Who we are and what we do

The Governing Body at Guildhall Feoffment Primary School is a diverse group of people from a variety of backgrounds and different age groups, united in a desire to put our skills and experience to the service of the school. We are exceptionally proud of the progress the school has made in the last academic year and keen to see this consolidated and developed further in the months to come.

Our formal duties as a Governing Body are to:

· Establish and maintain the Ethos (character, attitudes, and aspirations) of the school.

· Hold the Headteacher to account for the quality of education.

· Ensure financial stability and probity.

We meet as a full governing body 2 -3 times a term in meetings themed to reflect those three key duties.

On a day-to-day basis, each of us takes on ‘link governor’ roles which means we visit regularly to talk to the staff responsible for our areas, accompany them on walks round the school to see lessons in progress and talk to the children. We then write up our reflections in reports to be shared with the teacher, Headteacher, and the other governors. You will also see us at school events like plays, concerts and sports days, and at parents evenings.

Governing Body Constitution

We have six different categories of governor at GFCS:

1. 3 x Parent Governors elected by all those with parental responsibility for children at the school.

2. 8 x Co-opted Governors, volunteers from the community, recruited and elected by Full Governing Body for their specific skill sets and experience.

3. 1 x Local Authority Governor nominated by Suffolk County Council’s Department for Education.

4. Headteacher

5. 1 x Staff Governor, elected by all staff in the school.

6. We are also lucky to have some Associate Members who are people with particular expertise who are willing to give their time and knowledge to the school on an occasional basis but who do not attend Full Governing Body meetings.

The normal term of office is 4 years, extendable for a further period of four years.