Governors
All schools in England have a Governing Body which is responsible for overseeing many of the strategic decisions of the school. Regulations define three core functions consistent with the strategic role of the Governing Body. These are to:
- set the vision and strategic direction of school;
- hold the Headteacher to account for its educational performance; and
- ensure financial resources are well spent.
Structure of Governing Body
The Statutory Instrument of Government for Westfield Junior School was issued on 29 September 2021 The school is a Community School with a Governing Body of 14, which consists of:
- 2 elected parent governors;
- 1 LA governor;
- 1 Headteacher;
- 1 elected staff governor; and
- Up to 9 co-opted governors (of which up to 2 could be members of staff).
There are currently no associate members.
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 the Governing Body is Elaine Gunn, who can be contacted via the school office. The Governing Body employs a Clerk who is Jenn Dover.
Much of the work of the Governing Body is completed by the following two committees:
- Resources - formerly Finance and Personnel (F&P); and
- Standards – formerly Pupils and Curriculum (P&C)
Standing Orders for the governing body and Terms of Reference for each of its committees are included on the website.
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.
Although there is no legal requirement to have governors assigned to specific tasks, some governors have taken the lead role in certain tasks, including: Safeguarding & Child Protection, SEND & inclusion, Pupil Premium, Health & Safety, and Equality & Diversity.
Publication of Governor's details and register of interests
Governors hold an important public office and their identity should be known to their school and wider communities. In the interests of transparency, a governing body should publish on its website up-to-date details of is governance arrangements in a readily accessible form.
Current Governors
WESTFIELD JUNIOR SCHOOL GOVERNING BODY (last updated March 2024)
Ray Bowles
Chris Fryer (teacher governor)
James Cannon
Arnold Chau
Neil Hopkins (Chair)
Lucy Roberts (headteacher)
Jon Spratley
Mat Timmis
Nazma Zulfiqar
You can find out a little more about our current governors on the Governor Biography page.
Official Statutory Documentation
Official statutory documentation relating to the governing body, including minutes of meetings, the register of interests and attendance records can be found in this file area.
Our official DfE published governance data about our governing body can be found on the gov.uk website here.