Interested in Governance?

INTERESTED IN GOVERNANCE AT FHS?

Board of Trustees

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Formby High School is proud to have a highly effective Board of Trustees which is wholly committed to the ongoing success and development of the school. This dedicated group of volunteers bring a wealth and variety of skills, experience and backgrounds to the work of the Board of Trustees.

The Board is made up of community, co-opted and parent trustees who each serve a four year term of office and are determined to support the staff of Formby High School in providing the best education and the safest learning environment for all students so they can fulfil their potential.

Trustees carry out their responsibilities (set out below) in a number of different ways, including visits during the school day, attending events such as concerts and sports fixtures, working closely with the Headteacher, Senior Leadership Team and staff, and attending formal Board of Trustees and committee meetings.

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The Role of Trustees

Being a Trustee at Formby High School

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Trustees work together to carry out their core functions:

strategic leadership – defining the vision, fostering the trust’s culture and setting the strategy
accountability and assurance – robust and effective oversight of trust operations and performance
strategic engagement – oversight of relationships with stakeholders, ensuring decision-making is supported by meaningful engagement

Trustees must also ensure that the Board complies with all legal and statutory requirements. Trustees should seek the advice of the Governance Professional and other professional advice as appropriate.

Board of Trustees strategic responsibilities

The Board of Trustees works closely with their senior leaders. Headteacher are responsible for day-to-day operational management of the trust and its schools, whereas the role of the board is strategic. As such, trustees are responsible for:

determining the mission, values and long-term ambitious vision for the school
deciding the principles that guide trust policies and approving key policies
appointing and appraising the senior leaders and making pay recommendations
working with senior leaders to develop a strategy for achieving the vision
ensuring that stakeholders are involved, consulted and informed as appropriate
ensuring that all schools in the trust deliver a broad and balanced curriculum such that pupils are well prepared for the next stage of their education and adult life
taking ownership of the trust’s financial sustainability and ensuring effective resource management across the trust
agreeing the trust’s staffing structure and keeping it under review to ensure it supports delivery of the strategy
ensuring robust risk management policy and procedures are in place and that risk control measures are appropriate and effective

Monitoring and evaluating school performance

Trustees must monitor the priorities that have been set to ensure progress is being made by:

measuring the school’s impact and progress towards its strategic objectives
ensuring the required policies and procedures are in place and the trust is operating effectively in line with these policies
holding the headteacher to account for standards, financial probity and compliance with agreed policies
evaluating relevant data and feedback provided by senior leaders and external reporting on all aspects of trust performance
asking challenging questions of the senior leaders in order to hold them to account
ensuring that there are policies and procedures in place to deal with complaints effectively

Stakeholder engagement

Trustees ensure that decision making is supported by meaningful engagement with Formby High School’s stakeholders to create a sense of trust and shared ownership through:

seeking and considering the views of parents, carers and communities; helping them to understand the work of the trust, how it operates and how they can support their child’s education and put forward their views
listening and responding to students, parents/carers, staff, local communities and employers and ensuring their views inform the Governing Body’s decision making
Communicating decisions clearly to students, parents/carers, staff and communities.

Panels and committees

When required, Trustees are expected to serve on panels or committees in order to:

appoint the Headteacher and other senior leaders
appraise the Headteacher and make pay recommendations
hear staff grievances and disciplinary matters
review decisions to exclude students
deal with formal complaints

Contribution to the Board of Trustees

Trustees should ensure that they are making a positive and meaningful contribution to the Board of Trustees by:

attending meetings (five full Board meetings and a number of committee meetings each year), reading papers and preparing questions for senior leaders in advance
establishing and maintaining professional relationships with senior leaders and colleagues on the board
getting to know the school, including visiting the school occasionally during school hours
undertaking induction training and developing knowledge and skills on an ongoing basis

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Disqualification of Trustees

Extract from Formby High School Articles of Association

No person shall be qualified to be a Governor unless he is aged 18 or over at the date of his election or appointment. No current pupil of the Academy shall be a Governor.

