Governors work closely with headteachers, school staff and representatives from the local authority (LA). 
Our School Governors are responsible for raising school standards by:
- 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 its money is well spent
To find out more information about each governor you can click on their name in the table below.
Governor Committee Structure
| Name of Governor | Category | Appointed By | Committees served on | Term of Office | Special Interest Area | Register of Interest | Business, Financial & Governance Interests |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ms Bernadette Atkinson (Headteacher) | Headteacher | Not Applicable | N/A | No interests to declare. | Employee of the school in the role of Headteacher. | ||
| Mrs Michelle Thompson (Chair) | Local Authority | Governing Body | Curriculum & Standards, Finance and Premises and First/Pay Review and Staffing | 09.12.2020- 08.12.2024 | SEND Pupil Premium | No interests to declare. | Employee of Natwest PLC |
| Miss Lesley Kendall | Co-Opted | Governing Body | Curriculum & Standards, First/Pay Review and Staffing and Appeals | 27.09.2023- 26.09.2027 | Modern Foreign Languages Mathematics | No interest to declare. | Employee of Durham University. |
| Laura Tomlinson | Staff | Staff | Curriculum and Standards | 14.11.22- 13.11.26 | No interest to declare. | Employee of the school in the role of Year 3 teacher. | |
| Mrs Victoria Thompson | Parent | Governing Body | Curriculum and Satandards | 10.06.2021- 09.06.2025 | Child attends Year 2 in school. | Employee at WF Leisure LTD | |
| Mrs Carly Grundy | Co-Opted | Governing Body | Curriculum & Standards and Finance & Premises | 15.02.2022- 15.02.2026 | No interests to declare. | Employee of the school in the role of Deputy Headteacher and SENCO | |
| Rachael Wilkinson | Co-Opted | Governing Body | Curriculum and Standards and Appeals | 04.11.22- 03.11.26 | |||
| Vacancy | Co-Opted | ||||||
| Miss Kelsey Stoddart | Parent | Governing Body | Curriculum and Standards, Finance and Premises and Appeals | ||||
| Ms Jayne Baker | Co-Opted | Governing Body | Finance and Premises and First/Pay review and Appeals | 19.07.2021- 18.07.2025 | Health and Safety | No interests to date. |
Responsibility of the Governing Body
The governing body has general responsibility for the conduct of the school with view to promoting high standards of educational achievement. This general responsibility gives rise to a wide range of specific responsibilities which in turn require the governing body to establish a range of procedures.
Termly full governing body meetings and various other committee meetings are held to discuss school developments and monitor the impact on teaching and learning to ensure the school continues to strive for the best for its pupils.
During inspection, Inspectors will consider whether governors:
- carry out their statutory duties
- understand the strengths and weaknesses of the school, including the quality of teaching
- ensure clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction
- understand and take sufficient account of pupil data, particularly their understanding and use of the school data dashboard
- are aware of the impact of teaching on learning and progress in different subjects and year groups
- are challenging and supporting leadership in equal measure
- are providing support for an effective headteacher, or whether they are hindering school improvement by failing to tackle key concerns
- are transparent and accountable, including in terms of governance structures, attendance at meetings, and contact with parents and carers
- understand how the school makes decisions about teachers’ salary progression
- performance manage the headteacher rigorously
- are failing to perform well and contributing to weaknesses in leadership and management.
How To Become A School Governor
If you require further information on the roles and responsibilities of School Governors or you are interested in becoming one, visit the Durham County Council website School Governor section.
Statutory Guidance for Governing Bodies
The Grove Primary School adhere to the statutory guidance from the Department for Education. This means that governing bodies must have regard to it when carrying out duties relating to the constitution of governing bodies in maintained schools. For further information please view or download the full document below.
The Constitution of Governing Bodies of Maintained Schools 2017
Clerk to the governors is the Assistant Area Education Officer based at County Hall in Durham.
Governor Attendance
Schools are required to display a record of Governor’s attendance at meetings for each school academic year.
KEY
✓ – Attended meeting
A/A – Apologies sent and accepted by meeting
N – Did not attend
N/A – Not a member of the committee
EDGS Governor Virtual Meeting Attendance Policy
Record of Attendance 2023-2024
| Name | Full Governing Body Meeting 19th October 2023 | Standards and Curriculum Meeting 23rd October 2023 | First Pay Review Meeting 22nd November 2023 | Finance Committee Meeting 8th January 2024 | Standards and Curriculum Meeting 1st March 2024 | Full Governing Body Meeting 21st March 2024 | Finance Committee Meeting 13th June 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ms Bernadette Atkinson | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Miss Lesley Kendall | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | N/A | ✓ | ✓ | N/A |
| Ms Rachael Wilkinson | AA | ANA | N/A | N/A | AA | AA | N/A |
| Mrs Carly Grundy | ✓ | ✓ | N/A | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Mrs Dawn Raine | ✓ | N/A | N/A | ✓ | N/A | ✓ | Resigned 24th May 2024 |
| Mrs Victoria Thompson | AA | ANA | N/A | N/A | ✓ | ✓ | N/A |
| Mrs Michelle Thompson | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | AA | ✓ |
| Ms Jayne Baker | AA | N/A | ✓ | AA | N/A | ✓ | ✓ |
| Miss Kelsey Stoddart | AA | ANA | N/A | N/A | ANA | ANA | N/A |
| Miss Laura Tomlinson | ✓ | ✓ | N/A | N/A | ✓ | ✓ | N/A |
Archived Attendance
You can also view previous year’s attendance on our website.
