Shaw-cum-Donnington C.E. Primary

School governors are people who want to make a positive contribution to children’s education.

Governors are one of the largest volunteer forces in the country and have an important part to play in raising school standards. The role of the governing body is absolutely key to the effectiveness of a school. Time and time again Ofsted (the national inspection body for schools) has noted that the most effective schools demonstrate effective leadership and management - including by the Governing Body.  

All schools in England have a Governing Body which is responsible for overseeing many of the strategic decisions of the school. A key role is to act as a ‘critical friend’: to support, to challenge, to ask questions, ultimately to represent the school community.

The Governing Body works in close partnership with the headteacher, staff and the local authority. Whilst the headteacher is, of course, responsible for the day to day running of the school, the governors are involved with such things as staffing, curriculum, school buildings and finance. It ensures the school functions well and maintains the proper range of academic and social objectives.

School governors provide strategic leadership and accountability. Governors appoint the Headteacher and Assistant Headteacher.  It is governors who hold the main responsibility for finance  and it is governors who work with the head teacher to make the tough decisions about balancing resources.  Each individual governor is a member of a governing body, which is established in law as a corporate body. Individual governors may not act independently of the rest of the governing body. Decisions are the joint responsibility of the governing body.
The role of the governing body is to ensure high standards of achievement for all children in the school, its key functions are: 

• To ensure clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction.
• ​Hold the Headteacher to account for the educational performance of the school and its pupils.
• Oversee the financial performance of the school and make sure its money is well spent.
• The Headteacher is responsible for the internal organisation, management and control of the school and the implementation of the strategic framework established by the governing body.

If you would like to use your skills to make a positive impact on the education of our pupils and would like to know more about how you can become a school governor at Shaw-cum-Donnington Primary School, please contact the school office on 01635 40971 or email office@shaw.w-berks.sch.uk

In 2015 the governing body elected to reconstitute, in keeping with statutory guidance from the Department for Education. We took this decision as it allowed us to change the numbers and types of governors we have and to appoint more people on the basis of the skills they could bring.

The governing body now consists of:

• The Headteacher
• One elected staff governor
• One appointed local authority governor
• Two foundation governors
• Two elected parent governors
• Three co-opted governors

The standard term of office for a governor is four years. The chair and vice-chair are elected annually at the first meeting of the academic year.
The chair of governors is Mr Nick Breach, who can be contacted via the school office.  The work of the governing body is carried out at full board level with two focus based (Teaching & Learning and Resources) meetings per term.  There are seperate committees dealing with school policies and pay reviews.

Instrument of Governance
Governor's Statement of Behaviour Principles

Headteacher - Miss Vicky Murray
The Headteacher is an Ex-officio governor which means they are a member of the governing body by virtue of the position held in school and do not need to be elected.
Positions of Responsibility: Policy Committee, Pay Committee
2019 - 20 Meeting Attendance:  5/5 FGB, 1/1 Pay, 3/3 Policy
2018 - 19 Meeting Attendance:  8/8 FGB, 1/1 Pay, 3/3 Policy
2017 - 18 Meeting Attendance:  8/8 FGB, 1/1 Pay, 3/3 Policy
2016 - 17 Meeting Attendance:  9/9 FGB, 1/1 Pay, 3/3 Policy
Register of Interests: None

Sally Yates
Category of Governor: Co-opted
Appointed By: Governing Body
Term of Office: 1/7/2019 to 30/6/2023
Positions of Responsibility: Chair of FGB, Safeguarding and Finance
2019 - 20 Meeting Attendance:  5/5 FGB, 1/1 Pay
Register of Interests: None

Rev'd Dr Marion Wood
Category of Governor: Foundation
Appointed By: Oxford Diocese
Term of Office: 3/12/2018 to 2/12/2022
Positions of Responsibility: SEN
2019 - 20 Meeting Attendance:  4/5 FGB, 3/3 Policy
2018 - 19 Meeting Attendance:  7/8 FGB, 2/2 Policy
2017 - 18 Meeting Attendance: 7/8 FGB, 1/1 Pay, 3/3 Policy 
2016 - 17 Meeting Attendance:  8/9 FGB
Register of Interests: None

Sharon Randall
Category of Governor: Staff
Appointed By: Staff
Term of Office: 14/1/2019 to 13/1/2023
Positions of Responsibility: Policy Committee
2019 - 20 Meeting Attendance:  5/5 FGB
2018 - 19 Meeting Attendance:  6/6 FGB
Register of Interests: None