A Governor shall cease to hold office if he becomes incapable by reason of mental disorder, illness or injury of managing or administering his own affairs.

A Governor shall cease to hold office if he is absent without the permission of the Governors from all their meetings held within a period of six months and the Governors resolve that his office be vacated.

A person shall be disqualified from holding or continuing to hold office as a Governor if:

- his estate has been sequestrated and the sequestration has not been discharged, annulled or reduced; or (b) he is the subject of a bankruptcy restrictions order or an interim order.

A person shall be disqualified from holding or continuing to hold office as a Governor at any time when he is subject to a disqualification order or a disqualification undertaking under the Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986 or to an order made under section 429(2)(b) of the Insolvency Act 1986 (failure to pay under county court administration order).

A Governor shall cease to hold office if he ceases to be a Governor by virtue of any provision in the Companies Act 2006 or is disqualified from acting as a trustee by virtue of section 72 of the Charities Act 1993 (or any statutory re-enactment or modification of that provision).

A person shall be disqualified from holding or continuing to hold office as a Governor if he has been removed from the office of charity trustee or trustee for a charity by an order made by the Charity Commission or the High Court on the grounds of any misconduct or mismanagement in the administration of the charity for which he was responsible or to which he was privy, or which he by his conduct contributed to or facilitated.

A person shall be disqualified from holding or from continuing to hold office as a Governor at any time when he is:

- included in the list kept by the Secretary of State under section 1 of the Protection of Children Act 1999; or
- disqualified from working with children in accordance with Section 35 of the Criminal Justice and Court Services Act 2000; or
- barred from regulated activity relating to children (within the meaning of section 3(2) of the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006).

A person shall be disqualified from holding or continuing to hold office as a Governor if he is a person in respect of whom a direction has been made under section 142 of the Education Act 2002 or is subject to any prohibition or restriction which takes effect as if contained in such a direction.

A person shall be disqualified from holding or continuing to hold office as a Governor where he has, at any time, been convicted of any criminal offence, excluding any that have been spent under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 as amended, and excluding any offence for which the maximum sentence is a fine or a lesser sentence except where a person has been convicted of any offence which falls under section 72 of the Charities Act 1993.

After the Academy has opened, a person shall be disqualified from holding or continuing to hold office as a Governor if he has not provided to the chairman of the Governors a criminal records certificate at an enhanced disclosure level under section 113B of the Police Act 1997. In the event that the certificate discloses any information which would in the opinion of either the chairman or the Headteacher confirm their unsuitability to work with children that person shall be disqualified. If a dispute arises as to whether a person shall be disqualified, a referral shall be made to the Secretary of State to determine the matter. The determination of the Secretary of State shall be final.

Where, by virtue of these Articles a person becomes disqualified from holding, or continuing to hold office as a Governor and he is, or is proposed, to become such a Governor, he shall upon becoming so disqualified give written notice of that fact to the Secretary.

Articles 69 to 80 and Articles 98-99 also apply to any member of any committee of the Governors who is not a Governor.

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Further Reading and Useful Information

Department for Education Governance Handbook

Governance

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Our Trustees

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Chair of Trustees

Mr David Pearson

Vice Chair of Trustees

Miss Cathleen McNamara

Ex-Officio Trustee

Mr Alex Wood (Headteacher)

Trustees

Ms Gillian Bainbridge

Mr Richard Coventry

Mr Myles Duckworth

Mr Andrew Greenyer

Mr Peter Killen

Mrs Deborah Pringle

Ms Louise Roberts

Mr Richard Smith

Parent Trustees

Mr Mark McKenna

Mrs Lucy Searle

Governance Professional

Mrs Lucy Forster

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Our Members

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Mrs Pam Bell

Mrs Nicola Foley

Prof Nick Greeves

Mrs Fiona Grieveson

Mr David Pearson

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Contact Us

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Direct Telephone:

01704 835650

Email:

[email protected]

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Key Documents

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