The Governing Body

The Role of the Governors

Our Governing Body is made up of parents, staff members and representatives from the church. A governing body’s overriding responsibility is to work in partnership with the head teacher to promote continuous improvement in the performance of the school. This involves the establishment of a development plan, the setting of challenging but achievable targets and the interpretation of information to assess progress and determine appropriate action. 

Aligned to its improvement role, the governing body is there to be a critical friend who can provide the right balance between supporting and challenging the performance of both the head teacher and the school. Governors also have some specific roles such as Child Protection and Health and Safety.

How do we do this?

• Self Evaluation, we look at what we do and what we can do to improve.

• Agree the School Development Plan and monitor its implementation.

• Ensure that the school meets its statutory and professional responsibilities as an employer and a provider of services to children.

• Plan how the school budget is to be used and monitor compliance with the Budget.

• Authorise the policies and strategies required to provide the best available education to children.

• Ensure the children have a safe and supportive environment.

• Review how the school meets its statutory responsibilities to provide for the needs of every individual child.

• Agree the appropriate staff structure for the school and ensure that staff is managed in a way that holds them to account for their performance and develops their potential for the future.

• Confirm that the voice of the children, parents and others with a legitimate interest in the school are heard and taken into account.

• Resolve any serious conflict within the school or between the school and parents.

• Appoint and support the staff of the school.

How do we work?

• We meet as a full Governing Body at every half-term. Extraordinary meetings are arranged if circumstances warrant such action.

• Every year we elect a Chair and Vice-Chair from amongst the existing members of the Governing Body (employees at the School cannot be elected to these positions).

• The Governing Body also has a Clerk who arranges its meetings, circulates the agenda and papers, takes minutes of full meetings of the Governing Body, and circulates information to Governors from the Local Authority.

• In order to delegate and share the responsibilities of the Governing Body more effectively, we have sub-committees for things such as finance, premises and performance management. Governors meet with the Headteacher, separately from the full Governing Body meetings and provide reports back to the full governors. Governors also have responsibilities for particular aspects of the school, these include Literacy, Numeracy, IT, Health & Safety, Child Protection, Landscape and Special Needs.

Our Governors 

	Rachel Bain- Chair of Governors I became a parent governor & chair of the governing board in 2017 and have 2 children at Grewelthorpe School. Having left a much loved career in Special Education (specialising in developmental of children from birth to 5 years) to support my husband in our family construction business, I felt that joining the governing body gave me the perfect opportunity to remain involved in education but also give something back to the local community. As Chair I am fully committed to leading the board in supporting the Headteacher and everyone who contributes to our wonderful federation. It is our intention to give our children every opportunity to flourish and secure the very best outcomes for each and every one of them. Our school vision Believe. Learn, Flourish underpins all we do.
	Pamela Acheson - Headteacher I qualified as a teacher in 1997 and have worked for three different local authorities. I have taught in every year group from Reception to Y6, worked as an Assistant Headteacher for 3 years and then took up my first Headship in 2015. My experiences have inspired me on this journey. My aim is to develop a culture of learning in my schools filled with opportunities to gain new knowledge and skills; have experiences which engage and motivate us; embrace challenges as opportunities to develop and improve. I want our children to develop positive learning attitudes built on self-belief, a desire to succeed and the expectation to be the best that they can be.
	Katie Barker - Deputy to HT and Staff Governor I first began working at Fountains School in 2007 as a Teaching Assistant before leaving to complete a PGCE. I then began my teaching career at Fountains in 2009 in Year 3 & 4 before I moved into Year 5 & 6 in 2010 where I have taught ever since. I was given the role of Interim Headteacher for the Autumn term 2018 to see the Federation through the short transition period to the arrival of our now Headteacher, Pam Acheson. In January 2019, I resumed teaching in Year 5 & 6 and also took on the role of Assistant to the Head at Fountains. I currently lead English across the Federation and also PE at Fountains as well as being part of the Federation SLT team. I joined the Governing Body of Fountains School in 2013 as the Staff Governor and also worked as the pupil premium Governor. I was then part of the working party that steered the school through the transformation into a Federation with Grewelthorpe Primary. When the two schools were federated in 2015, I remained on the Governing Body and I’m currently the Staff Governor. For this academic year, I sit on the Curriculum Committee and the Finance Committee.
	Paul Baker - Parent Governor This school and its dedicated staff were one of the main reasons my wife and I settled here in 2014. Having upped sticks from a north Birmingham suburb with our young family, we have never looked back. During my short time in North Yorkshire I have worked in a variety of jobs in local businesses across the retail and hospitality sectors before returning to more familiar roles in design and marketing. Outside of work I enjoy spending time outdoors and enjoying the simple things in life. Appointed to the Board in January 2020, I am excited to apply my skills and experience for the benefit of our wonderful schools and the community which they serve.
	Ian Kitchen - Foundation Governor I have been Priest in Charge of the churches in the area since the end of 2019 and am delighted to be part of school life as a governor. I have served in that capacity in a number of schools since I was ordained in 2000 and love both planned work and informal contacts with the children and others in the school community. When I'm not working, life revolves around my wife Helen, dogs, garden and sport.
	Iain Candlish - LAC Governor  I was elected as a co-opted  member of the Local Academy Council at the start of 2023.   I have lived in Grewelthorpe for over ten years and having recently retired wanted to use my experience and work skills for the benefit of the local school In about 1988, I was elected parent governor for the Wrenthorpe Junior and Infant Schools when the Government announced new requirements for school governors.  I served two terms as a parent governor and assisted in the amalgamation of the two schools with the provision of new school buildings and the appointment of the new Head Teacher.  When my children went to secondary school I became a co-opted governor at Outwood Grange School in particular providing advice on traffic access to the school that was implement by the local authority.  I am a Chartered Civil Engineer with over 40 years experience in the design maintenance and construction of roads, bridges, and motorways. I am a Fellow of the Insitution of Civils Engineers and the Chartered Institution of Highways and Transportation.  My career, more recently, centred on the maintenance and improvement of all the motorways in Yorkshire for what is now National Highways.  I specialised in construction safety, obtaining NEBOSH certification, providing speacilist advice to National Highways (previously Highways Agency) on the development of new motorway concepts and the design of motorway improvement schemes.

  
 
Governor Meetings - Attendance Information
 
 

Governor attendance and declarations of interest for 2019-2020

  -Governor details for website spreadsheet 2019 - 2020-V288967884.pdf-  
 

Governor attendance and declarations of interest for 2015-2016

  -Govenor attendance and declarations 2015 2016.pdf-  

Governor attendance and declarations of interest 2016-2017
  -Governor Attendance and declarations of interest 2016 2017.pdf-  


Governor attendance and declarations of interest 2017-2018

  -Attendance and declarations of interest 2017-2018.pdf-