Dear Parents, Guardians and Friends
Over the course of this academic year, various members of the school’s Senior Leadership Team have kept you up-to-date with events at school via this Blog. This week I would like to take this opportunity to tell you a little bit about the school’s governors.
Who?!
The school’s governors are its strategic leaders. Some of us are parents of pupils in the school (you may recall seeing letters inviting parents to stand for election as governors, or even recall participating in a parent governor election), others of us are drawn from the school and its wider community. The governing body comes from a range of backgrounds, both in terms of ethnicity and in terms of profession. The breadth of knowledge, experience and expertise of the governors is part of the governing body’s strength.
In total there are currently 10 non-staff governors and 6 governors who are members of school staff. For a full list of the governors, please take a look at the ‘Governance, Policies and Finance’ section of the school’s website. The role is entirely voluntary. We are not paid for being governors. https://www.holtschool.co.uk/about-us/governance-policies-finance
What do you do?
The governing body develops a vision for the school, oversees its financial performance and holds the school’s leaders to account. Our aim is to ensure that every pupil at the school receives the best possible education.
What this means in practice is that, amongst other things, the governors approve the school’s annual improvement plan and monitor its progress throughout the school year. We also approve the school’s annual budget and monitor how it is being spent. In parallel with these two key tasks, we consider, debate and approve a multitude of policies that underpin day to day life in the school, such as the behaviour for learning policy, the safeguarding policy and the special educational needs policy. Copies of the school’s policies can also be found in the ‘Governance, Policies and Finance’ section of the school’s website.
Why do you do it?
Whilst the role of a governor can be a rather hidden from sight and there is no denying that it involves a time commitment, it is a thoroughly rewarding one. Parent governors value the opportunity to engage more deeply with the school and the school leadership team. When your child transitions from primary to secondary education, you can feel quite removed from the experience. Being a governor helps you stay connected with the school and allows you to give back not only to the school that is educating your child, but to your local community, by helping to continue the excellent provision The Holt School offers its pupils.
If anyone is keen to come on board, please do contact me via Katie Warner, Governance Professional – k.warner@holt.wokingham.sch.uk. Please rest assured that we recognise the value of a diverse governing body and welcome interest from our whole school community.
Fiona Cross
Chair of Governors