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Governors

Governing Body

Chairs Welcome

On behalf of all Governors, a warm welcome to Giles Junior School.

As school Governors have an important role in monitoring the safety, welfare and education of all of our children. We work collectively and strategically as a corporate body to drive forward the school’s vision.

Governors do not manage the school, this is the role of the Headteacher and the Senior Leadership team. Instead we oversee the development of the school by working closely with them to monitor and provide supportive challenge, ensuring our children receive the best.

These are some examples of some of our areas of responsibility:

Monitoring pupil achievement and progress and pupil safety.
Ensuring statutory requirements are met and achieved.
Financial oversight.
Setting strategic priorities for the school’s continued development and improvement.
Safeguarding of children and staff.

The members of the Governing Body are proud and privileged to be able to contribute to the leadership of Giles Juniors for the benefit of all children, parents and staff. We hope you will take time to get to know your Governing Body and please feel free to get in touch at any time.

Your commitment as a Governor

Our Governors give significant amounts of time and energy. They involve themselves actively in the work of the governing board, attend regularly and accept their fair share of responsibilities, including service on committees or working groups. There is one full governors’ meeting a term, but this depends very much on need e.g. setting the budget might require an additional meeting. Meetings last between 2 - 2½ hours and are usually held on Wednesdays in the evening. You will be asked to join a committee and their meetings also take place once a term and may be in school time or the late afternoon or early evening. These meetings are held in school or online as appropriate.

Governors are expected to visit the school during the school day at least once a term, preferably more often, in order to become familiar with the school, understand how it operates and get to know the staff and children. There is also a considerable amount of reading involved including reports, data and reviewing policies). The Governors Code of Conduct and Charter will tell you more (you will find this in the Policies section on the school’s website).

Overall, being a governor will need, on average, about 6 hours of your time every month.

Under law to you are entitled to ’reasonable time off’ to undertake public duties which includes school governance. This is not defined and you will need to negotiate with your employer who is not obliged to pay you for this time. Please note that we do not pay Governors' travel expenses.

You will be assigned a mentor from the governing body to help you. The Clerk to the Governors will contact you to explain procedures of our Governing Body and to send documents for completion and signature. The Local Authority values the contribution of its governors and aims to provide good training and support. New governors are required to attend Induction, Safeguarding, Exclusion and Prevent training courses, which at present can all be done on-line. Other courses increase knowledge and understanding of educational issues and can be taken as required.

Next Steps

If you are reading this and think you may be able to offer your expertise to our Governing Body we would be delighted for you to join us and look forward to meeting you.

For more information about applying to become one of our governors, please contact admin@gilesjm.herts.sch.uk or follow the LINK here to watch a short video about the role of Governors.

If you decide you wish to apply to become a governor please note that you will be required to have an interview with a few of our Governors, to undergo a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check, and to supply references.

The governing body of Giles Junior School is composed of parents, representatives of the local community and the local authority and school staff. Governors have legal powers, duties and responsibilities. Our role is to work strategically with the school’s senior leadership team, challenging and questioning the school, identifying priorities for improvement and ensuring that these have a positive impact.

Who we are

Our Governing Board should comprise 15 members of which 3 are Parent Governors, 9 are Co-opted Governors, 1 is a Local Authority Governor and 1 is a Staff governor and Miss Whitby, our Head teacher, is also a Governor.

Parent Governors are elected by the parents of the school. These may be parents or carers of pupils registered at Giles Junior School. They represent the parents and ensure other Governors are kept in touch with the concerns and issues of most importance to our parents. They are not there to promote the interests of their own children but of all the children attending the school.

Co-opted Governors are appointed by the Governing Board. Some are former parent Governors whose children have left the school but continue to support the school and have a contribution to make. Some may be teachers or other members of staff who help to bring a school and educational perspective to the Governing Board. Some are members of the local community who have an interest in education and also bring other skills.

L.A. governors are appointed by the local authority.

Staff Governors represent all the people who work within the school.

The term of office for all governors is 4 years.

All governors have equal status and their overriding concern is the success and welfare of the school as a whole.

Our governors make a positive contribution to the school and the education of the children and were commended for this by Ofsted at the last inspection. They work in close partnership with the Head Teacher to promote continuous improvement in the performance of the school.

You can see profiles of our current governors here.

Why be a School Governor?

Anyone over 18 can be a school governor (unless they are disqualified), and you do not need to be a parent of a child who is at the school (see above - the types of governors). Being a governor means you will be making a positive and rewarding contribution to the school and local community, and your skills will help the governing board to be more effective, which leads to improvement for the school and to the pupils’ education and development.

You do not need to have knowledge of the education system – you will quickly learn about this as you settle into your role – and you don’t need to be ‘a professional.’ Of course you will receive training, which will extend your continuing professional development, providing you with new skills and understanding. There are many aspects to school leadership where skills outside of the education sector are invaluable, such as human resources or finance.

What we do?

Our role is to set the strategic direction of the school and to ensure that all of the money allocated to the school is spent in the best way to raise school standards. We ask the school leaders lots of questions to ensure the priorities we have set and agreed are being followed, and that the results we expect are being realised. In this way we are both supportive and challenging at the same time. Together with the school’s staff, we all have the same objective – to provide the best education for the pupils and to provide an environment where they are safe and can reach their full potential.

