boards of governors have 3 core functions:

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

Governors do not manage the school’s day-to-day operation, but are required to oversee its long-term development. The National Governors Association (NGA) have recently published a helpful 2-page document explaining the role of school governors: What does a governor do?

In practical terms, governors at Harmans Water Primary School work closely with the Headteacher and staff to ensure pupils have an environment where they can progress and achieve as well as they should. This is done by taking strategic decisions that support and enable but also challenging the Headteacher and staff, while respecting their professional expertise in the day-to-day operation of the school.

There are several different categories of governor:

• Staff Governors: elected by teaching and non-teaching colleagues at the school. The Headteacher is a member of the governing body as a staff governor.
• Parent Governors: elected by parents, these governors themselves have children attending the school
• Authority Governors: appointed by a panel of local councillors from Bracknell Forest council
• Co-Opted and Associate Governors: appointed by the governing body as they have complementary skills that will contribute to the effective governance and success of the school

At HWPS, we are lucky to have a good number of school governors with diverse backgrounds and skills.

The Governors of Harmans Water Primary School get together formally every term at full governing body (FGB) meetings. It is at these meetings that we discuss overarching matters and sign off any proposals from underlying committees.