Committee Terms of Reference
The Finance & Premises Committee
Terms of Reference
Chair: Dawn Raine
Meetings: Termly, planned to coincide with Oracle.
Disqualifications: When there may be a conflict of interest; a fair hearing is required; or a pecuniary interest. Associate Members may not vote.
- Consider all matters received from the LA relating to the financial aspects of the Authority’s scheme for the Finance of Schools
- Receive actual budget share and agree a budget plan
- Monitor and determine spending patterns and consider spending proposals from other committees
- Consider and promote Income generation
- Supplies Budget (delegate to Headteacher for report to Governors as appropriate)
- Check the annual accounts of all voluntary funds held by the school (Friends of the School/Private School Fund etc.)
- Inspection/reporting repair and maintenance
- Major/Minor improvements
- Tendering procedures
- Purchase & disposal of Furniture and Equipment
- Health & Safety issues, inspection report and action (including completion of annual risk assessment)
- Expenditure Proposals.
Staffing Committee
Terms of Reference
Chair: Michelle Thompson
Meetings: Termly, and as required to meet recruitment needs.
Disqualifications: When there may be a conflict of interest; a fair hearing is required; or a pecuniary interest. Associate Members may not vote.
- (Headteacher/Deputy Headteacher appointments will be subject to consideration by the full Governing Body and if the appointment is delegated to the Committee will need to be endorsed by the full Governing Body)
- Supply cover (delegation to Headteacher)
- When teaching and non-teaching appointments are made by this committee, shortlisting for those appointments will also be by this committee
- To check that arrangements for staff appraisal are in place and are being developed
- Consider staff Leave of Absence (only if necessary after delegation to Headteacher)
- Staffing Structure (Budgetary implications submitted to Finance and/or Pay Review)
- Pupil Exclusions (the 1999 regulations require that Pupil Exclusions are dealt with by a Committee of Governors)
- Parental Complaints
- Review temporary contracts on an annual basis.
Responsibilities delegated to Headteacher:
- Up to leadership level
- Dismissals to First Written Warning
Curriculum and Standards Committee
Terms of Reference
Chair: Carly Grundy
Meetings: Termly, planned to coincide with Oracle.
Disqualifications: When there may be a conflict of interest; a fair hearing is required; or a pecuniary interest. Associate Members may not vote.
Curriculum Planning and Delivery
- Review, monitor and evaluate the curriculum offer and associated policies
- Recommend for approval to the full governing body:
- Self-evaluation form
- School Improvement Plan
- Targets for school improvement
- Ensure that the requirements of children with special educational needs are met, as laid out in the Code of Practice, and receive termly reports from the head teacher / SENDCO
Assessment and Improvement
- Monitor and evaluate the impact of quality of teaching on rates of pupil progress and standards of achievement
- Monitor and evaluate rates of progress and standards of achievement by pupils, including any underachieving groups
- Monitor and evaluate the impact of continuing professional development on improving staff performance
- Set priorities for improvement, and monitor and evaluate the impact of improvement plans which relate to the committee’s area of operation
- Monitor and evaluate provision for all groups of vulnerable children (e.g. looked after children) and ensure all their needs have been identified and addressed, and to evaluate their progress and achievement
- Regularly review and develop the Assessment Policy and to ensure that the policy is operating effectively
- Consider recommendations from external reviews of the school (e.g. Ofsted, local school improvement advisers), agree actions as a result of reviews and evaluate regularly the implementation of the plan
- Ensure that all children have equal opportunities
- Review pupil attendance and exclusion information
- Review impact of Sports Premium and Pupil Premium
- Monitor and review safeguarding practice within the school.
First / Pay Review Committee
Terms of Reference
Chair: Lesley Kendall
- To act in accordance with the Teachers’ Pay Policy (revised and agreed by the Governing Body annually) to include matters relating to the determination of additional responsibility points, regradings, recruitment and retention points; and the annual review including the Headteacher and Deputy Headteachers performance review/targets.
- Staff Discipline, Grievance, Capability and Ill-Health Matters.
- Reducing staffing establishments.
Disqualifications: the Headteacher; the Chair of Governors (if he/she has prior knowledge or involvement); spouse/partner; member of staff in relation to pay related matters.
Appeals Committee
Terms of Reference
Meetings: When required
- To hear appeals relating to Pay, discipline, grievance, capability, ill-health and staff reduction matters.
Must have no fewer members than the Hearing.
Disqualifications: Headteacher; any Governor involved in the Hearing; spouse/partner; member of staff in relation to pay related matters.
Virement & Expenditure Limits
| Virement Limits | Expenditure Limits | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Limit set for Headteacher without prior written approval of Chair or Governing Body | £5000 | Any items of expenditure up to | £10,000 |
| Limit set for Headteacher with approval from Chair of Governors or Chair of Finance Committee | £10,000 | Above this limit if item was previously notified to the Governing Body. | |
| Prior Finance Committee or Chair of Governors approval (whichever is the soonest) to be sought outside of this limit and reported at the earliest opportunity. | |||
NB Any goods/services purchased and works to be carried out are subject to Durham County Council Contract Procedure Rules (January 2014) for quotations
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