Governing at St John's

Welcome

Welcome to the St John's Primary School Governors page. The Governing Body of St John's School is made up of a range of people from many different backgrounds, including representatives from the Local Authority, St John's Church (known as Foundation Governors), the Local Community, Parents and Staff. All Governors are volunteers and we offer our time, skills and experience to help run the School. Although as Governors we receive some training from the Local Authority, we are lay people, not experts and our role is to act as a critical or questioning friend.

What the Governing Body does

The role of the Governing Body is to work with the Head Teacher and Staff to offer all children at St John's the best educational opportunities possible.  Our main task is in the area of school improvement - in practice, we continually try to make the school the best it can be. Running the school on a daily basis is the responsibility of the Head and Staff - the Governing Body is responsible for:

• managing the school's budget
• ensuring that the curriculum is balanced and broadly based
• reporting on the standards being achieved
• the appointment of senior staff and
• developing and maintaining a strategic vision for the school that reflects out distinctive Christian character and values.

Following on from an inspection by Ofsted, Governors have to draw up an action plan for the school in response to the inspection report.

How the Governing Body works

Governors meet as a Full Governing Body six times in an academic year. We also meet in two smaller sub-committees:

• Curriculum & Buildings and
• Staffing and Finance

Business is conducted through meetings where we make decisions collectively as a team. Our role is strategic, while the Head, with whom we work closely, has responsibility for the day-to-day management of the school. Meetings take place early in the evening - around 6pm - and can involve a lot of paperwork so it helps to have read what we can in advance.

As well as meeting together regularly as a Governing Body, Governors like to come and visit the school and be involved in school life. We particularly enjoy attending events like concerts, sporting events, festivals and Church Services where we can celebrate the achievements of the children as well as sharing in significant moments in the life of the school. Above all, we hope to support the staff of the school in creating a safe, happy and pleasant environment in which to learn and play together.

Becoming a Governor

• Foundation Governors are nominated by St John's Church in consultation with the Archdeacon of Bath and Wells.
• Parent Governors are elected by parents for a fixed term of 4 years. Parents are advised in writing when a vacancy for a Parent Governor arises. This could be because a Governor completes their term of office or because they stand down. Full details of the eligibility criteria and the process for nominations and any election are provided at the time.
• Local Authority Governors (L.A. Governors) are nominated by Local Councillors.
• Staff Governors are members of the School staff who are elected by the staffing body (both teaching and non-teaching).
• Community Governors are appointed by the Governing Body to represent community interests or to bring specific skills to the Governing Body 

Our Current Governing Body

Mrs Sue Bindon - Staff Governor

Mr Dave Britton - Parent Governor

Mr Paul Campbell - L.A. Governor

Mr Matthew Cottrell - Head Teacher, Ex-officio

Mr Brian Davies - Community Governor

Mrs Niki Davies - Parent Governor

Mrs Wendy Day - Parent Governor

Mrs Linda Hutchings - L.A. Governor

Mr Ed Nall - Foundation Governor

Mr Roger Peach - Foundation Governor (Chair of Buildings & Curriculum)

Mr Graham Shaw - Ex-Officio Foundation Governor (temporary)

Mr Simon Shirley - Parent Governor (Vice Chair and Chair of Staffing & Finance)

Mr Andy Spens - Staff Governor, Deputy Head Teacher

Mrs Lorna Tredget - Parent Governor (Chair of Governors)

Vacancy - Community Governor