Governors

Stow-on-the-Wold Primary school has a very pro-active governing body. We have members of the community, parents, staff of the school and Local Authority representatives on the board who all work as part of a team to ensure that the school maintains its high standards of teaching and learning, and ensure that it is a safe and happy place to learn and to work.

As a governing body we have the responsibility of being critical friends to the school, we make decisions regarding the allocation of budgets, health and safety and most importantly the standards in delivery of the curriculum and the quality of education for the children.

The full governing body meets six times per academic year and the sub committees, who meet termly, are Standards, Health & Safety, Premises and Finance and Personnel. Each governor is assigned a role within the sub-committees and also a curriculum subject to oversee. Parent governors are elected by parents of the school.

Every governor plays their part in school life! Individual governors support the school not only by being a governor but also within the wider community. This may be by volunteering their time to listen to readers, helping with the website or marketing, looking at premises, helping and advising with the budget setting, consulting with the staff and children, monitoring school procedures and activities, talking to parents or accompanying pupils on their class trips.

As often as possible, the full governing body is invited into the school for a full day to fully immerse themselves in school life. This includes assembly, lesson observations and school lunches! We then spend time out in the playground talking to the children and playing with them. After a lovely morning learning, a full governing body meeting takes place in the afternoon with a pupil’s voice as part of the agenda.

QUOTES FROM GOVERNOR VISITS

“I was engaged by a group of lower-juniors, who had made up a poem for me and wanted to perform it and then by another group who wanted to show me a dance they had made up. The point is that the children, none of whom really know me, showed excellent social skills and were very at ease engaging in conversation with me. I was also obliged to enter a skipping race… I didn’t win!! As ever, an enjoyable and rewarding day in many ways, please pass on my thanks to all of the staff.”

“The outdoor learning area of Class 1 was well used, with lots of resources which were easily accessible to all of the children. It was obvious that this outdoor area is a much needed resource for the children, allowing them the freedom and space to learn in an interactive way.”

“The children clearly enjoyed lessons which were presented in a lively and engaging way. The content of the lessons was challenging whilst not beyond the capabilities of the children. It was a delight to be included in the lessons.”

Term of Office: 18/11/24-17/4/28 Standards Committee

At the time of writing, the Governing Body is collating information regarding the diversity of its board members following DFE guidance as follows:

DfE guidance: ‘We encourage schools to collect and publish governing board members’ diversity data. Information must be widely accessible to members of the school community and the public. Board members can opt out of sharing their information, including protected characteristics, at any given time including after publication.


The National Governance Association (NGA) suggests that ‘Not all diversity information will be relevant to publish – as a starting point, we recommend boards report on the age, gender and ethnicity of their membership, although other data may be relevant depending on the characteristics of your local community.’