Gosforth Central The Governing Body
We welcome Governors from all walks of life. Our ambition is to have a Governing Body which has a diversity of thought, voice and perspective. One that is reflective of our vibrant and diverse school population, one that also reflects the wider world beyond school and the myriad of experiences that it brings.
We are committed to equality and inclusion at all levels
What is the Governing Body?
We are a group of people who volunteer together to support GCMS strategically. We act as a ‘critical friend’ supporting and challenging the school and its leaders, holding it to account, making sure it provides the best possible educational experiences to every child in its care. We have our own Code of Conduct and are bound by statutory requirements from Government.
These statutory requirements are:
- Ensuring clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction;
- Holding leaders to account for the educational performance of the organisation and its pupils, and the effective and efficient performance management of staff;
- Overseeing the financial performance of the organisation and making sure its money is well spent.
What do we do?
We work closely with the school leadership team in these areas –
- planning the future direction of the school;
- monitoring and evaluating the progress of the school against these plans;
- supporting and challenging the school team;
- being accountable to parents and others for the school’s performance,
- working with school leaders to keep children safe
- ensuring all statutory duties are carried out
- visit the school
- engage in appropriate training
Who can be a governor?
The governing body membership is set at 20. This is composed of;
- parent governors – interested parents are nominated and a vote is taken
- co-opted governors – applications from outside school taken, considered and appointed by the full governing body
- local authority governors – governors who represent the LA
- foundation trust governors –
- staff governors – chosen through internal voting
- head teacher.
Associate members can also be appointed to the governing body and can attend meetings and be members of committees. They do not, however, have voting rights.
The GCMS governing body is made up of professionals from many different arenas; teachers, doctors, designers, diplomats, architects, accountants parents and retired members who come with an array of skills and experiences. Our aim is to include a variety of skilled individuals within our number who will add value to the Governing Body as it goes about its governing work.
How are we organised?
Working as a full governing body is necessary to meet statutory requirements. To ensure we fulfil these we also operate a number of committees which focus on key areas. At the moment these are;
Finance and Resources Committee – This committee monitors the school budget to keep school in a positive balance. It makes sure that the budget is used effectively to enable school to deliver the curriculum and pay its staff. The committee monitors this through asking questions and examining budget spreadsheets to keep school accountable for its expenditure.
The Finance Committee works alongside the Curriculum Committee using ICFP (integrated curriculum and financial planning) to ensure the school is well staffed and that the budget provides the resources needed to deliver both the curriculum and proposed school development plan successfully.
Certain areas in school, eg Pupil Premium, Sports Premium and SEND have individual allocations of money that need to be spent in a particular way, this is overseen through the committee with help from a designated Link Governor.
Current Membership (updated 04.11.2024):
- Jeremy Bell (Chair)
- David Brocklehurst (Vice Chair)
- Rachel Hiscott
- Dave Slipper
- Deeanne Smith
- Jayne Thorpe
Curriculum and Performance Committee – The governing body is responsible for ensuring that the statutory requirements for the curriculum are met for all subjects. It holds leaders to account for the performance of both staff and pupils by monitoring achievement, not just through data from testing but through consistent challenge, observation and questioning of both leaders of subjects and conversations with pupils.
The Curriculum Committee works alongside the Finance Committee using ICFP (integrated curriculum and financial planning) to ensure the school is well staffed and that the budget provides the resources needed to deliver both the curriculum and proposed school development plan successfully.
The committee ensures that every group of children in school have equal opportunities to achieve their potential.
Current Membership (updated 04.11.2024):
- Vic Bruce (Chair)
- Chris Haves (Co-Chair)
- Dave Bronsgeest
- Marianne Good-Bruce
- Lois Scott
- Deeanne Smith
- Jayne Thorpe
- Joe Veitch
Admissions Committee – It is involved in monitoring the waiting list for school places, recommending whether to accept or refuse an application using the admissions policy criteria. It will also be ready for possible appeals. They also review the Admissions Policy annually which is then taken to the Full Governing Body for approval.
Current Membership (updated 25.09.2024):
- Jeremy Bell (Chair)
- Jayne Thorpe
- Dave Slipper
- Deeanne Smith
Staffing and Personnel - This is not a formal committee. Governors are chosen by the Full Governing Body to be involved in:
- Ensuring the well being of all staff on the school premises
- Governors are represented at all interviews for senior teaching posts
- Pay review panel for annual staff appraisal meetings
- Annual Head Teacher appraisal with the support of our School Improvement Partner
- Any staffing issue that may arise for staff including grievances or appeals
- To oversee the complaints procedures following the policy process.
Link Governors - we have a number of Link Governors who have a special interest in one area of school who are linked to areas of the School Improvement Plan. They continually monitor achievement by meeting with the school lead to challenge, monitor and see for themselves what is going on in this area. This is disseminated to the full governing body at meetings. Visits are planned for 1 each term.
There are also parts of school that DfE require us to have a link governor for. These often have budgets attached – like SEND, Pupil Premium and Sports Premium. These areas are supported and held to account by a designated link governor who may have specific skills from their professional work which can be a positive addition for the school lead.
Current link governors (updated 25.09.2024):
- Careers & Enterprise: Lucy Johnson
- Digital Technology: Chris Haves
- Estate Management: Rachel Hiscott
- Formative Assessment: Vic Bruce
- Gosforth Schools' Trust: Jeremy Bell
- Maths: Jayne Thorpe
- Personal Development (incl. PSHE, Behaviour and Anti-Bullying): TBC
- Pupil Premium: Marianne Good
- Reading: Jeremy Bell
- Safeguarding: Jayne Thorpe
- Staff & Pupil Wellbeing: TBC
- SEND / Child in Care (CIC): Dave Bronsgeest
Committee members and Link governor roles are reviewed each year in September at the first full governor meeting.
We also set up working groups for specific and often time limited events; for example our new build, website updates etc
Officers for 2023 - 2024
Chair of Governors – Jayne Thorpe
Co Vice-Chairs – Jeremy Bell, David Brocklehurst
Chair of Finance & Resources Committee – Jeremy Bell
Chair of Curriculum & Performance Committee – Vic Bruce
Chair of Admissions Committee – Jeremy Bell
When do we meet?
We hold 4 clerked meetings a year as a full governing body.
- Two meetings in the autumn term
- One in the spring term
- One in the summer term.
We will now have 2 extra meetings in the spring and summer terms to facilitate governor training and up skilling; to enable teachers to attend meetings and share their work and to encourage working with shareholders.
Committees meet at least once a term
If you are interested in becoming a governor please see the Contacting the Governing Body page.
Governor Information
Governing Body Impact Statement:
Governing Body Pecuniary Interests & Meeting Attendance
GCMS Governing Body Information 2024-2025 (updated 12.11.2024)
Governing Body Meeting Minutes:
Minutes of meetings of the full governing body are available upon request by emailing the School Business Manager at admin@gosforthcent.newcastle.sch.uk