Governing Body

Our two sites have one governing body which meets regularly to discuss school issues either as a whole or as part of a committee.

Our Chair of Governors is Syed Uddin and he can be contacted via the school office. A full list of current governors can be found below and on the school notice board. If you are interested in becoming a school governor, please contact the school office. We welcome all enquiries.

School governors are drawn from different parts of the community and can be parents and staff or from the Local Authority, the community and other groups. This helps ensure the governing body has sufficient diversity of views and experience but does not mean governors of a particular category represent that group on the governing body. For example, parent governors do not represent the parents at the school and do not report back to them.

The governing body has a range of duties and powers and a general responsibility for the conduct of the school with a view to promoting high standards of educational achievement. Its responsibilities include but are not limited to:

setting targets for pupil achievement
managing the school’s finances
making sure the curriculum is balanced and broadly based
appointing staff
reviewing staff performance and pay

Further information and reading can be found on the National Governance Association website.

Attendance Record 2023-34

Governing Body 2024-2025

Committee Membership

Governors with individual responsibilities

Terms of Reference - Curriculum & Appointments Committee

Bonner Primary School Curriculum and Appointments Committee

Terms of Reference

The Terms of Reference of the Curriculum and Appointments Committee (“the Committee”) are as follows:

To act on matters delegated by the full Governing Body.
To liaise and consult with other Committees where necessary.
To contribute to the School Development Plan.
To consider safeguarding and equalities implications when undertaking all Committee functions.

Membership

The Committee’s members are appointed by the Governing Body. The Chair is elected by the members appointed to the Committee by the Governing Body.

Quorum

The quorum for meetings is a minimum of three governors (including the Head Teacher).

Meetings

The Committee will meet at least 3 times in the academic year
The Committee meetings will not be open to the public but minutes shall be made available. Information relating to a named person or any other matter that the Committee considers confidential does not have to be made available for inspection
In the absence of the Chair, the Committee shall choose an acting Chair for that meeting from among its number
In the absence of the Clerk, the Committee shall choose a Clerk for that meeting from among its number (someone who is not the Head Teacher)
The draft minutes of each meeting will be circulated with the agenda for the next ordinary meeting of the full Governing Body and the committee’s resolutions and recommendations will be presented at that meeting by the Chair (or in his/her absence, another member of the Committee)
Any decisions taken must be determined by a majority of votes of Committee members present and voting – but no vote can be taken unless a majority of those present are Governors

Curriculum Planning and Delivery

To review, monitor and evaluate the curriculum offer
To recommend for approval to the full Governing Body the:
- Self-evaluation form
- School Development Plan
- Targets for school improvement

To develop and review policies identified within the school’s policy review programme and in accordance with its delegated powers (e.g. sex education and pupil behaviour/discipline)
To ensure that the requirements of children with special needs are met, as laid out in the Code of Practice, and receive termly reports from the Head Teacher/SENCo and an annual report from the SEN Governor

Staffing

To ensure that the school is staffed sufficiently for the fulfilment of the School Development Plan and the effective operation of the school
To establish and oversee the operation of the school's Appraisal Policy - including the arrangements and operation of the school's appraisal procedures for the Head Teacher
To ensure that staffing procedures (including recruitment procedures) follow equalities legislation
Annually, to review procedures for dealing with staff discipline and grievances and make recommendations to the Governing Body for approval
To monitor approved procedures for staff discipline and grievance and ensure that staff are kept informed of these
To recommend to the Governing Body staff selection procedures, ensuring that they conform with safer recruitment practice, and to review these procedures as necessary
In consultation with staff, to oversee any process leading to staff reductions

Assessment and Improvement

To monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of leadership and management
To monitor and evaluate the impact of quality of teaching on rates of pupil progress and standards of achievement
To monitor and evaluate rates of progress and standards of achievement by pupils, including any underachieving groups
To monitor and evaluate the impact of continuing professional development on improving staff performance
To set priorities for improvement, and monitor and evaluate the impact of improvement plans which relate to the Committee’s area of operation. To monitor and evaluate provision for all groups of vulnerable children (e.g. looked after children) and ensure all their needs have been identified and addressed, and to evaluate their progress and achievement
To regularly review and develop the Assessment Policy and to ensure that the policy is operating effectively
To consider recommendations from external reviews of the school (e.g. Ofsted or local school improvement advisers), agree actions as a result of reviews and evaluate regularly the implementation of the plan
To ensure that all children have equal opportunities
To advise the Finance and Premises Committee on the relative funding priorities necessary to deliver the curriculum.

