UP HOLLANDHIGH SCHOOL
PARENT GOVERNOR ELECTION
NOTICE OF ELECTION
12 January 2018
Dear Parent
There are places for 7 Parent Governors on the Governing Body of this school. They are elected by the parents of pupils at this School to serve a four year term of office. There is now a vacancy for 1 Parent Governor and applications will be considered. You may, if you wish, put yourself forward for election, using the attached nomination form. Please read the information given with this form.
The timetable for the Election is:-
1.Nomination Form to be returned to me by 12.00 noon onMonday 22nd January 2018.
2.Ballot Papers to be available to all parents by Friday26th January 2018.
(Voting will only take place if there are more nominations than vacancies)
3.Ballot Papers to be returned to me by 12.00 noon Monday 5th February 2018.
4.The votes will be counted at 1.00 pm on 5th February 2018 after which the result will be announced.
Governors have an important and influential role to play in the life of our School, and I do hope you will be able to take part in this election by becoming a Candidate and by casting your vote when the time comes.
If you require any further information about being elected to the Governing Body please do not hesitate to contact me.
Yours sincerely
Mr P Scarborough
Headteacher
Returning Officer for Governor Election
NOMINATION FORM
Before completing this form, please read the notes on the opposite page.
SURNAME,INITIALS
Mr/Mrs/Miss/Ms / ADDRESS & CONTACT DETAILS: MOBILE NO & EMAIL / SIGNATURE
Nominee / (Capitals)
Proposer / (Capitals)
Seconder / (Capitals)
Declaration of Nominee: I am willing to accept nomination and confirm that I am not disqualified from becoming a governor. Should I be elected I agree that if I subsequently become disqualified I will notify the Clerk to Governors in writing.
Should I be elected I understand that information on my governorship will be made available to the County Council for its use in providing support to school governors*.
*In this respect the Data Controller is Lancashire County Council and the nominated officer for data protection is the Data Protection Officer.
Signed: …………………………………………………….
Date: …………………………………………………….
This form must be returned to the Headteacher/Returning Officer by 12.00 noon on 22nd January 2018. Late nominations will not be accepted.
BIOGRAPHICAL DETAILS
Candidates are asked to give some information about themselves, which will help parents to decide whether to vote for them or not. (Maximum of 60 words)
Name (Capitals) ______
Signature ______
INFORMATION
A.Eligability
1.All parents of pupils at the school and, in the case of maintained nursery schools, parents of children for whom educational or other provision is made on the premises of the school can be nominated as a candidate for a parent governor election except for:
(a)Elected Members of the Local Education Authority
(b)Anyone paid to work at the school for more than 500 hours in any 12 month period commencing on 1 August and finishing on 31 July.
A.Nomination
1.Any parent who wants to be nominated has to be proposed and seconded by two other parents of pupils (children) at the school using the nomination form. It should be completed and sent to the Returning Officer by 12.00 noon on22nd January 2018. Please note there can be no extension beyond this time and date.
2.Candidates should complete the reverse of the nomination form with biographical details. This information will be sent with the voting papers to all parents to help them decide how to use their votes.
B.Parent Governors
(See also information sheet on parent governors)
1.The Governing Body of the School has several categories of Governor, and “parent governor” is one of these categories. As all governors carry equal status.
2.Responsibility rests in the governing body as a whole. Individual governors only have responsibility collectively in the governing body. To be a governor does not give personal authority.
3.The term of office for a Parent Governor is 4 years, and a parent governor does not have to resign if his/her child ceases to be a pupil at the school before that period of time ends, though s/he may do so if s/he wishes.
C.Disqualification
1.Regulations disqualify certain individuals from becoming a governor. The attached appendix lists the disqualification criteria. Prospective governors should read it carefully before proceeding with their nomination.
DISQUALIFICATION FROM HOLDING A GOVERNORSHIP
Regulations disqualify certain individuals from becoming a governor. Before your nomination can
considered you are required to confirm that you are not disqualified from becoming a governor.
Failure to submit a declaration will debar you from consideration as a governor. You are required
to notify the Clerk to the Governing Body, in writing, if you subsequently become disqualified from
continuing as a governor.
Further information on any of the criteria can be found in the DfES Guide to the Law for School
Governors which contains the School Governance (Constitution) (England) Regulations 2003,
Regulation 20 and Schedule 6. These sections refer specifically to disqualification from governorship.
Alternatively you may contact Governor Services on Freephone 0800 181832.
Qualification and Disqualification Criteria
1.A governor must be aged 18 or over at the time of their election or appointment.
2.A person cannot hold more than one governorship at the same school.
3.A Person is disqualified from being a governor if they:
are detained under the Mental Health Act 1983;
have had their estate sequestrated (temporarily repossessed) and the sequestration has
not been discharged, annulled or reduced; or they are the subject of a bankruptcy
restrictions order or an interim order;
are subject to a disqualification order under the Company Directors Disqualification Act
1986 or to an order made under section 429(2) of the Insolvency Act 1986;
have been removed from the office of charity trustee or trustee for a charity by the
Charity Commissioners or High Court on grounds of any misconduct or
mismanagement, or under section 7 of the Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions)
(Scotland) Act 1990 from being concerned in the management or control of any body;
are included in the list of teachers workers prohibited or restricted from working with
children or young people;
are disqualified from working with children;
are disqualified from being an independent school proprietor, teacher or employee by
the Secretary of State;
have been sentenced to three months or more in prison (without the option of a fine)
in the five years before becoming a governor or since becoming a governor;
have received a prison sentence of two and a half years or more in the 20 years before
becoming a governor;
have at any time received a prison sentence of five years or more;
have been fined for causing a nuisance or disturbance on school premises during the
five years prior to or since appointment or election as a governor;
refuse to an application being made to the Criminal Records Bureau for a criminal
records certificate.
