Governors

Welcome from the Chair of Governors

A very warm welcome to Chieveley Primary School .  I hope that through the information on our website you will get an insight into what a special place our school is. 

I have been Chair of Governors since 2019, having been part of the Governing Board team since 2017. We have a fabulous, committed, talented and knowledgeable group of Governors who all work very closely with Mr Marriott and all his staff to ensure your child has the best education and experience throughout their life at Chieveley.   

The Governing Board comprises of people with a vast range of expertise and experience in areas such as finance, education, Special Educational Needs, Management, Science and Environment.  We have an important role in overseeing the financial performance of the school and ensuring that money is well spent – working very closely with the Leadership team and Business Manager, Ruth Jones. Our wide skill set allows us to effectively support and challenge our Leadership Team as a ‘critical friend’.  All with the aim of improving all aspects of the school, including raising attainment and achievement, whilst ensuring all the wider needs of every child are met. 

As a Governing Board, our job is to shape vision and Strategic Direction of our school.  Since recruiting Mr Marriott as Headteacher in 2021, we have supported the Development of our new School Development Plan – the vision we have for your children is ‘Be Futureproof’.  Now more than ever, given the recent and ongoing challenges we all face, we believe it is our job to prepare our children for the future – whatever that might look like.  Of course it is important to master the basics of English and Maths, which is why we take a systematic approach to teaching from Early Years right through until they leave us in year 6, Secondary School ready.  By having this systematic, ‘little and often’, regular approach to the fundamentals, it allows more freedom to develop the wider curriculum.  For example, we now have time for more outdoor learning and have a fantastic teacher who is studying for her Forest School qualification.  We have a fabulous Early Years teacher who developing a modern foreign languages curriculum.  Science is high on our agenda and we are working on ways to make science more interactive, fun and real to help with every child’s learning.  Our aim is to ensure that every child has the opportunity to reach their potential. 

We have a wonderful and committed team of teaching, support and office staff who make Chieveley School a wonderful place to be.  We are all aiming to support every child who leaves our school to believe they really can be anything they want to be. We are proud to be a leader in the Therapeutic Thinking approach, helping children to resolve their own conflicts and have exceptionally strong links in the Mental Health in Schools Team and Emotional Health Academy. 

Since I have been Chair of Governors, I have been part of several really ‘big events’ for the School.  Ofsted inspectors arrived earlier than expected in July 2019 and literally everyone, including the children, naturally demonstrated all those characteristics we are aiming to achieve – confidence, independence, inclusive, kind and being ready to learn.  I am very proud of our Ofsted report where we were deemed ‘Good’.  We then had the Covid pandemic to deal with and had to quickly pivot to remote learning, quick decision making and changes to approach.  During this period of lockdowns, the Board of Governors also appointed Mr Marriott as our Headteacher, and we have all been incredibly impressed and excited by everything he and the team have achieved so far and continue to strive for. I feel proud and privileged to be a part of this journey. 

Thank you for reading this welcome.  Please do have a look around our extensive website where you will find an array of information about all aspects of our school. 

Very best wishes

Torz Brown

The role of governors

The Governing Body oversees the running of the school in a non-executive capacity. Its role is to provide strategic direction for the work and improvement of the school in support of the headteacher and staff.

Tasks includes:

• Discussing the vision and aims of the school and assisting in preparation of plans and policies
• Acting as a critical friend to the school, asking questions, supporting the Headteacher, challenging proposals and monitoring progress on a wide range of issues
• Being accountable and answerable to all stakeholders including parents, staff, pupils, the school community and both local and national government.

The full governing body is made up of parents, staff and members of the community.

Structure of the Governing Body

To ensure effective and efficient management in the school, the governing body has sub-committees and working groups responsible for key areas of the management of the school.

Sub-committees and working parties report in to the Full Governing Body, which meets at least 6 times a year.  Minutes from these meetings can be requested from the school office.

As at 24th November 2021, the governors and their responsibilities are as follows:

REGISTER OF BUSINESS INTERESTS - SEPTEMBER 2021 TO AUGUST 2022

ATTENDANCE REGISTER OF FULL GOVERNING BOARD

GOVERNORS WHO LEFT THE GOVERNING BOARD during academic years 2021/22 and 2020/2021