Welcome to Shefford Lower School’s Governing Body page. I hope you enjoy reading about our work to help support the school‘s leadership team and drive continuous improvement at Shefford Lower School.

If you would like to discuss any aspects of the governing body in more detail please feel free to contact us via the school office. Copies of the Full Governing Body meeting minutes can be obtained via Rebecca Silliker, the Governing Board's Clerk. Please request this via the school office email at schooloffice@shefford.cbeds.co.uk.

Jo Elliot - Chair of Governors

What is the role of the Governing Body?

The purpose of the Governing Body is to provide strategic leadership and to ensure robust accountability for the performance of the school, both in terms of pupil achievement and financial management. The Governing Body has three core functions:

• Ensuring clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction;

• Holding school leaders 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.

Who are the Governors?

As a governing body we have a wide range of expertise across the local community, business, finance, and education. Governors are committed to the continued success of the school and promoting the school’s ethos and values. The governors have an unpaid, voluntary role and work in partnership with the Headteacher and the school’s Senior Leadership Team to ensure the best possible provision for all pupils in the school. New governors are recruited on the basis of skills we require to enhance the governing body. The table below provides a full list of current governors and their specific roles.

What do we do?

The Governing Body provides strategic leadership, shapes school policies and procedures, helps set performance targets and ensures the school’s resources are used efficiently. The Headteacher remains responsible for leading and managing the school and we work in close partnership to deliver the school’s vision. We are pleased that our governing body has been rated very strongly by external advisors to the school.

Shefford Lower School’s Governors meet every 4-6 weeks to discuss all issues relating to the school. We receive comprehensive reports from the Headteacher which cover performance of pupils, operational issues, review of policies, budget reports and many other issues. Governors also regularly visit the school to see the children learning as well as attending events throughout the year.

Governors are required to understand how the school is performing, provide strategic guidance and ensure appropriate controls are in place. Governors are inspected by Ofsted as part of the school’s Leadership Team.

The governning body is set up with a strategic overview of all aspects of governance. All governors attend Full Governing Body (FGB) meetings to allow a wider whole school perspective and can strategically plan with this in mind. We have essential committees such as the Headteachers Performance Management, Pay Policy and Schools for the Future. These have been set up to allow decisions to be made promptly and effectively, enabling a quicker response to the matters that arise.

It was decided as a board that decsions were being made with limited understanding of a whole school perspective and therefore hindering the overall performance of the school. It was therefore decided that governors should have a whole school perspective to enable greater understanding to make effective decisions. Based on this decision it is still beneficial to have specialist governors that have a greater understanding  of their particular role within the board and that has led to the development of our link governors. Their roles and responsibilities specialise within a specific aspect of school, such as SEND, Safeguarding, Vulnerable Groups, Curriculum, Data etc. These governors will have an oversight in to the provision the school provides and strategically monitor it's progress. 

The governing body constitution consists of:

• Co-opted Governors - Nominated and appointed by the governing board
• 1 Headteacher - appointed by the means of office held
• 1 x Local Authority Governor - Usually nominated by the LA, or from somewhere local, appointed by the governing board
• Parent Governors - Nominated by parents, appointed by the governing board
• 1 x staff Governor - Nominated by staff, appointed by the governing board

The governing board does not have any associate governors at this present time. Where required an associate member would be used for advisory purposes only.

Governor Information, Roles, Interests and Meeting Attendance

25th September 2024