Governing Body

Welcome to the section of the website where you can find out more about the school’s governors, and the work that we do. If you would like a copy of the latest approved minutes from the Governing Body please request via the school office.

Hello and welcome to the Governors pages of St Matthew’s High Brooms CE Primary School.

My name is Karen Stevenson and I am the current Chair of Governors. I have been a Governor at various schools both primary and secondary for the last twenty years and have been at St Matthew’s for ten years.

Governors at St Matthew’s are a dedicated group of people, each with individual skills, that enable us as a team to work with the school leaders to continue to develop St Matthew’s as a great school with high expectations for all the staff and children. Whilst being a governor can be time consuming, with meetings, monitoring visits and training, it can be very rewarding when you can see that you have played a part in ensuring that everyone at St Matthew’s has had the opportunity to achieve their best.

To find out what the Governors role is and how we support the school, please read on. If you are interested in becoming a Governor, have any questions or suggestions and would like to contact me, please leave a message at the school’s office.

Karen Stevenson

Chair of Governors

Our main role is to challenge and support the school leaders. We help them to set and reach targets and to strive for excellence across the whole spectrum of school life.

All Governing Bodies have three key roles:

Ensuring clarity of vision, ethos and setting the strategic direction of the school;
Challenging the head teacher on the educational progress of the school’s pupils and ensuring school improvement, whilst being supportive – this is often describe as being “a critical friend”; and
Overseeing the financial performance of the school and making sure its money is well spent and has a positive impact on school improvement.

Governing Body Membership

At St Matthew’s we have ten governors in the Governing Body:

One Foundation Governors – representing the Church and appointed by St Matthew’s Church and the Rochester diocese;
Two Parent Governors – elected by the parents of children registered at the school;
Four Co-opted Governors – recruited and appointed by the Governing Body, often from the local community;
Two Staff Governors – including the Head teacher and a further staff governor elected by staff; and
One Local Authority Governor – normally recruited by the Governing Body and then approved by the Local Authority or they can be appointed by the Local Authority with agreement from the Governing Body.

All our Governors term of office runs for four years from the date they are appointed.

The Governing Body also has the ability to appoint Associate Governors with specific skills and expertise. Associate governors do not necessarily have a vote and their term of office can vary.

How Our Governing Body Works

The governing body at St Matthew’s operates the Circle Model, which means that the Governing Body works as a whole team without separate committees – exceptions to this are the pay and appraisal committee and discipline/appeals committee, both which meet when needed.

The Governing Body meet six times a year; three meetings are used for focus/monitoring sessions; for example, data, school improvement and budget and; three meetings for policies, updates and reports.

In order for the Governing Body to be effective, the governors at St Matthew’s are organised into monitoring pairs, each pair is responsible for a particular aspect of the School Improvement Plan.

At St Matthew’s we hold two Governor Days annually – November and July – all governors come into the school for the day, to monitor different aspects of the School Improvement Plan. All governors then write a report and present their findings to the rest of the Governing Body and the school’s senior leaders. These Governor Days have become an invaluable and important tool for our governors to fulfil their monitoring role.

Additional safeguarding, pupil premium, SEND and financial monitoring visits, take place throughout the school year.

Finally all Governors at St Matthew’s are expected to attend and complete training, in order to enhance their skills and knowledge, ensuring that the Governing Body continues to improve its effectiveness.

Click on the link below to see the Governing Body Information.

Governing Board info for Sept 2023

2023-24 Circle Model Terms of Reference

006. Standing Order for the Election of Chair and Vice Chair 2023

007. Standing Order for the Appointment of Co-opted Governors 2023

010. Standing Order for Virtual Governance Meetings 2023

Group-Diversity-St Matthew’s High Brooms Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School

*ALL GOVERNORS SERVE A 4-YEAR TERM OF OFFICE

Vacancies: 1 Co-opted

Clerk to the Governors: Sue Buchanan

2022-23 FGB Attendance Register