Engagement

To monitor the school’s publicity, public presentation and relationships with the wider community
To identify and celebrate pupil achievements
To oversee arrangements for educational visits, including the appointment of a named coordinator
To ensure all statutory requirements for reporting and publishing information are met and the school website content is fully compliant and presented in an accessible way

Terms of Reference - Finance and Premises Committee

Bonner Primary School Finance & Premises Committee

Terms of Reference

The Terms of Reference of the Finance and Premises Committee (“the Committee”) are as follows:

To act on matters delegated by the full Governing Body.
To liaise and consult with other Committees where necessary.
To contribute to the School Development Plan.
To consider safeguarding and equalities implications when undertaking all Committee functions.

Membership

The Committee’s members are appointed by the Governing Body. The Chair is elected by the members appointed to the Committee by the Governing Body.

Quorum

The quorum for meetings is a minimum of three governors (including the Head Teacher).

Meetings

The Committee will meet at least 3 times in the academic year.
The Committee meetings will not be open to the public. but minutes shall be made available. Information relating to a named person or any other matter that the Committee considers confidential does not have to be made available for inspection.
In the absence of the Chair, the Committee shall choose an acting Chair for that meeting from among its number.
In the absence of the Clerk, the Committee shall choose a Clerk for that meeting from among its number (someone who is not the Headteacher).
The draft minutes of each meeting will be circulated with the agenda for the next ordinary meeting of the full Governing Body and the committee’s resolutions and recommendations will be presented at that meeting by the Chair (or in his/her absence another member of the Committee).
Any decisions taken must be determined by a majority of votes of Committee members present and voting – but no vote can be taken unless a majority of those present are Governors.

Financial Policy and Planning

1 To review, adopt and monitor a Finance Policy which includes the local scheme of delegation for spending and budgetary adjustments (virements) for the Committee, Headteacher and other nominated staff.

2 To draft and propose to the Governing Body for adoption an annual school budget taking into account the priorities and financial implications of the School Development Plan in consultation with the Headteacher, prior to the submission of the SDP to the Governing Body.

3 To establish the annual and longer-term salary budgets and other costs relating to personnel, e.g. training.

4 To monitor and report to the Governing Body the progress of actual income and expenditure against the annual budget and provide reports for the Governing Body.

5 To establish and maintain a three-year financial plan, taking into account the priorities of the School Improvement Plan, roll projection and signals from central government and the LA regarding future years’ budgets, within the constraints of available information.

6 To carry out a mid-year review of income and expenditure and, if necessary, to propose a revised budget to the Governing Body.

7 To review, adopt and monitor all additional financial policies, including a charging and remissions policy.

8 To make decisions in respect of service level agreements.

9 To ensure that sufficient funds are set aside for pay increments as set out in the Pay Policy and as recommended by the Headteacher.

10 To recommend a financial statement in the Governing Body’s annual report.

Financial Monitoring

5.1 To review, complete and submit the School Financial Value Standard (SFVS).

5.2 To undertake any remedial action identified as part of the SFVS.

5.3 To commission, receive and act upon any issues identified in audit reports.

5.4 To monitor the income and expenditure throughout the year of all delegated and devolved funds against the annual budget plan.

5.5 To receive, at least termly, budget monitoring reports from the Headteacher/Business Manager.

5.6 To report back to each meeting of the full Governing Body and to alert them of potential problems or significant anomalies at an early date.

5.7 To meet with other Committees and provide them with the information they need to perform their duties. To consider, where appropriate, the financial implications of any recommendation from the other committees of the Governing Body, School working parties and councils.

5.8 Subject to the local scheme of delegation, to approve any budgetary adjustments that will from time to time be necessary in response to the evolving requirements of the school.

5.9 To authorise virements, as permitted by the Local Authority’s scheme of delegation, between budget heads subject to the approval of the Full Governing Body on virements of more than £30,000 (excluding VAT).

