Governors

What is a Governor?

Governing boards meet regularly to look at the big picture and the school’s long-term goals. They set the culture and values of the school, responding to opportunities and challenges. Governors work closely with the Headteacher, senior leaders and other stakeholders, supporting and challenging them.

Governors are responsible for:

• Developing a vision and strategy for the school
• Overseeing the financial performance of the school and making sure its money is well spent
• Holding school leaders to account to ensure that every pupil has the best possible education
• Engaging with pupils, staff, parents and the school community to understand their views 

It is a statutory duty for school Governors to set the schools Behaviour Principles.

• Governors Behaviour Principles (112KB)

What type of Governors are there?

• Local Authority (LA) Governor – nominated by the LA and appointed by the Governing Body.
• Parent Governors – elected by parents and carers.
• Staff Governor – elected by staff.
• Co-opted Governors – appointed by the Governing Body. These are people from the school community who, in the opinion of the Governing Body, have the skills required to contribute to the effective governance and success of the school.

Our Governing Body

The Governing Body at Manland Primary School, include parents, local authority and co-opted members, staff and the Headteacher.  They each bring their own skills and perspectives to the Governing Body, enabling us to draw on a wealth of experience to best support the school. 

The Full Governing Board (FGB) meet every term and in addition, the FGB is divided into two sub committees : School Improvement Committiee (SIC) and Resources which both meet regularly. Our Governors also find that a valuable and enjoyable part of their job is to visit the school during the day to develop their understanding of school life.

Committees

The responsibilities of the Governing Body are shared between three committees, each with a specific responsibility:

• School Improvement – dealing with curriculum and standards
• Pay – dealing with staff pay
• Resources – dealing with school premises and resources.

In addition, sub committees meet as and when the need arises:

• Head’s Performance Review
• Disciplinary
• Exclusions and Complaints.

All committees report back to the main Governing Body, which usually meets twice a term, preceded by meetings of each of the committees.

Link Governors

Each Governor is assigned a link role which focusses on a specific area of the curriculum or school life. The role of the Link Governor is to:

• Take an interest in and gain a more detailed knowledge of their appointed area.
• Know what is contained in the School Development Plan (SDP).
• Be involved in the review of the SDP for their area and to be part of the planning process.
• Aid the Governing Body in its critical friend role by asking questions about progress and challenging appropriately.
• Report back at agreed intervals, either to the appropriate committee or the full Governing Body.
• Work in full partnership with the Headteacher and senior leadership team to achieve results.

List of Governors

Clerk – Miss Cally Arbury. To contact the Clerk to the governing body, please email admin@manland.herts.sch.uk.

SIC – School Improvement Committee

Pay – Pay Committee

Res – Resources Committee

Governor Diversity Information

Manland Primary school provides the following information regarding diversity of the Governing body.

Of governors and associate members responding to the survey:

·         37.5% identify as female and 62.5% as male.

·         25% are aged 18 to 40, 62.5% as 41 to 60 and 12.5% as over 61.

·         No members of the Governing body have a disability.

·      All members of the Governing body describe their sexual orientation as straight/heterosexual.

·        50% are Christians, 12.5% are Sikh, 25% have no religion and 12.5% preferred not to say.

·         In terms of locality to the school, 75% of the Governing body live less than 1 mile away from the school, 12.5% live 6 to 15 miles away and 12.5% live 16 to 40 miles away.

·         75% of the Governing body are a parent/carer of child/children currently at school age or below.  12.5% are a parent/carer of a child/children who have completed their education and 12.5% are not a parent/carer.

·         87.5% of the Governing body attended state run or state-funded schools.  12.5% attended an independent or fee-paying school.

·         100% of the Governing body were not looked after as a child or in the care of the local authority.

·        100% of the Governing body continued education after leaving school, attending higher education (university).

·         87.5% of the Governing body were not eligible for free school meals during their education. 12.5% were eligible for free school meals during their education.

Governor Profiles

Ajeet Bagga

Having been born and bred in Harpenden, I am now proud to serve as a general practitioner in one of the town’s medical practices, a role which has afforded me a wealth of experience which I believe adds value to the Governing Body at Manland.

As a partner at the surgery and co-director of the St Albans and Harpenden GP federation of 12 practices, I have a broad range of experience in public sector management including financial planning/ budgeting, human resources management and contracting, and overall governance for the organisations.

As a qualified GP trainer, I am passionate about educating the next generation and have experience of teaching and training.  

Giles Geeson

Danielle Mash

As an experienced teacher, I possess many transferable skills to support the Governing body, particularly in areas of Policy Writing, Health and Safety and Pupil Progress. With a Masters in Education and specialising in Assessment for Learning, I’m able to interpret performance data and add value to current teaching and learning strategies, to further support the progress and development of our children.  

I’ve worked with universities to train and mentor student teachers. I am approachable and personable, and whilst able to hold people accountable, I motivate them to fulfil their potential and achieve their goals. I am not afraid to ask difficult questions on behalf of our children but first and foremost, I want to support the dedicated staff who work tirelessly to keep Manland Primary School running so effectively. 

Libby Montgomery – Chair

I am a Co-opted Governor and have a long-standing relationship with the school as both my teenage children attended Manland and were very happy here. I previously worked for a real estate investment manager in London, with responsibility for Global Marketing & Communications.  I have also served as Chair of Governors at Batford Early Years Centre in Harpenden, as well as being an additional Governor providing governance advice to various schools in Hertfordshire and am currently also a parent Governor at Sir John Lawes School.  

Jeff Phillips – Vice Chair

I have lived in Harpenden for over 30 years and am a co-opted Governor at Manland. I take a particular interest in humanities subjects and am chair of the Resources Committee. In addition I am a member of Herts County Council Education Department’s Schools Appeals Panel.

Chris Wardle

I am a parent Governor with a daughter at Manland. I have worked in the classical music industry for 15 years, both as a performer and an educator, and am now in charge of development for a small music charity. I’m very happy to be able to offer my time and skills to contribute to Manland’s success.

Claire Wicks

I have been a teacher since 2005, working in Harrow and Hillingdon in various different roles. I became the Headteacher at Manland in April 2017; I am excited to be leading the way on the next step of the school’s journey to success.  I consider myself very fortunate to have a highly experienced and dedicated team of staff who care deeply about nurturing and encouraging Manland children to achieve their very best.