Meet the Governors
Welcome to the Governors' section.
The William Alvey School Articles of Association
- Memorandum and Articles of Association
- Trustees and Members and Pecuniary Interests
- Funding Agreement
Admissions/Appeals and Complaints Committees ( Leah Kirkman, Vince Jones, Claudia Nel) To be convened as necessary.
Working Groups - To celebrate the success and achievements of the school and move it forward towards nominated goals set by each working group.
The William Alvey School Trust as an Academy has two layers of governance, the Members who operate at a strategic level, (they are the owners of the company) and the Directors (previously called governors) who together make up the governing body who have the responsibility for day to day management and operation of our Academy School.
The functions of the members of the Academy Trust include:
- Overseeing the achievement of the objectives of the company.
- Taking part in Annual and Extraordinary General Meetings.
- Appointing some of the governors.
- Power to amend the Articles of the company and, ultimately, to remove the governors/directors.
- Generally speaking, members usually have much more limited practical involvement in the management of the company than the governors.
In Academies, Directors or Trustees are often referred to as Governors.
The Governing Body manages the Academy on behalf of the Academy Trust and the key responsibilities are to:
- Ensure the quality of educational provision.
- Challenge and monitor the performance of the school.
- Manage the Academy’s finances and property.
- Manage Key staff.
- Exercise reasonable skill and care in carrying out their duties.
- Ensure that the Academy complies with company law.
- Operate the Academy in accordance with the Funding Agreement that has been signed with the Secretary of State.
- Signing off the company’s financial accounts and annual report.
What does a Governor do?
There's no such thing as a typical Governor, however there will be similar tasks to fulfil from one school to the next. You'll normally find that the main Governing Body meets no more than once a term, and there will be sub-committees looking into key areas such as Finance, Standards and Health and Safety. Most Governors join one or more sub-committees, depending on their skills, and again these meet no more than once every half term (please see below).
In order to gain a better understanding of the school, its workings, staff and our children, Governors are given the opportunity to sponsor a year group. This role involves support and involvement of all classes within a specific year group. As a sponsor, you will follow those children as they transit through their years in school.
We feel that the benefits of such sponsorship will be:
- Greater understanding of the curriculum for that particular year group.
- Greater interaction with the children gaining trust and establishing an association with that specific year group.
- Breaking down of the formal barriers that exist as a Governor, between the children and staff.
- Being able to offer support and assistance to staff when available.
Working together:
Our school motto is “Learning Today For Living Tomorrow”. This is about everyone – Parents, Staff, Governors and the wider school community – working together to ensure that every child can succeed and reach their full potential. To achieve this, and to carry out our role as Governors effectively, we need to know what issues are important to you and ensure that you know what issues the Governors are discussing (so that we remain accountable).
Becoming a Governor:
Being a school Governor is an important role but you do not need to have any particular skills, knowledge or experience to become a governor. What you need to bring is: a commitment to school life; the ability to work with others; patience and enthusiasm; a willingness to learn; a commitment to working openly and democratically; and, most importantly a willingness to spend what time you can offer getting involved in school life. Our governors typically spend about 5 hours a month contributing to school life (attending meetings, undertaking training, visiting school, participating in school events and much more) you commit what time you can afford.
The most important thing to note is that Governors are a team, not a collection of individuals or groups with separate agendas. However much we may differ in our opinions and experiences we are united by our commitment to the school and the responsibility we share for its long-term success. In short, we have a common purpose.
Recent Achievements
- Renaissance Reader Master School Status
- Hub School (Maths)
- Top ten Lincolnshire ranking attainment and achievement (16-17)
- School renovation
- CPD staff progression to leadership roles
At William Alvey we have a number of different Governor categories:
Parent Governor: Elected by our Parents.
Staff Governor: Elected by our Staff.
Foundation Governor: Nominated by the Church.
Co-opted Governor: Appointed by the Governing Body to address a specific need.
Community Governor: Appointed by the Governing Body to represent the local community.
At William Alvey some of the duties of the Governors are discharged through a committee or panel structure:
1. Finance committee
2. Standards and Development committee (including curriculum and behaviour)
3. Appeals committee (disciplinary, pay and grievance)
4. Admisions committee (including admissions and attendance)
5. Health and Safety committee
6. Head Teacher's Performance Management panel
If you have any questions relating to individual Governors, length of service, make up of committees, attendance at meetings and business and material interests, please read through the trust report below or contact our Clerk.
You can contact any of our Governors through our Clerk, Ms Dummett. You can e-mail her at:
Clerk@william-alvey.lincs.sch.uk
Please note you are entitled to request any agenda, minutes or associated documentation from any Governors meeting, however material relating to a named employee, pupil, admission request or any matter the Governors consider confidential, may be excluded.