5.10 To approve expenditure for day to day goods and services on any one item between £15,000 and £30,000 (the Headteacher has authority up to £15,000 and approval of the Full Governing Body is required above £30,000). These allowances exclude VAT.

5.11 To consider, review and award contracts up to the value of £30,000 (excluding VAT) a year (the approval of the Governing Body is required for higher amounts).

Premises

6.1 To advise on and monitor Asset Management within the parameters set by the Local Authority and in conjunction with the Associate Headteacher with responsibility for resources and/ or the Business Manager/ Facilities Manager with responsibility for the premises.

6.2 To provide support and guidance for the Governing Body and the Headteacher on all matters relating to the maintenance and development of the premises and grounds, including Health and Safety.

6.3 To ensure that an annual inspection of the premises and grounds takes place and a report is received identifying any issues.

6.4 To inform the Governing Body of the report and set out a proposed order of priorities for maintenance and development, for the approval of the Governing Body.

6.5 To arrange professional surveys and emergency work as necessary.

- The Headteacher is authorised to commit expenditure without the prior approval of the committee in any emergency where delay would result in further damage or present a risk to the health and safety of pupils or staff. In this event the Headteacher would normally be expected to consult the Committee Chair at the earliest opportunity.

6.6 To create a Project Committee where necessary to oversee any major developments and ensure that an appropriate professional is appointed to oversee building projects and report progress to this committee. This committee would not be responsible for building or other bids for capital building works.

6.7 To establish and keep under review an Accessibility Plan and a Building Development Plan.

6.8 To review, adopt and monitor a Health and Safety policy.

6.9 To ensure that the Governing Body's responsibilities regarding litter, refuse and dog excrement are discharged according to Section 89 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, so far as is practicable.

6.10 To prepare a summary of the School's security policy and any reviews or action taken to improve the security arrangements for staff and pupils for inclusion in the Governing Body’s Annual Report.

6.11 To ensure that adequate insurance is provided for the School premises and the contents

6.12 To ensure that all reasonable efforts are made to achieve maximum energy conservation and the most efficient use of energy.

6.13 To oversee arrangements and scale of charges for the use of School premises by outside users under the Lettings Policy

Other business

1 To ensure that there is no opportunity for members of the School staff or the Governing Body to benefit financially by being in a position to influence decisions made by the Governing Body, including, by ensuring an accurate and up to date record of business interests, and through an up to date Whistle Blowing Policy.

Terms of Reference - Pay Committee

Bonner Primary School Pay Committee

Terms of Reference

Quorum

The quorum shall be three members, two of whom must be non-staff governors and one the HT. The Chair has the casting vote.

Meetings

The Committee shall meet at least annually and whenever any pay-related issues need to be considered.

The role of the Pay Committee is to:

i) Carry out an annual review of staff salaries taking account of;
a) any recommendations made by the headteacher/performance management reviewer, in accordance with approved Pay policy and Appraisal policy; and
b) pay/grading issues, including pay progression, pay discretion and pay relativity;
ii) Ensure teaching staff are given a salary assessment statement on or before 31 October each year;

iii) Act on the GB’s behalf in implementing the school’s Pay Policy;

iv) Implement the provisions of the School Teacher’s Pay and Conditions Document (STPCD) and associated regulations including induction;
v) Recording/minuting salary decisions clearly and reporting back promptly and in sufficient detail to the GB; and
vi) Consider advice from LA, advisors and staff on relevant pay developments and advising the GB when the Pay Policy might need to be revised.

The Pay Committee is responsible for:

taking decisions regarding the pay of the deputy and assistant head teacher(s), classroom teachers and support staff following consideration of the recommendations of pay reviewers and the advice of the headteacher;
taking decisions regarding the pay of the headteacher following consideration of the recommendations of the Governors responsible for the headteacher’s performance review;
ensuring that the Headteacher is informed of the outcome of the decision of the Pay Committee and of the right of appeal.

The Appeals Committee of the Governing Body is responsible for:

vii) taking decisions on appeals against the decisions of the Pay Committee in accordance with the terms of the appeals procedure of the policy.