Our Governing Body has 11 members:

• 2 Elected Parent Governors

• 1 LA Governor

• 1 Elected Staff Governor

• 1 Headteacher

• 4 Co-opted Governors

• 2 Foundation Governors

Current Governors, their roles and terms of office are:                        

At White Laith we are fortunate to have a very supportive and knowledgeable Governing Body who support and challenge the Headteacher, ensuring that the drive for improvement in all areas of school is always our top priority. The Governing Body want to achieve the very best they can for our school and that means the very best for your children.

We work hard for our school and we want to listen to your ideas, thoughts and opinions on how we can make our school even better. We will always make sure that at least one of us is in school and available during parent consultation evening. Please come and talk to us!

Governor Objectives and Plan 2024-25

Register of Governor Interests 2024-25

Governor Training Record

Annual Governance Statement 2023-24

The Role of the Governors at White Laith

The Governing Body undertakes a strategic role in the running of the School.

The key functions are:

• To ensure that the headteacher performs his/her responsibilities for the educational performance of the school

• To ensure the sound, proper and effective use of the school’s financial resources.(i.e. making sure the school’s money is well spent)

Function 1 - Being Strategic

It is the responsibility of the governing body to set the strategic framework within which the school operates, and to ensure that all statutory duties are met.

This starts with defining the long-term strategic vision for the school.  This is what the governing body wants the school to look like in the future in terms of the opportunities that it will offer to pupils, and the ethos that will exist within the school to support the vision.

The headteacher and governing body should work in partnership to draw up the long-term strategy for the school. To a large extent this will be done via an internal self-evaluation process that judges how the school is performing in many areas. The outcomes of this should identify the specific strategic priorities, aims and objectives that will achieve the shared vision. The governing body will sign off appropriate supporting policies, plans and targets. 

The DfE provides a basic list of statutorily required policies.

The governing body does not write the school policies. The headteacher and/or other senior leaders will draft the policies, along with appropriate plans and targets and present them to the governing body for discussion and, if approved, formal adoption.

The next stage is to monitor that what has been agreed is actually happening, within timescale and budget. This is where the roles of strategic leadership and accountability merge, as the governing body in its strategic role is accountable to the school’s community.

As part of their strategic role governors are entitled, and expected, to challenge assumptions and aspirations and ask relevant questions about policies, plans and targets to ensure that they drive school improvement. This should become regular governing body activity, so that outcomes can be evaluated and the overarching strategic framework reviewed as necessary depending on the rate of progress.

Function 2 - Holding the headteacher to account

The governing body is responsible for the strategic management of the school, and is accountable to anyone who has a legitimate interest.  This includes pupils, parents, staff, the LEA, one, the trust board, the Secretary of State, and even the press.

In order to perform this role effectively the governors must know and understand the strengths and weaknesses of the school.

The headteacher is responsible for the day-to-day operational management that will achieve the strategic aims. Together with other senior leaders, s/he is accountable to the governing body for the performance of the school, including the performance of its staff, and for achieving through his/her leadership and management the vision and objectives that have been agreed. 

The headteacher must keep the governing body informed about progress and performance, good or bad, so that plans may be reviewed and amended if necessary.

Function 3 - Ensuring the money is well spent

Schools are funded by public money.  One aspect of the governing body’s strategic role is to ensure that the school’s financial allocation is managed effectively and that value for money is achieved.

It is important that the governing body ensures that correct financial management controls are in place.  All maintained schools must complete the School Financial Value Standard (SFVS) assessment once a year. This should be considered by governors, the headteacher and senior staff.

Financial Information : Please click here to go view the Schools Financial Benchmarking service.

Types of Governors

• Parent/ Carer Governors: Elected by the parents of school pupils.

• Staff Governors: Elected from the school teaching and non-teaching staff.

• LEA Governors: Elected by the local education authority.

• The Headteacher is automatically a governor (ex-officio).

Parents/carers can become a governor whenever there is a vacancy for a parent one. The process for application will be gone through at the time. However, parents can express an interest in the role at any time, and talk with the chair and/ or headteacher to discuss ways of becoming more involved in the school until a vacancy arises.