Welcome to the Governor parent information page of our school Website. Here you will find listed all the Governors and their individual areas of responsibility as well as a copy of our annual Governance Statement.

We are all volunteers who have joined the Governing Board to try and give something back to the school community and support the school in our “critical friend” role to hold the head teacher and school leaders to account. Some of us are parent governors and some are co-opted governors; there is also one staff governor, two associate governors and one Local Authority governor. We come from a variety of different backgrounds to try and ensure we have the skills the school needs.

The role of governors involves;

• Setting the strategic direction of the school
• Holding the Headteacher and Senior Leadership of the school to account through Performance Management, reading prepared papers, monitoring visits and asking questions
• Attending meetings to discuss personnel, finance, premises or curriculum and pupil related matters, as well as full governing board meetings.

There are also opportunities for us to take part in further training to support us in our roles and it can be a rewarding and enjoyable experience.

Governors also undertake school visits to monitor the implementation of the school development plan and to see first hand the policies and procedures being put into action. This gives us the opportunity to see staff and children at work and to take part ourselves in the full and varied opportunities on offer at Broomgrove Infant School. You may well see us at sports days, Christmas plays, Bonfire night, class open mornings, or at the Christmas and Summer Fairs but most of our work for the school happens during the school day or at our Full Governing Board meetings on Monday evenings.

From time to time we have vacancies on the governing body and anyone interested in being part of our committed team is more than welcome to discuss this with myself or Mrs Grigg.

All Governors are committed to working in close partnership with parents, carers, and the wider community. Should you want to contact us or discuss any issues with us, then please feel free to leave a message at the office and we will do our utmost to respond promptly. You can also contact the governors by e-mail on: governors@broomgrove-inf.essex.sch.uk

Governing Board Chair

MEMBERSHIP OF THE BOARD OF GOVERNORS:

We currently have a vacancy for a Parent or Co-opted Governor. If you are interested in the position, please contact the school office, or complete the application form below.

GOVERNOR STATEMENT FOR 2023

Governor Statement for 2023

Annual Governance statement for the Governing Board of Broomgrove Infants School
September 2023

In accordance with the Government’s requirement for all Governing Bodies, the 3 core strategic functions of the Broomgrove Infant School Governing Board are:

•  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 it is well spent.

Governance arrangements

The Governing Board of Broomgrove Infants School is currently constituted of 8 governors: the Headteacher, 1 staff governor, 2 parent governors, 3 co-opted governors and 1 associate governor.
We continue to have some vacancies within the team and actively advertise to fill these roles throughout the year. The Full Governing Body (FGB) will be looking at all applications submitted as a recurring agenda item moving forward. We are confident of filling the vacancies, with highly skilled, hardworking new Governors.
To ensure effective oversite across all of our roles and responsibilities, we have agreed that all members of the board should sit on the FGB through which all of our Governing business is conducted. In addition, a few extra meetings are required such as the Head Teacher appraisal, the pay committee and the Schools Financial Value Standard review. Additionally, the Joint Interest Committee (JIC) with Broomgrove Junior School meets to ensure effective partnership and strategic working across the two schools in the best interests of our pupils and their families.
I have included some further detail of these meetings and areas of responsibility below:

The Full Governing Board (FGB)

The FGB meets seven times a year. The first of these meetings is the planning meeting which occurs at the beginning of the academic year. It reviews the work of the Governing Board in the previous year, identifies training needs of the governors and any gaps in skills of our members, allocates responsibilities and plans the work of the governing body (including monitoring visits) for the rest of the year.
We hold a FGB meetings half termly, the Early Term FGB meetings has a focus on school performance and the Late Term FGB covers the end of term financial review.
Throughout the academic year we have undertaken monitoring visits which include statutory responsibilities such as Safeguarding, Equalities and Health & Safety, as well as monitoring progress on the School Development Plan. The School Development Plan is accessible on the school website and a paper copy is available to read in school.
Individual Governors have undertaken training relating to their areas of responsibility as well as supporting the school at events throughout the academic year.

Finance and Premises

A key purpose of the Governing Board is to look at the financial operation of the school, Human Resources, the staffing structure and the upkeep of the premises and grounds. Working with the schools’ Financial Consortium Manager we agree the budget and then monitor its implementation.

Curriculum & Pupil Related Matters

Throughout the year we review pupil outcomes across the school in all subject areas and key performance indicators. We do this to ensure that the school is meeting their objectives and fulfilling the needs of the whole school community.

The FGB is also responsible for examining the results of spending in relation Pupil Premium and Sports Premium funding. We monitor the school’s progress in fulfilling the aims of the School Development Plan and are responsible for reviewing and updating a range of school policies.

The Joint Interest Committee

This group meets to discuss matters that affect both the Infant and Junior Schools three times a year. Examples of this are catering facilities, the use of the Bungalow, premises and grounds. The Committee is made up of the Headteacher, Chair of Governors and Vice-Chair, together with their opposite representatives from the Junior School.

As well as discussions listed above, we will continue to work with the Broomgrove Schools Association (BSA) to support the fund-raising efforts at the Summer fair and Boomgrove Fireworks events.

Federation Steering Committee

Both Governing Boards have met with representatives from the Local Authority who have advised us on the various options available and the details of the statutory procedures. A Steering Committee will be formed of members from both Governing Bodies who will be responsible for following the framework provided by the procedures in investigating options and advising the full governing boards on a joint preferred outcome.
I would like to reassure parents and carers that there will be no immediate changes to the Infant School and we are committed to keeping you updated in any developments as and when they arise.
The Academic Year Going Forward

 For the 2023/2024 year the Governing Board will focus on our core role with a particular focus on the 2 main actions following the outcome of the Ofsted inspection earlier in 2022.
The Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised programme has now been implemented across the school. Teachers and support staff have been trained and the associated reading material is in place, this includes access to online reading material to support further reading at home.
We have also revised the one planning process to ensure that all targets set for children with special educational needs are time specific and measurable, we have also increased the frequency that we monitor against these targets on an individual basis.

On behalf of the Governing Board I would like to thank the parents for your continued support of the school and if you would like to get in touch with us, please either send me an email governors@broomgrove-inf.essex.sch.uk or drop a note off at the school office.

Kind regards,

Helen Evans – Chair of Governors

The Governors bring a wide variety of relevant knowledge, skills and experience to the Board. As of the 1st September 2023, membership of the Governing Board is:

Helen Evans – Chair of Governors - Co-opted
Gill Black – Vice Chair of Governors - Co-opted
Kay Hall - Co-opted
Jessica Roberts - Parent

Jennifer Tonkinson - Parent
Erwin Lammens - Associate
Louise Worth – staff/ Link
Alison Grigg – Head Teacher