Governing Body

About Us

Welcome to the Governors’ section of the High Beeches school website. We hope that you find the information in this section useful in terms of understanding the role and responsibilities of the Governing Body as a whole and the roles and responsibilities of individuals within our team.

The purpose of the Governing Body

Our Governing Body has three core functions which are:

• ensuring the clarity of vision, ethos & strategic direction of the school

• holding the leadership of the school to account for the educational performance of the school and its children

• overseeing the financial performance of the school and making sure that money is well spent

How to contact us

Please contact the Chair of Governors jhiggins@highbeeches.herts.sch.uk if you wish to discuss any issues or concerns which relate to the governing body and/or its activities. Contact with all governors is via the school office. Thank you. 

Safeguarding

At High Beeches, we have a committed, supportive staff and the school “provides a safe, supportive and harmonious environment where pupils grow up as independent, confident learners” (Ofsted 2012). As such, staff and governors are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of the children and therefore each governor post is subject to a DBS check (replacement for the previous Criminal Records Bureau check).

The role of a Governor

Whilst the role is a voluntary one, the Governing Body expects all governors and prospective governors to be aware of the time commitment required to be an effective governor. Primarily, that commitment arises from:

• attending meetings of the Governing Body (minimum of one per term) and Governing Body strategy days (1-2 per academic year)

• membership of either the Standards & Curriculum Committee (usually 1 per term) or Resources Committee (1 per term & budget meeting)

• undertaking training courses relevant to the role of a governor

• having a link to a particular class and undertaking class visits, class trips etc to see the School Development Plan in action

• having a particular area of responsibility such as finance, personnel, safeguarding

ROLES & RESPONSIBILITIES 2018 - 2019 
CHAIR:  Julia Higgins   jhiggins@highbeeches.herts.sch.uk         
VICE-CHAIR:  Anita White            

HEAD:   Jonathan Walker

DEPUTY HEAD: Stephanie Shewbridge
CLERK:  Katie Coxon

Who are we?

Our Governing Body comprises a member from the Local Education Authority (LEA), the Head teacher, parent governors, a staff governor and community governors. The governing body is responsible for the identification and selection of its members. We will identify and select prospective governors by, firstly, identifying any skills gaps among the current membership. Vacancies are advertised through local advertising and networking for external governors and by advertising internally for parent and staff governors. For parent governors, if there are more applicants than vacancies, the short listed applicants will go to a ballot vote in which all current parents of the school are eligible to vote.

The personal qualities that our Governing Body looks for in selecting governors include strategic awareness, individual responsibility, sound judgement, effective communication skills, confidentiality and the ability to work as part of a team.

Strategic and Curriculum Links