Our Governing Body is made up of staff, parents of children in our school and members of the local community who all volunteer their time to oversee the work of our school. Our Governing Body has three key functions:
- Ensuring clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction;
- Holding the Head Teacher to account for the educational performance of the organisation and its pupils, and the performance management of staff; and
- Overseeing the financial performance of the organisation and making sure its money is well spent.
Our Governing Body is not involved in the day to day running of the school; it is there to provide support and challenge and to ensure all decisions are well informed and made with the best interests of the children in mind. We review and approve policies for various areas of school life, agree budgets and keep an eye on finances across the year. We discuss and vote on major strategic decisions, for example we agreed the new school nursery should be run by the school. The governing body is not involved in the day to day running of the school – that is the job of qualified staff.
Our Governing Body meets every half term to discuss key issues and to review the work of the school. Governors are also provided with updates from the Local Authority regarding any new local or national advice and any changes to legislation they need to be aware of.
Our Governors
Please see table below for statutory information that we are required to publish regarding the governing body.
| Name | Representing | Term of Office Start Date | Term of Office End Date | Committee Membership | Link Roles | Register of Interest | Relationship to Staff |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mrs Rachel Brannan | Head Teacher | 01/04/2021 | ongoing | Finance SMSC First / Pay Review Curriculum | Head Teacher | None | Staff |
| Mr Rory Whaling - Chair | Parent | 03/05/2018 | 02/05/2022 | Finance - Chair HT Performance | Data Protection Geography Governor Training & Induction | None | None |
| Mr Darren Knowd - Vice Chair | Co-opted | 11/05/21 | 10/05/25 | Finance HT Performance Appeals - Chair | Pupil Premium Sport Premium | County Council Employee | Married to Lisa Knowd |
| Dr Jennifer Search | Co-opted | 6/10/2020 | 05/10/24 | Finance SMSC First / Pay Review HT Performance Curriculum | Maths Science Covid Premium | None | None |
| Dr Kate Garbash | Parent | 13/01/21 | 12/01/25 | SMSC - Chair Appeals Curriculum | English SRE | None | None |
| Mrs Nicola Oxnard | Co-opted | 18/10/2019 | 17/10/23 | SMSC | - | None | Staff |
| Mrs Claire Bovill | Staff | 18/10/2019 | 17/10/2023 | Curriculum | - | None | Staff |
| Mrs Sophie Herd | Parent | 21/03/2019 | 20/03/2023 | Finance First / Pay Review Curriculum | KS1 Health & Safety | None | None |
| Cllr Elizabeth Brown | Local Authority | 19/07/21 | 18/07/25 | Appeals | History | DCC Councillor City of Durham Parish Councillor Governor at Elemore Hall school | None |
| Mrs Lynsey Finnemore | Co-opted | 25/04/2019 | 24/04/23 | SMSC Appeals | Website | None | |
| Mrs Leonora Morgan | Co-opted | 19/03/2019 | 18/03/2023 | First / Pay Review HT Performance Curriculum | Foreign Languages | None | |
| Mrs Jane Simmons-Thomas | Parent | 17/12/20 | 16/12/24 | Curriculum - Chair Finance | EYFS Cultural Education | None | None |
| Mrs Rebecca Blackwood | Parent | 10/12/20 | 19/12/24 | Finance First/Pay Review | Safeguarding Health & Safety | None | None |
| Mrs Claire Murray-Kemp | Parent | 18/01/21 | 17/01/21 | Appeals Curriculum | KS2 PE Computing and ICT | None | None |
| Reverend Marcus Bagg | Associate member | 17/12/20 | 16/12/24 | SMSC | SEND LAC KS2 RE | None | None |
Find out more about our Governors on our Meet the Governors page
Committee Terms of Reference
Members of our Governing Body also meet as smaller sub-committees where we look at specific areas of the school such as finances, the school’s results and the progress children are making (as a whole group) as well as non-academic (social) development of the children. These subcommittees report back to the full governing body. We look at what the school is doing to improve, what impact it has on children’s progress and make sure money is well spent. We try to make sure our discussions are well informed and balanced and we have the interests of the children at the core of all our decision making.
Finance and Premises Committee
Terms of Reference:
Finance & Premises Committee Terms of Reference
Appeals Committee
Terms of reference:
Appeals Committee Terms of Reference
Pay Review/First Committee
Terms of reference:
First & Pay Review Committee Terms of Reference
Social, Moral, Spiritual and Cultural Committee (SMSC)
Terms of reference:
SMSC Committee Terms of Reference
Curriculum Committee
Terms of reference:
Curriculum & Standards Committee Terms of Reference
Head Teacher Appraisal Committee
Terms of reference:
Headteacher Appraisal Committee Terms of Reference
Governor Attendance
Schools are required to display a record of Governor attendance at meetings for each school academic year.
KEY
✓ – Attended meeting
Apologies – Apologies sent and accepted by meeting
N – Did not attend
– – Not a member of the committee
Record of Attendance 2021-2022
| Name of Governor | Full Governing Body | Full Governing Body School Agenda | Finance Committee | Finance Committee | First/Pay Review Committee | Curriculum Committee | SMSC Committee | Head Teacher Appraisal Committee |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 06/10/21 | 24/11/21 | 28/09/21 | 7/12/21 | 09/11/21 | 02/11/21 | 21/09/21 | 25/11/21 | |
| Mrs R Brannan | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Mr R Whaling | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | - | - | ✓ |
| Mr D Knowd | ✓ | Apologies | N | Apologies | - | - | - | Apologies |
| Mrs N Oxnard | ✓ | ✓ | - | - | - | - | ✓ | - |
| Mrs C Bovill | ✓ | ✓ | - | - | - | ✓ | - | - |
| Rev. M Bagg | ✓ | ✓ | - | - | - | - | Apologies | - |
| Dr J Search | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | Apologies | N | ✓ | ✓ |
| Dr K Garbash | ✓ | Apologies | - | - | - | ✓ | Apologies | - |
| Mrs S Herd | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | - | - |
| Mrs C Murray-Kemp | N | ✓ | - | - | - | ✓ | - | - |
| Ms L Morgan | N | Apologies and resignation submitted | - | - | Apologies | ✓ | - | N |
| Mrs L Finnemore | N | N | - | - | - | - | N | - |
| Cllr. E Brown | ✓ | ✓ | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Mrs J Simmons-Thomas | ✓ | Apologies | ✓ | ✓ | - | ✓ | - | - |
| Mrs R Blackwood | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | - | - | - |
Archived Attendance
You can also view previous years attendance on our website.
Governor Code of Conduct
Governor Code of Conduct October 2021
Statutory Guidance for Governing Bodies
Neville’s Cross Primary School adhere to the statutory guidance from the Department of Education. This means that governing bodies must have regard to it when carrying out duties relating to the constitution of governing bodies in maintained schools. For further information please view or download the full document below.
The Constitution of Governing Bodies of Maintained Schools (2017)
How To Become A School Governor
If you require further information on the roles and responsibilities of School Governors or you are interested in becoming one, visit the Durham County Council website School Governor section.
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