Meet the Governors

The Aims of the Governing Body at Weatherfield Academy

The governing body has three main objectives to fulfil its role in supporting the Academy.

To hold the Head Teacher and senior leaders to account for the performance of the school
To contribute to, and seek clarity on, the strategic vision and direction of the school
Exercise oversight of the financial performance of the school

Meetings are set at regular periods across the year and seek to challenge the Head Teacher and School Leaders on the data about school finances, children's progress, staff development and the quality of the provision for each child. At Full Governing Body meetings there are full and frank discussions, rigorous challenges, as well as recognition of the development and teams' work.

The Governors are able to scrutinise comparative data across the Academy in order to ensure the leaders are thorough in their analyses. Governors aim to understand their roles and take a strategic view of the Academy and needs for further development.

Guidance and support form a significant role of the governors. The Governors share a wealth of experience and talents collectively and inform and shape the development of the Academy. Skills from Governors' roles in other aspects of the community and careers are brought to ensure benchmarking and guidance is effective.

All Governors undertake regular visits to the school in order to validate what they are informed about. Their reports show governors interview staff, pupils and parents about the school in order to ensure a rounded view. Parent Governors use their own experiences to triangulate the reports and the impact of decision making. In all, we have a very strong team of governors who, like the staff and pupils, love the school and want to ensure they make a difference in consistently striving to improve and make life a better place for each and every child at Weatherfield Academy.

Outlined below are the key activities which the governing body members have followed for the last academic year to carry out their role:

Holding Head Teacher and senior leaders to account

The Head Teacher has a standing agenda item at governing body meetings. A Head Teacher’s report is circulated prior to the meeting and covers a wide range of strategic and day-to-day operations of the school. The governors can monitor changes over time and ask challenging questions.
Two governors are responsible for the Head Teacher’s annual performance and appraisal, along with the School Improvement Partner.

Strategic Vision and Direction

Governor input to, and monitoring of the School Improvement and Development Plan (SDP) which sets out the schools focus and how it plans to thrive in a changing educational landscape.

Financial Oversight

Finance & Staffing Governors exercise governing body duties with respect to the financial status of the school.
The Responsible Officer scrutinises finance operations regularly and advises the Finance & Staffing Committee based on his experience and qualifications, as set out in the Financial Handbook
This includes budget reviews through the year, budget planning, governor approval for the spending of larger amounts and detailed questions on spending.
The Finance & Staffing Committee review and ratify staff developments and remuneration as recommended by the Head Teacher.

Other activities to support the school:

Governors attend safeguarding training and other courses at school with the staff in order to remain current and contribute more widely to the school.
Governors scrutinise health & safety aspects of the Academy and act accordingly to ensure the Academy is compliant with health & safety matters for the protection of pupils and staff.
Governors support new members of staff and form part of interview panels, bringing their expertise to the development of the school.
All governors make visits to the school and reports for these visits inform the triangulation of data and observations about school practices.
Governors attend Parents’ Evenings, end of term productions and other events throughout the year.

Governance at Weatherfield Academy is vibrant and high profile with an innovative looking governing body including representatives of the Teaching Assistants, Teachers, parents and experienced professionals with knowledge of areas including:

Law
Medicine
Education
Accounting
Local Government
Banking and business management

This experienced and professional group offer challenge and support covering the essential areas needed for the Academy to run at the highest level. Views from all areas of the Academy are represented on the Governing Body.