Committees

Curriculum & Standards Committee

The Curriculum and Standards Committee is responsible for ensuring that Giles Junior School provides a balanced curriculum which promotes the development of children and prepares them for future opportunities, responsibilities, and experiences. We monitor teaching and pupil achievement to maintain and improve standards and ensure high expectations. Our work includes:

Monitoring progress in children’s books
Receiving and analysing data on attainment and progress
Holding the Senior Leadership team and teachers to account to ensure they maintain high standards by asking challenging questions
Monitoring lessons
Talking to children to gain their views
Ensuring the school allocates pupil premium funding and sports funding to good effect
Supporting learning in the classroom

Resources Committee

The Resources Committee is responsible for four main topics – money, people, the premises (buildings and grounds) and safeguarding (children and staff, including Health and Safety).

The committee works with the school to ensure that it is able to make the most of its staff, finances and facilities, and that it is a safe and stimulating environment for our pupils, staff and visitors, through a range of activities including:

Setting the school’s budget and ensuring that the school’s priorities are included
Regularly monitoring income and expenditure and ensuring that all financial risks have been considered and minimised
Ensuring that the school gets the best possible value for the equipment and services we purchase
Producing and implementing policies and standards for financial management (including those for Lettings, Charging and Remissions, Debt Recovery ), personnel, Health and Safety and Safeguarding (including Accessibility, Attendance, Behaviour, Child Protection, Equality, First Aid, Safer Recruitment and Whistleblowing)
Determining and implementing the school’s staff pay and performance management policies
The recruitment of teaching staff
Managing the school’s assets, including the school buildings and grounds.

Governor Profiles

Kim Hedley - Chair of Governors

I was a governor at Giles many years ago when my daughters were both pupils at the school. I was extremely proud to be asked to consider joining again. I know the value we (the governing body) can add as a group and individuals to the achievements of all the pupils who attend our school. I believe that we add value and help the pupils and the staff by supporting the school. I joined the governing body in autumn 2018 as a co-opted governor. I am a scientist at Lister Hospital, Stevenage, where I work full time, I am also a member of the Trusts staff side exec, which gives me a different insight into how policies and procedures can work this helps me make a different contribution to the governing body.

Dawn De-Vall - Vice-Chair

I have been a Governor at Giles Junior School for eight years. I am Vice-Chair and I have recently joined the Resources Committee. I was the Chair of the Curriculum Committee for 8 years and I am a member of the Strategy committee.

I have four children who have all attended Giles. I have a master’s degree in law and business, and I work in a local secondary school as an Attendance Officer. I enjoy being a governor because I like being part of the Giles community and I want to make an impact on the education of all the children at Giles Junior School. I enjoy keeping fit and spending time with my children and this year I have walked up Snowdon and Ben Nevis.

Sarah Allcock-Green - Co-opted Governor

I am Sarah Allcock-Green, I have 3 children that have all been to school at Giles. I have been a governor at Giles since November 2010. I wanted to be a governor to be able to support and invest time into the school that was educating my children. My expertise is within Special Educational Needs (SEN) and ensuring that children with SEN have good outcomes. Every Child Matters and working closely with the whole of the Giles community, I know that provision for all children is outstanding at Giles. I work at a local secondary school as an Assistant SENCo and SEN transition lead. I enjoy being a governor and spending time with my family.

Sophie Bichener - Co-opted Governor

I joined the governing body at the start of 2018. I live in Stevenage and work in London as a Marketing Manager. My aim as a governor is to give back to my local community and use my expertise to help others. Giles has always been an important place for me as I grew up making frequent trips to the school while my mother taught there for nearly 25 years. It was an easy decision for me to find somewhere close to home where I could make a positive impact on the community and future generations.

Ric Euteneuer - Local Authority Governor

I have been a governor at Giles Junior since 2003, representing Hertfordshire as a local authority nominee. In my working life I am employed by Southwark Council as a pupil place planner - ensuring there are sufficient school places now and in the future for all pupils to have a place and choice of schools. Prior to that I have worked across London in a similar role and in rural Cambridgeshire in strategic housing. All of this has given me a "joined up" view of the provision of education in Stevenage and the role of this governing body and individual governor in the support and scrutiny of the senior leadership team.

Hugh Allcock-Green - Co-opted Governor

I am parent of 3 children, all have attended Giles Junior and the youngest is in Year 7 having recently left Giles Junior School. I am a Facilities Manager with over 20 years experience in building operations, H&S and operational finance. I was previously a Governor at Giles from 2010, however, work commitments eventually took up too much time. I am thrilled to now have the time to be re-appointed. I have also been a Governor at a secondary school in the town.

Gary Horlock – Co-opted Governor

I was appointed as a co-opted governor in early 2021. I am a commercial solicitor and I decided to volunteer as a governor at Giles after attending a presentation at my firm by the charity Governors for Schools. It sounded like an excellent opportunity to use my skills to make a positive contribution towards children's education and to give back to my local community. I was particularly drawn to Giles because of its focus on developing pupils' leadership skills, citizenship and emotional wellbeing, in addition to their academic performance. I am looking forward to working with the other governors to support the school and to ensure that all the pupils have the environment that they need to achieve their full potential. In addition to being a governor, I also enjoy running, reading and gardening in my spare time.

Matthew Dimond - Co-opted Governor

I was appointed as a co-opted governor in 2021. I have been a teacher for the past 8 years and I am currently an Assistant Headteacher at a secondary school in Luton with a current responsibility for Key Stage 3 and 4 Assessment and Progress. I have a real passion to ensure that all students have the opportunity to progress regardless of their starting point. Being a governor at Giles is a great opportunity to pass on my expertise in data analysis and progress. I am looking forward to supporting the school and providing a positive contribution to the governing body. Away from education, I enjoy taking part in a range of sports and spending time out in the countryside.