Governors

Our Governing Body

Governors are people who have an interest in the role of schools in society and wish to make a positive contribution to their communities. They will have enquiring minds and contribute to the effective running of the school and the educational achievements of its pupils. A governing body's overriding responsibility is to work in partnership with the head teacher to promote continuous improvement in the performance of the school. This involves the establishment of a development plan, the setting of challenging but achievable targets and the interpretation of information to assess progress and determine appropriate action. Typically, a governor's duties will average at around 6 hours of time each month. Aligned to its improvement role, the governing body is there to be a 'critical friend' who can provide the right balance between supporting and challenging the performance of both the head teacher and the school.

As part of the STAR Multi-Academy Trust, we work with a Scheme of Delegation to the Members and Trust Board - you can read this below:

Riverside School Scheme of Delegation

Our governing body does not have any committees - instead it meets as a full board approximately once per month. In this way, every governor is fully involved in all aspects of governance.

The LGB has a close working relationship with the MAT Board of Trustees as detailed on the STAR MAT website. Our Local Governing Board for 2020-2021 is constituted:

Name	Governor TYpe	Links	Start date	End of term
Alison Woodward	Headteacher		12/04/2021
Jen McCombe	Staff Vacancy		09/06/2021	08/06/2025
Andrew Warnes	Parent (Appointed)	SEND/PP	12/11/2018	11/11/2022
Peter Carr	Parent	Sport	01/12/2017	30/11/2021
Charlie Heard	Trust Appointed	Curriculum	12/02/2019	11/02/2023
Carolyn Walker	Trust Appointed	Chair/Safeguarding	03/04/2019	02/04/2023
Rick Miles	Trust Appointed	Vice Chair/Maths	01/9/2020	31/8/2024
Julie Charge	Trust Appointed	English	1/7/2020	30/6/2024
Georgina Ashton	Trust Appointed		08/03/21	07/03/25

Register of business interests:

Riverside_Primary_School_LGB_-_Register_of_Interests_2020-21.pdf

Governor meeting attendance:

Screenshot 2021 07 22 183237

From our OFSTED report in January 2013:

Governance has improved considerably since the previous inspection. Governors have a full understanding of data and how it relates to pupils’ progress. They keep a close eye on the impact of any spending, including the pupil premium funding. Governors canvassed staff opinion as part of their self-evaluation. They responded positively to the criticism that they seemed a bit remote and have worked on raising their profile in the school. Consequently, governors go into lessons, look at teachers’ planning and accompany staff on ‘learning walks’ so they have a thorough knowledge of what goes on in school. They keep themselves up to date. They make sure that staff and pupils are safe.