A Statement from our Chair

The school governing body would like to welcome you to our school website. As school governors we are responsible for the conduct of the school and for promoting high educational standards. The governing body aims to ensure that students are attending a successful school providing them with a high standard of education and helping to ensure their safety and wellbeing. Being a governor is an extremely rewarding and enjoyable experience.

We are proud of our school and our students. We positively promote our students wellbeing to become young ambitious adults with high aspirations relevant to their needs. We welcome visits to school.

The Governors of Bensham Manor School work closely with the Senior Leadership Team and staff to uphold the School Ethos and Values and ensure that every pupil and student has the best individual learning opportunity and is able to maximise their development and progress to lead the fullest possible adult life.

The role of the Governors is a strategic one in the development of the school, with day to day management and operational issues delegated to the Senior Leadership Team.

The three core responsibilities of the Governing Body are:

to hold the Headteacher to account for the educational performance of the school and its pupils
ensure clarity of the school’s vision, ethos, values and strategic direction
to oversee the financial performance of the school ensuring its money is well spent.

Additionally, the Governing Body maintains a high focus on Safeguarding and Child Protection in line with DfE guidance “Keeping Children Safe in Education”, with Safeguarding being a standing agenda item at every Full Governing Body meeting.

Our Governing Body Constitution consists of 12 Governors:

1 Headteacher
1 Staff Governor, elected by staff
1 Local Authority Governor, appointed by the Governing Body
2 Parent Governors, elected by parents
8 Co-opted Governors, appointed by the Governing Body

We operate three Committees:

Achievement Committee
Behaviour, Safety and Personnel Committee
Finance and Premises Committee

All Governors attend Full Governing Body meetings and every Governor is a member of at least one Committee. Every meeting is minuted by our Clerk and these minutes, minus any confidential discussions, are available to parents and stakeholders by request.

Our Governing Body

The governing body works in partnership with the Headteacher to get the best possible education for the pupils at Bensham Manor School.
Governors at Bensham Manor School play an important part in the strategic management of the school.

The Governing Body is vital to our success

Governors make important decisions about school life
Governors’ decisions directly affect the education and well-being of children
Governors can really make a difference in improving standards throughout the school

Governors play an important part in improving our children’s education and supporting the staff here at the school. Caring about the school and its community is a prerequisite to joining the governing body and we are always looking to harness any skills and knowledge governors may have to benefit the strategic operation of the school and ultimately the education of our pupils.

Governors act as a team, the amount of time that each of them gives to the role will vary. We have 6 Governing Body meetings over three terms and all Governors serve on one or more of the committees.

We have three main committees with delegated powers to enable governors to have detailed discussion and make decisions.

The Achievement Committee holds the school to account for pupil achievement, especially pupil’s progress and closing the gap between different groups, the quality of teaching, behaviour and safety, and plans for improving communication with parents.
The Finance Committee makes major decisions about spending the school budget, the number of staff, premises and health and safety.
The Behaviour, Safety and Personnel Committee monitors how behaviour, health and safety is monitored and managed across the school. It also ensures staff have the necessary skills, experience and qualifications to meet the needs of the pupils and there is continuing professional development in place.

Governors remain accountable for the strategic management of the school with key responsibilities of:

Establishing the ethos, vision and strategic direction of the school
Holding the headteacher to account for school effectiveness
Being accountable to parents and other stakeholders
Ensuring financial probity and value for money

Contacting the Governing Body

Governors can be contacted through the school office theoffice@benshammanor.com

Last year we remodelled our governing body and we are now made up of: two Parent Governors elected by the parents, two Staff Governors elected by the staff, the Headteacher, one Local Authority governor nominated by the local authority and appointed by the governing body and six Co-opted governors appointed by the governing body.

