Welcome to our Governors’ section.

Information about the Board of Governors

Effective governance provides strategic direction and control to schools. It creates robust accountability, oversight and assurance for their educational and financial performance and is ambitious for all children and young people to achieve the very best outcomes.

Roles and Responsibilities of the Governing Body
The three core strategic functions of the Board of Governors are:

1. Ensuring clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction.
2. Holding the Headteacher to account for the educational performance of the school and its pupils.
3. Overseeing the financial performance of the school and making sure its money is well spent

In July 2017, Governors agreed to return to a ‘committee structure’ in order to improve effectiveness and to ensure that adequate time is spent discussing key aspects of the school. There is at least one Governing Body meeting per term. The Resources Committee and Pupils & Standards Committee meet once per term. The Pay Committee and Admissions Committees meet annually. Statutory panels (such as the Parent Complaints Review Panel and Pupil Disciplinary Panel) are convened as required.

The Board has Standing Orders and Committee Terms of References in place to ensure it functions well. The Board has a delegation planner in place for key tasks and for statutory policy reviews. The Finance Policy outlines the key roles of the Board and Pay Committee in relation to financial management.

The Board is supported, advised and trained by a professional clerk, Mr P Swinden. Meetings are recorded and the agreed minutes are available on request. Please see a member of the school office.

The Board conducts an annual review of its effectiveness and ensures that it has the right mix of skills, experience and expertise necessary to fulfil its duties. Each year, governors are asked to sign up to a formal Code of Conduct. See attached.

All Board members have completed Declaration of Business and Pecuniary Interest Forms. Please see the register for details.

All Board members have completed a skills audit and this information is used when recruiting new governors. Wherever possible, any skills gaps are filled.

Board members attend regular training to ensure they have the necessary skills and information needed to carry out the important work of school governance. A log of training is recorded in the minutes of the Board meetings.

Governors also conduct termly monitoring visits, which are recorded in the Board minutes each term. Certain Governors have been assigned a key area of responsibility in terms of holding the school to account for the quality of provision and compliance with statutory requirements.  

We have also provided an Annual Governance Statement for your information.

All Governors are committed to ensuring that every pupil at Holy Cross has the best possible education and that standards at the school continue to strengthen each year.

To find out more about the Governors, please read their biographies by clicking on 'Meet the Governors' star above.