Governors work together to provide independent oversight of the management and operation of the school, with the aim of improving the quality of education provided, raising standards and making decisions in the best interests of the school’s pupils, staff and the wider community.

RA Butler Academies Governing Body’s Values Statement

Our governing body is committed to:

• Putting the well-being and achievement of pupils and staff at the forefront of all decisions and actions
• Demonstrating genuine pride and interest in the school and our individual roles
• Being true partners in the school’s leadership
• Achieving an effective balance of support and objective challenge for all governors and staff
• A system of robust self-evaluation to ensure best practice
• Maintaining a balanced skill set of dedicated members
• Protecting our local governing body’s identity and authority
• Striving to be an outstanding school
• Adhering fully to the Nolan Principles of Public Life (please see link)
  https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-7-principles-of-public-life/the-7-principles-of-public-life--2

A school’s Governing Body does not run the school; this is the job of the Headteacher and other senior staff, and governors do not get involved with the daily management of the school.

Governors help to shape the aims and aspirations of the school, bring a range of perspectives to issues and ask the right questions in the right way at the right time.

There are a number of key aspects of the work of the Governing Body. They set the policies for the school, establish the development plan, ensure that public funds are spent appropriately and effectively for the good of the children’s education, ensure that all statutory duties are complied with and provide for rigorous accountability.

At RA Butler we have two Governing Bodies (one for each school) but we work together on the different committees and at the main meeting under the shared leadership of one Chair of Governors, Mrs Sam Harris.

Governors are appointed from the staff, local authority, parents or wider community but they all represent the same group of people – the children. They do not represent the views of the group that they are appointed to, so teachers do not represent or act on behalf of the other teachers, parents do not represent or act on behalf of other parents and so on.

All governors are volunteers and we try to ensure there is a mix of skills on the Governing Body, bringing a wide range of view points, knowledge and in some cases particular expertise such as financial or legal skills.

The Full Governing Body (FGB) meets at least three times a year during term time – for RAB we usually have a ‘housekeeping’ meeting at the beginning of the school year and then one FGB each term, but we meet at other times if required and also for training.  All governors are expected to attend these.

Pupils and Standards Committee
This committee concentrates on the curriculum, performance of the school, behaviour, attendance, and admissions.

Resources Committee
This committee focuses on budgets, building, health and safety.

Governors can be privy to sensitive information relating to the school and its community and are expected to maintain strict confidentiality at all times.  Governors also may not intercede on an individual’s behalf but we do make sure that there are appropriate policies and processes so that employees and parents can raise concerns with the school if they need to do so.

If you would like to know more about the work of the Governing Body or are interested in becoming a governor please contact Sam Harris via the school.

You can find details of the Saffron Academy Trust governance structure here.