Who are our Governors?
Each Governor has a set of different skills, expertise and experience. We will be developing our Governor profiles on an on-going basis.
| Name | Roles | Term |
| Mr Matt Jones | Principal | Ex-officio |
| Confidential | Chair of Governors | 21 September 2021 – 2025 |
| Mr Wayne Judson | Vice Chair & Community Governor | 1 September 2013 – 2025 |
| Mr Ian Miller | Parent Governor | 1 September 2021 – 2025 |
| Mr Richard Havill | Community Governor | 1 January 2019 – 2023 |
| Mrs Ruth Larsen | Community Governor | 28 June 2022 – 2026 |
| Mr Lee Pratt | Community Governor | 28 June 2022 – 2026 |
| Mrs Louise Boyles | Staff Governor | 16 November 2021 – 2025 |
To contact the Chair of Governors please contact the Clerk to Governors directly at clerktogovernors@heanorgatespencer.com.
Meeting Dates
| MEETING | DATE | TIME |
| AGM | Tuesday 4 October 2022 | 5pm |
| Governors’ Meeting | Tuesday 24 January 2023 | 5pm |
| Governors’ Meeting | Tuesday 16 May 2023 | 5pm |
| Governors’ Meeting | Tuesday 27 June 2023 | 5pm |
What do we actually do?
During each academic year, Governors will conduct monitoring visits to see how the overall performance of the school is doing. During these visits, Governors get the chance to speak to staff and students and see the school in action. Our Governors are invited to attend a range of school events and productions such as awards events, end of year productions, celebratory events etc.
The core functions of a Governing Body are:
The Handbook was last updated in January 2017 (click here to download).
The DfE also launched in January 2017: ‘A Competency Framework for Governance’. This document outlines the knowledge, skills and behaviours needed for effective governance.
In addition, we:
- Provide a strategic view of the school by establishing a vision and setting the purpose and aims of the school within an agreed policy framework.
- Appoint and conduct the performance management of the Principal.
- Agree the school’s improvement strategy, which includes setting statutory targets with supporting budgets and staffing structures.
- Monitor and evaluate the work fo the school by reviewing the performance of the Principal, the effectiveness of the policy framework, progress towards targets and the effectiveness of the school improvement strategy.
- Sign off the self-evaluation process and respond to Ofsted reports as necessary.
Chairs Development
Our Chair meets with other Chairs in The Spencer Academies Trust and provides a feedback report to the Directors of the Trust on the work of the Local Governing Body (LGB), including celebrations and challenges. This network provides the opportunity to find out what’s new and what the expectations are on Governors going forward – both from the Trust, Government and Ofsted. The Chair has also undergone the Leadership Development Programme for Chairs. This also provides an opportunity for our Chair to network, learn and share with others across the region.
Governor Training
The following training has been undertaken by one or more Governors:
- Safeguarding / FGM / Prevent / Safer recruitment
- Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) – to keep abreast of latest legislation
- Induction – Effective Governance – an induction refresher on the role of a school Governor
- Inspection Dashboard – how to interpret performance data
- Preparing for an external review/inspection
- Conducting a school visit
- Health and Safety – the role of Governors
Memberships
The Trust has supported our school with memberships to the National Governors Association (NGA) and the Freedom and Autonomy for Schools – National Association (FASNA) networks to ensure that we are as up-to-date as possible with any changes in policy and/or legislation in school governance.
Clerk Competency Framework
Introduced in April 2017 the new Clerking Competency Framework outlines the knowledge, skills and behaviours required to provide a professional Clerking service to the Governors.
Four competency areas covered in the new Framework are:
- Understanding Governance
- Administration
- Advice and Guidance
- People and Relationships
The new Framework recognizes the value of professional quality clerks and realises they are critical to the effectiveness of a governing board in fulfilling its core strategic functions.
To read the full framework, please click here.