West Lodge
Primary School
Governors' Information
Please click on the name below for more details about the Governors.
Chair of Governors
Vice Chair of Governors
Co-opted Governors
LA Governor
vacant
Parent Governors
Staff Representatives
Clerk to the Governing Body
Geetha Sugumar
The governors are the strategic leaders of schools and they have a vital role to play in making sure every child gets the best possible education. The Governing Body is the school’s key strategic decision-making body. It has a collective, legal responsibility for the effective management of the school, acting within a framework established by national legislation and the school’s agreed policies, and ensuring all statutory duties are met.
The governing board provides strategic leadership and accountability in schools. It has three key functions:
- Overseeing the financial performance of the school and making sure its money is well spent
- Holding the headteacher to account for the educational performance of the school and its pupils
- Ensuring clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction
Governors are volunteers who bring knowledge, skills and different perspectives from their work and life experiences. Many of them have full-time jobs and all have other commitments. They sometimes take time off from their work to visit the school or attend meetings, although most meetings are held in the evening.
Governors are not expected to take detailed decisions about the day-to-day running of the school. That is the responsibility of the headteacher - although the headteacher will discuss most aspects of school life with the governors. The partnership between the headteacher, staff, governors, parents, pupils and the wider community determines how well the school functions. Governors set the aims and objectives for the school and set the policies and targets for achieving those aims and objectives. They monitor and evaluate the progress the school is making and act as a source of challenge and support to the headteacher. In action, this means:
- Appointing and performance reviewing the head teacher and senior leaders, including making decisions about pay
- Managing budgets and deciding how money is spent
- Engaging with pupils, staff, parents and the school community
- Sitting on panels and making decisions about things like pupil exclusions and staff disciplinary
- Addressing a range of education issues within the school including disadvantaged pupils, pupils with special needs, staff workload and teacher recruitment
- Looking at data and evidence to ask questions and have challenging conversations about the school
Governors must be prepared to adopt the Nolan Principles of Public Life: selflessness, integrity, objectivity, accountability, openness, honesty and leadership.
Schools need governing boards that have a balance and diversity of knowledge, skills and experience to enable it to be effective. The West Lodge Board of Governors comprises:
- 2 Parent Governors - elected by the parents
- 12 Co-opted Governors - appointed by other members of the Governing Body (Co-opted Governors are made up of: members of the local community, parents and staff)
- 2 Staff Governors, comprising the Headteacher, and one staff governor elected by the staff
- 1 Local Authority (LA) Governor - nominated by Harrow Council.
In addition, Associate Members can also be appointed by the governing body to serve on one or more governing body committees to contribute to areas where they have a particular expertise e.g. finance, legal, marketing. However, they do not have voting rights.
What Does the Governing Board Do?
The Full Governing Board meets four times a year. There are two committees:
- The Resource Management Committee, which deals with finance, staffing, premises, health & safety and related policies
- The Quality & Standards Committee who monitor pupil progress and attainment, and develop links within the school and wider community
Both committees are responsible for different aspects of safeguarding.
There are also smaller committees and working groups which review areas such as the school improvement plan, staff pay and performance management, deal with safeguarding. Individual governors are also linked to a particular aspect of school life or subject area. They meet with the appropriate leader in school at different times during the year.
As well as attending the regular governing body and committee meetings, governors:
- Meet regularly with senior leaders and middle managers,
- Undertake learning walks and visits to meet staff and pupils, seeing at first-hand how the school works
- Organise opportunities to meet parents and the wider community
- Keep up to date with new legislation and education changes through reading and research
- Undertake regular training organised by the Harrow School Improvement Partnership (HSSE) and via the NGA Learning Link
As a governor, you will be able to:
- Use your own experience of education and life beyond school to inform conversations
- Develop and utilise your skills in a board-level environment
- Make a valuable contribution to education and your community
- Support and challenge the school so that it improves for pupils and staff
- Bring your unique experiences, perspectives and insights in to decision-making in the interests of the school community
Governors should also be committed to their role and to young people; confident in having courageous conversations; curious with an enquiring mind; able to challenge the status quo to improve things; collaborative to build strong relationships; critical to improve their own work and that of the board; and creative in problem solving and being innovative.