The  (DfE) states:

'Relevant skills may include important personal attributes, qualities and capabilities, such as the ability and willingness to learn and develop new skills. Skills may also be taken to include the knowledge and perspectives that will contribute to good decision-making.'

Skills that school governors bring to the board

The DfE recognises that it’s not only the ‘hard’ skills school governors bring to their board. The 7 attributes listed below include some vital ‘soft’ skills school governors need.

1. Committed – For instance, devoting the required time/energy to the role and ambitious to achieve best possible outcomes for pupils. Prepared to give time, skills and knowledge to developing themselves and others in order to create highly effective governance.
2. Confident – Of an independent mind, able to lead and contribute to courageous conversations, to express their opinion and to play an active role on the board.
3. Curious – Possessing an enquiring mind and an analytical approach and understanding the value of meaningful questioning.
4. Challenging – Providing appropriate challenge to the status quo, not taking information or data at face value and always driving for improvement.
5. Collaborative – Prepared to listen to and work in partnership with others and understanding the importance of building strong working relationships within the board and with executive leaders, staff, parents and carers, pupils/students, the local community and employers.
6. Critical – Understanding the value of critical friendship which enables both challenge and support, and self-reflective, pursing learning and development opportunities to improve their own and whole board effectiveness.
7. Creative – Able to challenge conventional wisdom and be open-minded about new approaches to problem-solving; recognising the value of innovation and creative thinking to organisational development and success.

All schools have a governing body. It is the governors who are responsible for ensuring that their school provides a good quality education for the pupils. The governors and head teacher set the school aims and policies and they work closely together to achieve the targets. The head teacher is responsible for the day-to-day management of the school.

The governors are appointed or elected every 4 years. Many of Stockham’s governors have willingly agreed to be re-appointed or re-elected two or three times which shows their long term commitment to the school. All Governors are DBS checked upon appointment. 

• The governing body has a wide range of responsibilities and, working in partnership, these include:
• Making decisions about:
• Setting the school aims and policies.
• Raising standards of achievement.
• Making sure the money is spent wisely
• Supporting to appointing staff.
• Improving the school environment.
• Making sure all pupils receive rights to all education opportunities.

Governors also:

• Support school activities.
• Visit the school on behalf of the governing body.
• Promote their school in the community.
• Act as a ‘critical friend’ which involves monitoring and evaluating how the school is progressing.
• Dealing with complaints and appeals.

The above tasks are not always easy, but they do affect the interest of the pupils, staff and how the school is perceived by you as the parents, prospective parents and the local community.

Stockham School’s full governing body meets once a term. Occasionally the governors have meetings during the school day but mainly the meetings are held in the evenings. There are currently four sub committees: Quality of Education, Leadership and Management, Finance, and Pay committees. Dates of the governing body meetings are arranged well in advance and rarely change. Please feel free to contact the school office if you would like to know when the meetings are held or would like to see minutes of the meeting. Any confidential matters that may be discussed at governor meetings are not made public for obvious reasons. 

Need further information?

A full contact list of the governors is available from the school office (Tel: 01235 764407) or please visit the web site www.stockham.oxon.sch.uk