Governance

Our Governors come from a range of backgrounds, and bring different areas of expertise to the school. Governors contribute to ensuring high standards of achievement for all children in the school by:

• setting the school’s vision, ethos and strategic direction;
• holding the Headteacher to account for the educational performance of the school and its pupils;
• overseeing the financial performance of the school and making sure its money is well spent.

A Governor’s role is to support and challenge the senior staff to continue to improve the school. It is largely a thinking and questioning role and Governors are not there to manage the school or do the jobs of school staff. Governors fulfill their role by regularly attending Governing Body meetings, providing strategic guidance and by asking probing and challenging questions of leaders within the school. They also undertake visits, serve on relevant committees and oversee the Headteacher’s performance management.

Who makes up our Governing Body?

• Parent Governors who have a child in school at the time of their election, and are elected by parents with children at the school;
• Staff Governors who are members of staff at the school and are elected by their colleagues;
• Co-opted Governors who are appointed on to the governing body by the other members because they come from a specialist group, such as the business community, or because they possess a particular skill which can contribute to the effective governance and success of the school;
• Local authority (LA) governors who are nominated by the local councillor and appointed by the governing body;
• the Headteacher (HT) is also a member of the governing body by right of the position they hold in the school;
• There may also be associate members who are not actually governors but can be appointed to serve on committees and attend meetings of the full governing body. They do not have the right to vote at meetings of the full governing body but may been given voting rights on the committees that they are a member of – these rights can only be given by the governing body.

Register of personal, pecuniary or business interests

All the governors and associate members of The Deans Primary School listed below have signed the Register of personal, pecuniary or business interests.

This is a declaration of any personal or business interest they, or any relative or person closely connected with them, have with businesses or other organisations that may have dealings with the school. This could, for example, include owning or having a relative work for a business that had dealings with school; having a relative working in or for school; or being a governor of another school.

If any interest a governor has could be seen to cause a conflict of interest they would be asked to withdraw from any decision making concerned. This is to ensure that our governors can always be seen to be putting the interest of the school first.

If there is a potential conflict it is shown in the table. This table also shows the category of governor each person is, any specific role on the governing body and the committees they are members of.

More information about the requirements to complete and sign the Register of personal, pecuniary or business interests can be found on Salford City Council’s Governor Services web pages at https://www.salford.gov.uk/schoolgovernors

Introduction

This code sets out the expectations of, and commitment required from, school governors in order for the governing board to properly carry out its work within the school and the community.

The governing board has the following core strategic functions:

Establishing the strategic direction by:

• Setting the vision, values, and objectives for the school
• Agreeing the school improvement strategy with priorities and targets
• Meeting statutory duties

Ensuring accountability by:

• Appointing the headteacher
• Monitoring progress towards targets
• Performance managing the headteacher
• Engaging with stakeholders
• Contributing to school self-evaluation

Ensuring financial probity by:

• Setting the budget
• Monitoring spending against the budget
• Ensuring value for money is obtained
• Ensuring risks to the organisation are managed

As individuals on the board we agree to the following:

Role & Responsibilities

• We understand the purpose of the board and the role of the headteacher.
• We accept that we have no legal authority to act individually, except when the board has given us delegated authority to do so, and therefore we will only speak on behalf of the governing board when we have been specifically authorised to do so.
• We accept collective responsibility for all decisions made by the board or its delegated agents. This means that we will not speak against majority decisions outside the governing board meeting.
• We have a duty to act fairly and without prejudice, and in so far as we have responsibility for staff, we will fulfil all that is expected of a good employer.
• We will encourage open government and will act appropriately.
• We will consider carefully how our decisions may affect the community and other schools.
• We will always be mindful of our responsibility to maintain and develop the ethos and reputation of our school. Our actions within the school and the local community will reflect this.
  In making or responding to criticism or complaints affecting the school we will follow the procedures established by the governing board.
• We will actively support and challenge the headteacher.

