Governance

Newman Catholic Academy Trust

Members:      

Local Governing Body

Role and Responsibilities

The school governing body has a strategic role in ensuring that the school is providing education of a high standard, and based on the teachings of the Catholic Church and Canon Law. The governing body is essentially a monitoring body which works in partnership with the school leadership team. The school head teacher and the leadership team are responsible for the internal organisation of the school. The governing body critically appraises the whole school performance and is responsible for approving staff appointments and overseeing how the school budget is spent. Only decisions ratified by the whole governing body are binding and have a legal value. However, the board can delegate to committees or single governors, such as the Chair, some specific responsibilities. Otherwise, a single governor as such has no specific authority.

Composition of the Governing Body

Currently Springhill has 14 governors:

• 9 Foundation Governors, appointed directly by the Bishop. They have a special duty to ensure that the school Catholic Ethos is preserved and developed, and that Catholic Education in School is in line with the Bishop's directions

• The head teacher and 1 more Staff Governor, elected by staff

• 2 Parent Governors, elected by the parents

• 1 Co-opted Governor

A clerk supports them with circulation of documents, information and minute taking.

Committees and Working Groups

Springhill governing board meets twice per term, and delegates specific duties to four committees that report to the whole board:

Admissions and Staffing:- oversees the annual pupil admission round and monitors staffing issues.

Curriculum:- reviews the school curricula against national standards.

Finance and Building:- monitors how the school budget is spent to support education and the specific school improvement plan.

Communications: - focuses on communications with parents and other key stakeholders.

Governors use different sources of information, such as: the regular Head Teacher Report; anonymised statistics about pupils; reports from OFSTED, the Diocese of Portsmouth and other external auditors; visits to school and 'learning walks' to focus on a particular area.

There is a further working group, Health and Safety, which monitors school compliance with current Health and Safety legislation.

The governing body can be contacted via the school office, info@springhillcatholic.net,

or via the Chair email address, chairofgovernors@springhillcatholic.net