Additionally parent governors cannot be elected members of the local education authority or employed to work at the school for more than 500 hours in any twelve month period commencing on 1 August and finishing on 31 July.
What do governors do?
School governors and trustees are people who want to make a positive contribution to children’s education.
Governors and trustees are one of the largest volunteer forces in the country and have an important part to play in raising school standards. The role of the governing board is absolutely key to the effectiveness of a school. Time and time again Ofsted (the national inspection body for schools) has noted that the most effective schools demonstrate effective leadership and management - including by the governing board.
Strategic leadership
School governors and trustees provide strategic leadership and accountability in schools. They appoint the headteacher and deputy headteacher. In some schools the site is owned by the governing board. It is governors who hold the main responsibility for finance in schools and it is governors who work with the headteacher to make the tough decisions about balancing resources.
Each individual governor is a member of a governing board, which is established in law as a corporate body. Individual governors may not act independently of the rest of the governing board and decisions are the joint responsibility of the governing board.
The role of the governing board is a strategic one with three key functions:
1. Overseeing the financial performance of the school and making sure its money is well spent.
2. Holding the headteacher to account for the educational performance of the school and its pupils.
3. Ensuring clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction
Governors and trustees set the aims and objectives for the school, set the policies for achieving those aims and objectives, set the targets for achieving those aims and objectives, monitor and evaluate the progress the school is making towards achievement of its aims and objectives and act as a source of challenge and support to the headteacher (a critical friend).
The headteacher is responsible for the internal organisation, management and control of the school and the implementation of the strategic framework established by the governing board.
Activities - as part of the governing body team, a governor is expected to:
1. Contribute to the strategic discussions at governing body meetings which determine:
• the vision and ethos of the school;
• clear and ambitious strategic priorities and targets for the school;
• that all children, including those with special educational needs, have access to a broad and balanced curriculum;
• the school’s budget, including the expenditure of the pupil premium allocation;
• the school’s staffing structure and key staffing policies;
• the principles to be used by school leaders to set other school policies.
2. Hold the senior leaders to account by monitoring the school’s performance; this includes:
• agreeing the outcomes from the school’s self-evaluation and ensuring they are used to inform the priorities in the school
• development plan;
• considering all relevant data and feedback provided on request by school leaders and external sources on all aspects of
• school performance;
• asking challenging questions of school leaders;
• ensuring senior leaders have arranged for the required audits to be carried out and receiving the results of those audits;
• ensuring senior leaders have developed the required policies and procedures and the school is operating effectively
• according to those policies;
• acting as a link governor on a specific issue, making relevant enquiries of the relevant staff, and reporting to the
• governing body on the progress on the relevant school priority; and
• listening to and reporting to the school’s stakeholders : pupils, parents, staff, and the wider community, including local
• employers.
3. Ensure the school staff have the resources and support they require to do their jobs well, including the necessary expertise on business management, external advice where necessary, effective appraisal and CPD (Continuing Professional Development), and suitable premises, and that the way in which those resources are used has impact.
4. When required, serve on panels of governors to:
• appoint the headteacher and other senior leaders;
• appraise the headteacher;
• set the headteacher’s pay and agree the pay recommendations for other staff;
• hear the second stage of staff grievances and disciplinary matters;
• hear appeals about pupil exclusions.
The role of governor is largely a thinking and questioning role, not a doing role.
A governor does NOT:
• Write school policies;
• Undertake audits of any sort – whether financial or health & safety - even if the governor has the relevant professional
• experience;
• Spend much time with the pupils of the school – if you want to work directly with children, there are many other
• voluntary valuable roles within the school;
• Fundraise – this is the role of the PTA – the governing body should consider income streams and the potential for
• income generation, but not carry out fundraising tasks;
• Undertake classroom observations to make judgements on the quality of teaching – the governing body monitors
• the quality of teaching in the school by requiring data from the senior staff and from external sources;
• Do the job of the school staff – if there is not enough capacity within the paid staff team to carry out the necessary tasks, the governing body need to consider and rectify this.
As you become more experienced as a governor, there are other roles you could volunteer for which would increase your degree of involvement and level of responsibility (e.g as a chair of a committee). This document does not cover the additional roles taken on by the chair, vice-chair and chairs of committees.
In order to perform this role well, a governor is expected to:
• get to know the school, including by visiting the school occasionally during school hours, and gain a good understanding of the school’s strengths and weaknesses;
• attend induction training and regular relevant training and development events;
• attend meetings (full governing body meetings and committee meetings) and read all the papers before the meeting;
• act in the best interest of all the pupils of the school; and
• behave in a professional manner, as set down in the governing body’s code of conduct, including acting in strict confidence.
Time commitment:
Under usual circumstances, you should expect to spend between 10 and 20 days a year on your
governing responsibilities. The top end of this commitment, which equates to about half a day per week in term time, is most relevant to the chair and others with key roles, such as chairs of committees.
Initially, we would expect your commitment to be nearer 10 days a year. However, there may be periods when the time commitment may increase, for example when recruiting a headteacher. Some longstanding governors may tell you that they spend far more time than this on school business; however, it is fairly common for governors to undertake additional volunteering roles over and above governance.
Under Section 50 of the Employment Rights Act 1996, if you are employed, then you are entitled to ‘reasonable time off’ to undertake public duties; this includes school governance. ‘Reasonable time off’ is not defined in law, and you will need to negotiate with your employer how much time you will be allowed.