Governors

Why are School Governors and Directors  so Important?

The elected  Governors from each of the Waycroft MAT schools are all also Directors of the Multi Academy Trust. The Director/Governors are parents, teaching staff, support staff and members of the local community as well as those interested in leading Waycroft MAT schools who live and work further afield. Governors meet a minimum of four times a year. Main foci are: to guide long term strategic plans for the schools; to monitor how the academies are progressing towards their School Development Plans;  to understand how the pupils are progressing and making important decisions. Governor/Directors also make regular visits to school, to observe pupils learning and the work of teachers, TAs and other adults at Waycroft, Wicklea and Woodlands. Governors ratify policies and check that they are implemented effectively.

Certain Governor/Directors have links with particular areas for example Special Educational Needs and Children in Care. Governors are allocated to different committees, usually aligned to a particular interest, their own experiences or qualifications. These include Personnel, Inclusion and Safeguarding,  Site and Buildings including Health and Safety and Finance.

Governors at Waycroft have access to many training opportunities to ensure they fulfil their role effectively.

 

Committee responsibilities

Personnel, Inclusion and Safeguarding: To make decisions about the staffing structure and staff appraisal as well as shortlisting and interviewing for new staff. They do this alongside the senior leaders in the school. This group also focuses on ensuring that the Waycroft MAT schools are fully inclusive and meets the needs of all their pupils as well as monitoring that all necessary safeguarding and child protection procedures are in place and well understood.

 

Site and Buildings including Health and Safety: Making decisions about changes and improvements which are made to the Waycroft, Wicklea and Woodlands buildings and the grounds. Also checking first hand through walks around the sites that there are no health or safety concerns and monitoring that any problems found are dealt with swiftly. Children are also included in the checking of the site, it is interesting to hear their perspective.

 

Finance: To make decisions about how the annual budget should be spent and monitoring this throughout the year. This includes decisions around staffing, buildings and day to day resources to enhance learning for all Waycroft MAT pupils.

 

Curriculum and Standards does not have a separate committee as it has been agreed that this area is vital for all Governor/Directors. They are involved in understanding what the curriculum looks like, what we teach in each year group and making suggestions about how to improve it further. A major focus is to monitor standards closely including checking that the right support systems are in place for all children to achieve their full potential.

 

Pastoral Committee: This is a group which will be set up to meet on occasions when pastoral matters involving staff, pupils and families need to be discussed.

 

I’m interested in getting involved. How do I find out more?

Talk to one of the Governor/Directors based at your school about what they do and any ideas you have. Any vacancies in the Governing Body/Directors will be detailed in our Newsletters. To contact a governor directly please ring or e-mail the school which can give you the details.