The Role of Governors

The overall responsibility of the Governing Body is to oversee the conduct of Maypole School with a view to promoting high standards of educational achievement. To support this aim, Parliament has given school Governing Bodies a range of specific duties, responsibilities and powers. Our main duties are:

• To set the strategic direction, vision and ethos of Maypole school;
• Monitor and challenge the progress of the school in achieving its priorities;
• Ensure the school meets its statutory responsibilities; and
• Oversee the school’s financial performance and ensure financial probity.

Structure and Meetings

The Government has set out how Governing Bodies must be constituted in the School Governance (Constitution) (England) Regulations 2012. Maypole has fully applied these regulations in developing its own Instrument of Government, which came into effect from 17 January 2022. This Instrument sets out that the full Governing Body of Maypole School consists of 13 Governors.

As per the Regulations and the Instrument of Government, governors come from different categories, as set out below:

Parents - 2 elected by other parents of children at the school

Staff - 1 elected by staff at the school

Local Authority - 1 nominated by Kent County Council

Co-opted - 8 appointed by the Governing Body due to their specific skills and/or their ability to contribute

Head Teacher - 1 ex officio member by virtue of their office

With the exception of the Head Teacher, whose appointment lasts while he/she is in post, all Governors serve for a term of four years. After this, Governors can be re-appointed or re-elected for further terms of office. The full Governing Body normally meets once a term. Once the minutes of the meeting have been approved by the Governing Body, they are available to view in the school office on request. The Governing Body delegates most of its work to a series of Committees, of which the principal ones are:

Curriculum -monitors the delivery of Maypole’s curriculum, and considers any inspection reports and the results of pupil testing

Resources and Staffing - proposes the annual school budget and monitors the school’s performance against that budget, approves major procurements, and oversees the school’s management of its assets and estate (including health and safety issues). It also considers staffing and approves the school’s staff complement and organisational structure, determines pay and allowance arrangements for school staff, and considers the school’s performance management and staff development arrangements.

Committees normally meet once a term and report back to each meeting of the full Governing Body. There are other formal committees that the Governing Body is required to have, but which will only meet as and when required.

These are:

• Head Teacher Performance Appraisal Committee – Agrees performance targets for the Head Teacher and monitors performance against these targets;
• Assistant Head Teacher Selection Panel – agrees performance targets and monitors performance against these targets;
• Pupil Discipline Committee, which only meets to hear appeals against the permanent exclusion of pupils; and
• Staffing “First” Committee, which only meets to discuss staff discipline procedures or to determine staff suspensions or dismissals.

The Governing Body appoints a Clerk to advise it on constitutional and procedural matters, duties, and powers, as well as to take minutes of its meetings. The Governing Body has appointed Nigel Marchant from January 2022 to undertake this role. All governors and the Clerk can be contacted through the school’s administration office.

Find out more about being a Governor http://www.kent.gov.uk/leisure-and-community/volunteering/school-governors

Governors