Commitment

• We acknowledge that accepting office as a governor involves the commitment of significant amounts of time and energy.
• We will each involve ourselves actively in the work of the governing board, and accept our fair share of responsibilities, including service on committees or working groups.
• We will make full efforts to attend all meetings and where we cannot attend explain in advance why we are unable to.
• We will get to know the school well and respond to opportunities to involve ourselves in school activities.
• We will visit the school, with all visits to school arranged in advance with the staff and undertaken within the framework established by the governing board and agreed with the headteacher.
• We will consider seriously our individual and collective needs for training and development, and will undertake relevant training.
• We accept that in the interests of open government, our names, terms of office, roles on the governing body, category of governor and the body responsible for appointing us will be published on the school’s website.

Relationships

• We will strive to work as a team in which constructive working relationships are actively promoted.
• We will express views openly, courteously and respectfully in all our communications with other governors.
• We will support the chair in their role of ensuring appropriate conduct both at meetings and at all times.
• We are prepared to answer queries from other governors in relation to delegated functions and take into account any concerns expressed, and we will acknowledge the time, effort and skills that have been committed to the delegated function by those involved.
• We will seek to develop effective working relationships with the headteacher, staff and parents, the local authority and other relevant agencies and the community.

Confidentiality

• We will observe complete confidentiality when matters are deemed confidential or where they concern specific members of staff or pupils, both inside or outside school.
• We will exercise the greatest prudence at all times when discussions regarding school business arise outside a governing board meeting.
• We will not reveal the details of any governing board vote.

Conflicts of interest

• We will record any pecuniary or other business interest (including those related to people we are connected with) that we have in connection with the governing board’s business in the Register of Business Interests, and if any such conflicted matter arises in a meeting we will offer to leave the meeting for the appropriate length of time. We accept that the Register of Business Interests will be published on the school’s website.
• Any governor failing to provide information to enable the governing body to fulfil their responsibility to publish this information will be in breach of the code of conduct and as a result be bringing the governing body into disrepute. In such cases the governing body should consider suspending the governor in question.
• We will also declare any conflict of loyalty at the start of any meeting should the situation arise.
• We will act in the best interests of the school as a whole and not as a representative of any group, even if elected to the governing board.

Breach of this code of conduct

• If we believe this code has been breached, we will raise this issue with the chair and the chair will investigate. If the chair finds the code has been breached they will address this in an appropriate manner. The governing board will only use suspension/removal as a last resort after seeking to resolve any difficulties or disputes in more constructive ways. If suspension is being considered the chair will seek advice and support from the clerk to the governing body.
• Should it be the chair that we believe has breached this code, another governor, such as the vice chair will investigate.

The Seven Principles of Public Life

(Originally published by the Nolan Committee: The Committee on Standards in Public Life was established by the then Prime Minister in October 1994, under the Chairmanship of Lord Nolan, to consider standards of conduct in various areas of public life, and to make recommendations).

Selflessness – Holders of public office should act solely in terms of the public interest. They should not do so in order to gain financial or other material benefits for themselves, their family, or their friends.

Integrity – Holders of public office should not place themselves under any financial or other obligation to outside individuals or organisations that might seek to influence them in the performance of their official duties.

Objectivity – In carrying out public business, including making public appointments, awarding contracts, or recommending individuals for rewards and benefits, holders of public office should make choices on merit.

Accountability – Holders of public office are accountable for their decisions and actions to the public and must submit themselves to whatever scrutiny is appropriate to their office.

Openness – Holders of public office should be as open as possible about all the decisions and actions that they take. They should give reasons for their decisions and restrict information only when the wider public interest clearly demands.

Honesty – Holders of public office have a duty to declare any private interests relating to their public duties and to take steps to resolve any conflicts arising in a way that protects the public interest.

Leadership – Holders of public office should promote and support these principles by leadership and example.