Keith Watts
Category of Governor: Co-Opted
Appointed By: Governing Body
Term of Office: 25/9/2017 to 24/9/2021
Positions of Responsibility: Vice-chair of FGB, Chair of Policy Committee, Health & Safety
2019 - 20 Meeting Attendance:  5/5 FGB, 1/1 Pay, 3/3 Policy
2018 - 19 Meeting Attendance:  7/8 FGB, 3/3 Policy
2017 - 18 Meeting Attendance:  5/6 FGB, 1/3 Policy
Register of Interests: Director of Spike Publications Ltd (School vacancy advertising)

Hannah Elder
Category of Governor: Parent
Appointed By: Parents
Term of Office: 6/11/2017 to 5/11/2021
Positions of Responsibility: Data Protection & Development
2019 - 20 Meeting Attendance:  4/5 FGB, 1/1 Pay, 2/3 Policy
2018 - 19 Meeting Attendance:  7/8 FGB, 0/1Pay, 1/2 Policy
2017 - 18 Meeting Attendance:  4/6 FGB
Register of Interests: None

Irina Harrison
Category of Governor: Parent
Appointed By: Parents
Term of Office: 2/10/2019 to 1/10/2023
Positions of Responsibility: PPG
2019 - 20 Meeting Attendance:  5/5 FGB
Register of Interests: None

Andrew Moore
Category of Governor: Co-Opted
Appointed By: Governing Body
Term of Office: 11/5/2020 to 10/5/2024
Positions of Responsibility: TBC
2019 - 20 Meeting Attendance:  0/0 FGB
Register of Interests: TBC

Foundation - One vacancy

  If you are interested in becoming a Foundation Governor, please contact our Clerk - Delia Jones in the school office or see our vacancies page for more information.

Past Governors

Nick Breach
Category of Governor: Foundation
Appointed By: Oxford Diocese
Term of Office: 29/4/16 to 28/4/2020
Positions of Responsibility: Chair of FGB, Health & Safety, Finance
2019 - 20 Meeting Attendance:  4/4 FGB
2018 - 19 Meeting Attendance:  7/8 FGB
2017 - 18 Meeting Attendance:  7/8 FGB
2016 - 17 Meeting Attendance:  9/9 FGB, 1/1 Pay
Register of Interests: None

Peter Loomes
Category of Governor: Parent
Appointed By: Parents
Term of Office: 2/2/2017 to 9/9/19
Positions of Responsibility: Safeguarding
2018 - 19 Meeting Attendance:  4/8 FGB, 1/1 Pay
2017 - 18 Meeting Attendance:  5/8 FGB, 1/1 Pay
2016 - 17 Meeting Attendance:  7/9 FGB, 0/1Pay
Register of Interests: None

Robert Mitchell
Category of Governor: Local Authority
Appointed By: Governing Body
Term of Office: 23/4/2018 to 4/2/2019
Positions of Responsibility: TBC
2018 - 19 Meeting Attendance:  2/3 FGB, 1/1Pay
2017 - 18 Meeting Attendance:  3/5 FGB
Register of Interests: None

Alison Richman
Category of Governor: Staff
Appointed By: Staff
Term of Office: 12/1/2015 to 11/1/2019
Positions of Responsibility: Policy Committee
2018 - 19 Meeting Attendance:  2/2 FGB, 1/1 Policy
2017 - 18 Meeting Attendance:  8/8 FGB, 3/3 Policy
2016 - 17 Meeting Attendance:  7/9 FGB, 3/3 Policy
Register of Interests: None

Debbie Evans
Category of Governor: Co-Opted
Appointed By: Governing Body
Term of Office: 3/7/2017 to 25/10/2018
Positions of Responsibility: Development
2018 - 19 Meeting Attendance:  1/1 FGB
2017 - 18 Meeting Attendance:  6/8 FGB, 1/1 Pay
Register of Interests: None

To set objectives and review strategic priorities for the Full Governing Body (FGB) over the next two academic years that address the key findings from our OFSTED and SIAMS inspections.

Drive a sustained improvement in the quality and consistency of teaching and pupil progress across the curriculum, raising expectations of pupil achievement to achieve the highest possible outcomes.

Ensure a systematic approach to monitoring and evaluating pupil progress is firmly established and used effectively to improve outcomes for all pupils.

Ensure a systematic approach to supporting the school and pupils to accurately assess and counter the impact of school closure due to the Covid-19 global pandemic, on both learning outcomes and wellbeing.

Develop a robust monitoring and evaluation of collective worship, religious education and the impact of the school’s Christian vision within the community.   

The FGB objectives have been developed from the findings and recommendations of the 2018 SIAMS and 2019 OFSTED Reports. Whilst they are necessarily both strategic and concise, the detail of ‘how’ they will be achieved can be found within the OFSTED Action Plan and the School Development Plan.