Whitehill Primary School & Nursery
Developing confidence, ambition and independence through the highest aspirations for all

Governance

Whitehill Primary School is a member of the Decus Educational Trust.  The school has fully delegated powers from the Trust Board of Directors who concern themselves with strategic and longer term planning.  The Local Governing Body, technically a committee of the Trust, is responsible for the detailed functioning of the school.  The Directors do have the power to alter the level of delegation if the circumstances of the school change.  A complete description of the levels of delegation can be found in the Terms of Reference for Whitehill Primary School. 

The key role of the Local Governing Body of Whitehill Primary School is to focus on: –

  • Ensuring the school’s clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction.
  • Holding the Headteacher to account for the educational performance of the school and its pupils.
  • Overseeing the financial performance of the school, setting the budget and making sure its money is well spent.

The Local Governing Body does this by: –

  • Challenging the Headteacher on the school’s performance in areas such as (but not limited to) pupil progress, teacher development, exclusions and attendance.
  • Approving many School Policies, e.g. Attendance Policy, Health and Safety Policy etc. (https://whitehillprimary.com/policies-and-documents/)
  • Setting the school budget and monitoring the expenditure.
  • Reviewing progress against the School Operational Plan.
  • Sitting on occasional panels dealing, for example, with Exclusions to ensure the school has applied government and its own policies.
  • Working with the Headteacher and Leadership Team to achieve the goal of making Whitehill Primary School an Outstanding school.

 and

Along with the responsibilities mentioned above, each Governor takes on a role of monitoring specific activities with the school. This can be to monitor a particular aspect of the school’s Operational Plan, but also ongoing functions such as Safeguarding and Special Educational Needs and Disability. Governors review these areas by visiting the school, talking with staff, pupils and parents and then report back to the Local Governing Body on progress.

It is important to note that the Local Governing Body does not have an operational function as the day to day running of the school is the role of the Headteacher and staff of Whitehill Primary School.   

The membership of the Local Governing Body is made up as follows:

2 Parent Governors                                                   Elected by parents of pupils

2 Staff Governors                                                       Elected by fellow staff members

Up to 7 Director Appointed Governors                 Appointed by the Academy Trust Board

Headteacher

A Chair and Vice Chair are elected by the Local Governing Body.

Each member sits for a term of 4 years.

(The Trust can appoint other members or advisors, as it sees fit, to ensure the Local Governor Body has the knowledge and skills to complete its role.)

Local Governing Body meetings are held once every term (6 times a year).

An independent clerk is in attendance to manage the agenda, ensure documents are distributed and minutes of the meeting are taken.

Governors’ information 

The Chair of the Local Governing Board can be contacted via the school office (admin@whitehillprimary.com).