What is a School Governor? The short definition is that a Governor acts as a critical friend to the school. Articles of Government and Instruments of Government are the legislation which lays out the specifics of the role of School Governors and you can request a copy of these documents via the school office. Training is also provided in relevant areas to support Governors in their roles. The following should give you a practical overview of how we as Governors provide support to Braddan School. The Governing Body is currently made up of the following:
- Mrs Elaine Brown, Chair of Governors (Co-opted),
- Mr Les Foster, Education Council member,
- Mr Jonathan Tummon, Parent Governor
- Mrs S. Cowin, Teacher Governor,
- Rev. Daniel Richards, Co-opted Governor
- Mr Keith Green, Co-opted Governor.
We work very closely with Mrs Oates as Headteacher, all the school staff, and the Department of Education, Sport and Culture (DESC) towards our overriding priority which is to ensure that Braddan School provides every child with the best possible start to their education. We feel it is vitally important to be actively involved in the governance oversight of the school and we hold a minimum of two meetings each school term to review budgets, maintenance work, Health & Safety issues, staffing, performance reports, attendance figures and any other areas of note or concern and if deemed necessary can request meetings with members of other agencies such as the DESC. The Headteacher produces a detailed report of everything that has happened in school since our last meeting and the Governors can request additional information if necessary. Governors have the opportunity to discuss concerns they have or may have been asked to raise by concerned parties. In addition extraordinary meetings may be called at short notice if a situation arises that requires our prompt attention. The Governors are generally invited to attend school activities such as the Christmas play or Best of Braddan show and we are very happy to be available to meet with parents or pupils if required.
As parents, the usual route for dealing with any problems would be firstly to speak to your child’s teacher. Class teachers are usually happy to speak briefly before or after the school day if you have any queries or concerns but appointments can be made through the school office for longer or formal meetings if you have something you wish to discuss in more detail or in confidence. If you are not satisfied with the outcome of this initial discussion you then have the opportunity to approach a senior member of staff such as the Head or Deputy Head. If the Head is unable to resolve the issue to your satisfaction, you then have a choice of either contacting a member of the Governing Body or the DESC directly.
You can approach any Governor with concerns you may have and that member will then bring it to the attention of all the Governors for investigation and to establish what action, if any, may be appropriate. The Governors are bound by the same requirements of confidentiality as the teaching staff so although we may not be able to report back to parents the complete outcome of any situations we are involved in, we try to ensure that every situation is dealt with as fairly as possible for all parties and in accordance with current school and DEC policies. In the past this has included meeting with other educational professionals to establish what the best solution was both for individual pupils and for the school as a whole.
I hope this letter provides you with all the information you need regarding the role of the Governing Body at Braddan School. You can contact any of the Governors via the school office if you don’t know the members personally. Should the need ever arise, please be assured that we will be happy to listen to your concerns and do what we can to address the particular issue or escalate it to the appropriate departments.
Yours faithfully,
Elaine Brown,
Chair of Governors.
Instrument_of_government_Braddan.pdfArticles_of_government_Braddan.pdf