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.

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 12 members:

2 elected Parent Governors
1 elected Staff Governor
1 Governor nominated by Hackney Learning Trust
7 Co-opted Governors, identified 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 Head Teacher

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:

Making sure the school has a clear vision, ethos and strategic direction.
Holding the head teacher to account for the educational performance of the school and its pupils, and the performance management of staff.
Overseeing the financial performance of the school and making sure its money is well spent.

In practice, as a governor you 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, making sure we have the right resources.
Linking the school with the local community.

What Sort of People Are We Looking For?

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)

The Practicalities

HHGB meets every term to deal with business matters (6.00-8.30pm). The dates for the year are set in September.
Every governor is also a member of one of our two committees. The committees meet once a term, usually on the same day:
- Curriculum Committee: 6.00-7.15pm
- Resources Committee: 7.00-8.00pm
Every governor is a ‘Partner Governor’, getting to understand and report back on an important aspect of the school’s work (e.g. inclusion, creativity or science). 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 their committee about the visit.
The Chair, vice-Chair and the chairs and vice-chairs of each committee form the Harrington Hill Action Group, which meets termly with the Headteacher and interrogates the school’s data in detail, reporting back to the HHGB.