Governor information
During 2020/21 academic year, Deepcar St John’s federated with Royd Nursery Infant school. This means that the two schools have a shared Executive Head teacher and Governing Body, which operates in the best interest of the schools, both jointly and independently. This brings many benefits to each school on a management level and allows the Governor’s to work as a larger team.
Our Federation Governing Body has members varying from teachers, support staff, parents and members of the local community. They work as a team with the Executive Head, Miss Jones, for the benefit of pupils at both Royd Nursery Infant School and Deepcar St John’s.
We are very lucky to have an exceptionally strong team, with everyone playing their part, no matter how small. This coupled with a clear vision from the Executive Head and Senior Leadership team, ensures the smooth and effective running of both schools, creating an environment which grows resourceful, creative, reflective, curious, collaborative and resilient learners.
All governors are volunteers, including representatives from the Parish of St John’s, Deepcar, in the Diocese of Sheffield, the Local Authority, parents of pupils and teaching staff at the school. We’re here to give the school a strategic direction and to act as a critical friend – helping to guide the Executive Head in the running of both schools.
Meetings take place at least once every term but can be called as and when necessary. Governors also have regular meetings with staff to find out how the school is progressing towards its targets and follow up on inspection reports. As well as meetings, the Governors also attend school functions, undertake visits to classrooms, talk to the children, observe lessons and help out at school events.
The work of the governing body is managed through a series of committees. Each governor attending committee meetings across the year which consider aspects of Finance, Personnel and Premises, Standards Teaching and Learning, Well-Being and Safeguarding. There are also named governors with responsibility for Safeguarding, Headteacher Appraisal and Health and Safety. Many governors have a link role looking at specific areas of the school or curriculum and report to the full governing body. Full details of the roles and responsibility of the governors of Deepcar Primary Partnership can be found at the bottom of this page.
Governors regularly attend training sessions to help keep them up to date with changes in schools and education and to help them do their job effectively.
Looking to the future, the governing body will continue to monitor and challenge as well as provide a strategic vision which ensures small village schools, such as ours, continue to be sustainable.
If you would like any further information or you are interested in becoming a governor, please contact our chair of governors via the following email address chair@deepcarprimarypartnership.sheffield.sch.uk
Governing Board
Our Governing Board is made up of a range of people who bring different skills and experience to support the strategic running of both schools.
Governing Boards organise themselves in a certain way to make sure they work properly. We have a Code of Conduct, a Constitution and keep a log of governors and their interests, as well as attendance at meetings.
What do Governors actually do?
Our job is to be a ‘critical friend’ to the Senior Leadership team, both supporting and challenging them (and each other!) to make sure we are all always doing our best for the Deepcar Federation children and families.
A vital part of what they do is monitor how our strategic plans (SIDP) are going in practice and that we are delivering our vision and ethos. Set standards of behavior Interview and select staff.
They oversee the financial performance of the schools (School Budget, Pupil Premium and Sports Premium) to ensure that we are getting value for money and that we are spending it where is best supports the children.
Holding the Executive Head to account for the educational performance of the school means that the board of governors ask challenging questions to the Head and the Senior Leaders to ensure children are getting the best education available at our school.
How do we monitor the schools in Federation?
Monitoring can take many different forms. It may mean visiting the school, joining lessons, as well as meeting teachers and other staff. It can mean reading and asking questions about school information, such as children’s progress and attainment.
Governors talk to children about what they think about school, we always learn a lot from their opinions and try to include these in our decision making.
Parent views are vital. We use surveys to understand a range of different perspectives and are currently developing our use of working parties to support continuous school improvement.
Roles & Governor Types
Chair of Governors
A chair of governors works with the headteacher to promote and maintain high standards of educational achievement, ensures that the governing body sets a clear vision, ethos and strategic direction for the school, with the governing body holds the headteacher to account for the educational performance of the school and its pupils, and for the performance management of staff and ensures oversight of the financial performance of the school and effective use of the schools resources.
Vice Chair
The chair, with support from the vice chair, is responsible for ensuring the effective functioning of the board. Where the chair is absent from any meeting or there is at the time a vacancy in the office of the chair, the vice-chair is to act as chair for all purposes
Co-opted Governors
Co-opted Governors are people invited to join a governing body by the other governors. They usually live or work in the community served by the school or they are people committed to good governance and the success of the school.
Staff Governors
Staff Governors are in a unique position on a governing body. By definition staff governors are involved in the day to day running of the school and yet are asked, as governors, to put this to one side and participate in the governing body’s work as ‘strategic managers’. This is not always easy to do! However, the role of the staff governor offers an opportunity to make a real contribution to the strategic management of the school, providing an interesting and rewarding dimension to work.
Parent Governors
A Parent Governor is a representative and not a delegate of parents. Parent governors do not have to vote in a particular way because of pressure to do so by parents. Objectivity, however, is essential. Parent governors are elected by other parents and it is important to establish a rapport with the parental body that elected them, whilst continuing to maintain a strategic approach to school governance. Parent Governors are not there to promote the interests of their own children but all children in the setting.
Local Authority Governors
The local authority has a stake in the success of our schools and appoints governors who are able and willing to work as members of the full governing body to secure the best possible education for children at the school. LA governors to feed the local authority perspective into governing body discussions. Although the LA appoints governors as their representatives on the governing body, they must act in the best interests of the school and wider community and they cannot be mandated to take a particular stance on issues.
Foundation Governors
The role of a Foundation Governors is to ensure the guiding principles of the founding church are embedded within all aspects of school life and to understand the importance of the school’s foundation and ethos. It is also important for them to understand the purpose of the Statutory Inspection of Anglican and Methodist Schools (SIAMS) inspection and what it is looking at and for.
Copies of minutes of meetings can be obtained via our school office. If you feel that you need to contact one of our Governors, please do so via our school office or email chair@deepcarprimarypartnership.sheffield.sch.uk
Members of the Governing Board 2023/24
Chair: Katie Bullock (Parent Governor)
Email address – chair@deepcarprimarypartnership.sheffield.sch.uk
Tina Winterburn- Foundation – Vice Chair
Louise Jones – Executive Head
Sean Sly – Staff
Liz Pendlebury- Foundation
Nicola Pearce – Foundation
Jonathan Phillips – Foundation
Tim Steele – Foundation
Faye Chapman – Foundation
Edward Hennessy – Local Authority
Sub-committees
Finance, Premises and Resources:
Jonathan Philips – Chair
Louise Jones – Executive Head
Edward Hennessy
Tina Winterburn
Sean Sly
Tim Steele
Standards and Teaching and Learning:
Katie Bullock – Chair
Liz Pendlebury
Nicola Pearce
Sean Sly
Faye Chapman
Edward Hennessy
Strategic:
Katie Bullock – Chair
Louise Jones
Jonathan Phillips
Sean Sly
Roles and Designated Governor Roles
Performance Management Governors:
Jonathan Phillips
Tina Winterburn
Health and Safety:
Tim Steele
Training Governors:
Edward Hennessy
Safeguarding Governors:
Faye Chapman
Pupil Premium:
Liz Pendlebury
SEND:
Faye Chapman
Full details of the roles, responsibilities, parculiar interests and meeting attendance data can be found in the document below.