Governors

Harrington Hill Governing Body (HHGB) work with the staff and school community of Harrington Hill to ensure the best education is being provided for the children in the school.

HHGB has 13 members:

2 elected Parent Governors
1 elected Staff Governor
1 Governor nominated by Hackney Learning Trust
7 Co-opted Governors, identified by the members of HHGB – these might be parents, members of staff, members of the local community, or anybody who can bring particular skills and experience we might need
The Executive Head Teacher
The Head of School

What do Governors Do?

The role of governors is set out in law as: “to conduct the school with a view to promoting high standards of education achievement at the school”.

The government has set out the three areas governors are responsible for:

Ensuring clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction
Holding executive leaders to account for the educational performance of the organisation and its pupils, and the effective and efficient performance management of staff
Overseeing the financial performance of the organisation and making sure its money is well spent

The day-to-day management of the school is the responsibility of the Head of School supported by the school staff. The Executive Headteacher has overall responsibility for securing strong leadership and for developing teaching and learning. Governors might get involved in:

Helping to agree a vision for the school and checking that we are on track to achieve it
Agreeing and monitoring implementation of the School Development Plan
Monitoring how well children are doing overall
Agreeing the school’s budget, and making sure we have the right resources
Linking the school with the local community

Governing Body Meetings

The full Governing Body meets once each term. We also hold a Curriculum Committee meeting and a Resources Committee meeting each term, and we have a number of working parties that governors are involved with.

HH governors love to attend school events such as concerts, open evenings, performances and forums for parents. We take part in staff appointment panels and when necessary hold pupil exclusion panels, parental complaint panels as well as staff disciplinary and grievance hearings.

Governors are also required to take on a ‘Partner Governor’ role, linked with specific year groups. Each Partner Governor visits the school at least once a year to speak to key members of staff, sit in on lessons or take ‘learning walks’ through the school. They then report back to the governing body committees about the visit.

Find out more about becoming a governor

There are currently vacancies for:

1 x Parent Governor

HHGB members have agreed that, to be effective, governors must:

Be willing to learn about the school and the local community.
Not be intimidated by jargon and things that are unfamiliar, but be willing to do the necessary to learn.
Be available and prepared to contribute actively, including by attending and contributing to meetings.
Understand it is important to be well-prepared for meetings and be organised.
Be willing to listen to others and understand their viewpoint, and be prepared to put their own point of view.
Be prepared to question things and suggest new ways of doing things.

Being a governor is a fantastic way of learning new skills. Below is a list that we at Harrington Hill have found that we have developed over the years or which we have found useful. Even if you think you only a few of these, you will have the opportunity and support to develop as many as possible. All we ask is that you are prepared to make it happen.

Skills
Numeracy – we have to understand basic data Active listening Appreciating different points of view Investigation and asking good questions Being part of a team Managing relationships Being organised Presenting information clearly Focusing on the big picture – it’s not our job to run the school
Knowledge
Understanding the role Latest education developments The local community How the school works
Experience (if you’ve done any of these things you will be a real asset!)
Analysing data Budgeting and finance Recruitment and performance management Chairing meetings Taking minutes Being on panels (recruitment, disciplinary, etc)

Contact information

Your ideas and opinions are important to us and we are happy to help you in any way we can to support the children at our school. If you would like to talk to any of the governors you are welcome to contact us through. You can contact Sophia Parkinson (Chair of Governors) at the following email address – governors@harringtonhill.hackney.sch.uk