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Governors

Chair of Governors: Jane Swettenham

Shenfield High School, as an Academy, is a company limited by guarantee, which is registered at Companies House, and a Charitable Trust.

Members of the Governing Body are directors of the company and one of the body, the Chair, is also a member of the company. The Company’s Memorandum and Articles of Association  and the Academy’s Funding Agreement with the Education and Skills Funding Agency are the governing documents for the School. Governors are also trustees of the Trust.

The Governing Body is the school's accountable body. It is responsible for the conduct of the school, for promoting high standards and for ensuring clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction. The Governing Body aims to ensure that students are attending a successful school which provides them with a good education and supports their wellbeing.

 The Governing Body:

 Sets the strategic direction of the School by: 

  1. Setting the values, aims and objectives of the school
  2. Agreeing the policy framework for achieving those aims and objectives
  3. Setting targets for achieving those aims and objectives
  4. Agreeing the school improvement strategy which includes approving the budget and agreeing the staffing structure

 Challenges and supports the School by monitoring, reviewing and evaluating: 

  1. The implementation and effectiveness of the policy framework
  2. Progress towards targets. In doing so it will examine data and evidence to include the IDSR (inspection data summary report,) ASP (Analyse School Performance) and internal performance data provided by the school.
  3. The implementation and effectiveness of the school improvement strategy
  4. The budget and staffing structure of the school and how money is spent. Governors receive monthly management accounts which are reviewed in detail by the Resources Committee five times a year, with reports being presented to the termly meetings of the full governing body. 

Ensures accountability by: 

  1. Approving the School Improvement Plan or equivalent
  2. Responding to Ofsted reports when necessary
  3. Holding the Head to account for the educational performance of the School
  4. Ensuring parents, students, staff and the local community are involved, consulted and informed as appropriate.
  5. Overseeing the financial performance of the school and making sure its money is well spent.
  6. Making information such as examination performance and admissions policies available to the community
  7. Appointing and performance managing of the Head Teacher who will deliver the aims (through the day to day management of the school, implementation of the agreed policy framework and school improvement and delivery of the curriculum) and report appropriately to the governing body.

 For governing bodies to carry out their roles effectively, governors must be: 

  1. Prepared and equipped to take their responsibilities seriously
  2. Acknowledged as the accountable body by the lead professionals
  3. Supported by the appropriate authorities in that task
  4. Willing and able to monitor and review their own performance
  5. Collaborative to build strong relationships and prepared to adopt the Nolan principals of public life - selflessness, integrity, objectivity, accountability, openness, honesty and leadership.

 In law, the governing body is a corporate body which means: 

  1. No governor can act on their own without proper authority from the full governing body
  2. All governors carry equal responsibility for decisions made
  3. Although appointed through different routes, the overriding concern of all governors has to be the welfare of the school as a whole 

For further information about how the Governing Body works see the full Governors’ Handbook.  If you wish to contact Governors, please do so via the Clerk to the Governors, k.whordley@shenfield.essex.sch.uk 

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