Code of Conduct

This code sets out the expectations, commitment and behaviour required from our governors to enable the Governing Board to effectively carry out its work within our school and the community. These standards can be upheld by using the Seven Principles of Public Life. The Governing Board adopted this code of practice on: 24th September 2019

The purpose of our Board

The Board is our school’s accountable body. Our Board has 3 core functions:

Ensuring clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction;
Holding the head teacher to account for the educational performance of the school and its pupils and the performance management of staff
Overseeing the financial performance of the school and making sure its money is well spent.

As a corporate body in the eyes of the law:

Strategic Leadership – As Governors, we will:

Not act on our own without proper authority from the full Board. We will only speak or act on behalf of the Board when we have been specifically authorised to do so.
Encourage the open and constructive expression of views at meetings and will make decisions in a timely manner, supported by the evidence available.
Take collective ownership of all decisions, acknowledging we carry equal responsibility for those decisions.
Not speak against majority decisions outside Board meetings.
Have equal status, regardless of the appointment route
Ensure our decisions will be made in the best interests and wellbeing of the pupils to ensure that every child receives the best possible education.
Be constructively curious to actively support and challenge the head teacher
Develop and maintain effective working relationships with the head teacher, staff, parents, the local authority (LA), the Education Skills Funding Agency (ESFA), other relevant agencies and the local community.
Act fairly and without prejudice, always following agreed processes and procedures.
Fulfil all that is reasonably expected of a good employer.

Selflessness – As Governors, we are:

Committing to significant amounts of time and energy.
Accepting our fair share of responsibilities, including service on committees, working groups and visiting the school.

Accountability – As Governors, we will:

Discuss and agree our individual and collective training and development needs regardless of experience.
Will attend or take part in on-line training termly, regardless of experience, to be an effective governor and to maximise our impact on school improvement.
Attend all meetings, including formal school visits that have been allocated to us. Where we cannot attend, we will explain in advance and in full, why we are unable to.

Openness – As Governors:

Where concerns, which are in the public interest, have been brought to the Board’s attention, but have not been effectively addressed, we have a duty to report these concerns to the appropriate body e.g. the LA, ESFA, Ofsted. Concerns would include:
- Financial fraud;
- Health and safety issues;
- Non-compliance with statutory requirements; or
- Someone is covering up wrongdoing.

Integrity – At all times, as Governors we will:

Work as a team in which constructive working relationships are actively promoted. This means:
- Acknowledging and accepting that every member has different skills, experiences and qualities.
- All views are sought, actively listened to and respected, despite whether or not they are agreed with.
- Asking for clarification and rationale behind views expressed.
- Communicating and listening politely, in a professional and courteous manner, including in all written correspondence / emails.
- Being prepared to identify and challenge inappropriate behaviour in a timely fashion.
- Never saying anything publicly that would damage the school’s, the Board’s, the Head Teacher’s or staff reputation.
- Being an ambassador for the school, publicly supporting its aims, values and ethos.

Honesty – As governors, we will:

Be open and honest in our business.
Refrain from using any social media platform e.g. Facebook, Twitter, Whats App, to discuss Board or personal views regarding the school, staff and its community.
Observe complete confidentiality when matters are deemed confidential or where they concern specific members of staff, parents or pupils, both inside and outside the school.
Always exercise the greatest prudence when discussions regarding school business arise outside of a Board meeting.
Not reveal the details of any Governing Board vote.
Provide personal information, e.g. conflict of interests, as required, to ensure that the Governing Board fully meets its statutory responsibilities and accept that some of this information is required, by statute, to be published on the school website and Get Information About Schools (GIAS).
Complete all paperwork required by law and the Board, whether to be published on the school website or kept elsewhere, in the stated timeframe.

Objectivity – As governors, we will:

Record any pecuniary interests that we have in connection with the Board’s business in the Register of Business Interests.
Declare any personal or pecuniary interest – or personal interest which could be perceived as a conflict of interest – in a matter under discussion at a meeting and leave the meeting for the appropriate length of time.
Declare any new interests throughout the year to the clerk immediately.
Ensure that our personal information is correct on the statutory websites and will provide updates as when information is changed.