Whole School Aim

Every child will leave school as a reader who thinks critically and has the resilience for the world’s challenges.

Governors’ Role

The role of the Bidston Avenue Primary School Governing Body is an intrinsic part of the leadership of the school, although often unseen by parents and other community stakeholders.  We are here to oversee that our school is providing the best for your child to the best of their capabilities.  This impact statement is one way in which the Governing Body articulates our role in school leadership, the impact we have had on school improvement, and been transparent about our activities.

The Governing Body is made up of a group of dedicated volunteers, who invest a huge amount of good will, hard work and time for the sole purpose of improving the education of every child in our school.  The Government expects us, as your Governing Body, to be a dynamic group of highly skilled individuals who focus on supporting the Headteacher and all the staff to shape the strategic direction of school.  

As Governors, we are accountable for the performance of our school and we are measured by three core strategic functions:
• Ensuring clarity of vision, ethos, and strategic direction
• Holding the Headteacher to account for the educational performance of the school and its pupils
• Overseeing the financial performance of the school and making sure the money is spent well.

Training

All members of Governing Body have and continue to have significant training.  The impact of this is that the Governing Body are kept abreast of their responsibilities regarding the latest requirements and expectations.  Learning/training is shared at Full Governing Body meetings.

Impact of Full Governing Body Meetings

Each term Governors are invited to attend three committees: Finance, Health & Safety and Standards & Curriculum (including Data, Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) and Safeguarding).   

In addition, Governors may also attend monitoring visits at the school; the purpose of this is determined by areas of focus on the school self-evaluation report.  For example, reviewing the impact of Read Write Inc Phonics, reviewing safeguarding procedures, or meeting a subject leader and looking at progress in books.

The impact of this is that governors understand and gain knowledge in areas of strengths and weakness in teaching and practices within the school.  This enables us to judge the impact of our vision, mission and values.  We use different sources of information from the school and around the country to try and get the full picture about how the school is doing, whether good, bad or in-between.

Headteacher’s Appraisal

The Governing Body carries out the Headteacher Appraisal annually. Several Governors have undertaken Headteacher’s Appraisal Training in the past, and with expert assistance from an independent educational advisor, the appraisal is carried out. The appraisal process allows us to look closely at the performance of the Headteacher, have discussions about areas of strengths and where necessary, areas for development.  New targets are then set against criteria which the Headteachers performance will be evaluated.