Governors
Hoole Church of England School currently has ten Governors, drawn from the church family, local community, parents and staff, with a range of business and professional skills. The Governing Body is chaired by Jolene Weaver. The Vice Chair of Governors is Theo Heath.
What is the role of the Governing body?
We are here to challenge and support the school. Our role can be summarised in three key responsibilities:
Assist with the setting of the school vision, ethos and strategic direction
Holding the Head Teacher to account for the educational performance of the school and its pupils, and the performance management of staff
Overseeing the financial performance of the school and making sure money is well spent
Our role involves setting objectives, agreeing policies, priorities, and regularly monitoring and reviewing these matters to check that they are being achieved. The Governing Body’s role in relation to the teaching staff has been described as that of a “critical friend”; we are here to challenge develop and support the school. We do not get involved in the day to day running of the School; this is the responsibility of the school staff.
Many of the Governors have areas of expertise (finance, law, personnel etc) and we provide guidance to the Head Teacher and the Senior Leadership Team, as well as questioning, seeking information and making suggestions.
How is the governing body organised to ensure that its core functions are undertaken?
Full Governing Board
The full governing board meets once every half term for a formal meeting.
During meetings, presentations are received from the Senior Leadership Team and leaders of all levels across the school to ensure that governors are provided with accurate, relevant and appropriate information to enable them to hold school leaders to account for the performance of the school.
In addition to formal meetings, governors often meet with relevant staff in school to enable them to maintain an overview of their area of responsibility. This ensures that governors are well placed to ask pertinent, supportive and challenging questions in order to enable to school to drive forward.
Resources Committee
The Resources Committee meets every half term.
This Committee is chaired by Paul Kilmister.
The terms of reference for the Resources Committee link to the overseeing the use of financial, physical, human and premises resources to ensure that these are used efficiently for the benefit of our school family.
Associate Governors
We do not have Associate Governors with voting rights. The deputy headteacher attends meetings of the governing board as an observer.
How does the governing body support the well being of the staff team, including senior leaders?
Governors are regular visitors to school, monitoring and evaluating our work in school. During these meetings with individual staff members or teams, governors show a high interest in activities undertaken by school staff, offering supportive challenge. Governors take the time to show appreciation for staff efforts in enabling our pupils to shine brightly in line with our school vision. This is regularly reflected in minutes from meetings of the governing board.
The headteacher’s report, provided half termly in advance of governing board meetings, always includes a section relating to staff wellbeing and workload.
Governors maintain oversight of wellbeing and workload via repots from the headteacher following performance management meetings, including end of cycle and interim review meetings.
Two staff consultations are undertaken during every academic year. In the Autumn term, staff complete a general questionnaire based on the OFSTED staff questionnaire. In the Spring term, staff complete a survey specifically focused on wellbeing and workload. The outcomes of both surveys are reported to governors, along with the timeframe for completion of any actions which result from staff feedback.
The governing body has been highly supportive of action taken to improve facilities and provide support for staff over recent years. Examples of this include the refurbishment of the staffroom and the development of the Quiet Room.
The wellbeing of senior leaders is supported via regular communication with designated governors.
The Chair of Governors is highly proactive in supporting school leaders and regularly conducts formal and informal wellbeing reviews with senior staff.
Portfolios of Responsibility
Governors are assigned to areas of responsibility aligned to their expertise and professional skills.
Portfolios of responsibility are as follows:
Area of Responsibility |
Assigned Governor |
Staff Member |
Safeguarding |
Andrew Avery |
Laura Sprowson Ros Flanders |
Attendance & Punctuality |
Christine Darwen |
Colette Williamson Ros Flanders |
Church & Faith & Community Links Christian Distinctiveness & SIAMS |
Craig Gaudion Julie Tynegate |
Rachel Inns Ros Flanders |
Pupil Attainment & Progress |
Theo Heath |
Clare Watling |
Curriculum |
Christine Darwen Laura Matthews
|
Clare Watling |
School Improvement Plan Priority 1 Adaptive teaching, access and ambition |
Christine Darwen Laura Matthews |
Ros Flanders |
School Improvement Plan Priority 2 Supporting reading in lower Key Stage 2 |
Julie Tynegate Theo Heath
|
Stacey Buckley |
School Improvement Plan Priority 3 Increasing engagement and participation of disadvantaged and vulnerable children and families |
Tom Williams Adam Langan |
Clare Watling |
Early Years Foundation Stage |
Julie Tynegate |
Fiona Jeffs |
Finance |
Theo Heath Paul Kilmister |
Kara Newton |
Inclusion (SEND, Disadvantaged and EAL) |
Jolene Weaver Adam Langan Tom Williams |
Laura Sprowson (SEND) Clare Watling (Disadvantaged) Natalie Carter (EAL) |
Whistleblowing |
Jolene Weaver Andy Avery |
Rosalind Flanders |
Health & Safety |
Paul Kilmister |
Kara Newton |
General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) |
Andy Avery |
Kara Newton |
Cyber Security and Digital Standards |
Andy Avery |
Kara Newton |
2023-24 Governors Meetings
16th October 2024 | 16.00 |
3rd December 2024 | 16.00 |
13th February 2025 | 16.00 |
25th March 2025 | 16.00 |
20th May 2025 | 16.00 |
15th July 2025 | 16.00 |
How to contact us
If there is anything you wish to raise with the Governors directly, please just drop us an email to [email protected] or pop a note into the School Office.