Committees and Meetings

The Committee structure is currently as follows:

Finance and Personnel Committee

The role of this committee is to support the school and the Headteacher with ensuring transparency and clarity for parents and staff regarding finance and charging. This is undertaken by regular meeting to review and ensure our financial budgets accord with relevant law and policy. 

Performance and Pay Committee

This committee approve and is involved in agreeing teachers’ incremental points determined by the school’s appraisal system. 

Curriculum Committee

A successful school requires a broad, balanced curriculum which enables all pupils to make good/outstanding progress. The role of the Curriculum Committee at Richmond Primary is to monitor the curriculum provision, attainment and achievement of all pupils and ensure that provision is made for particular groups (SEN/GDS/vulnerable groups /gender etc.) and that any gaps in progress are addressed and indeed closed.

The committee meets once per half term. During these meetings the committee discuss the following:

• The curriculum – monitoring and evaluating the model to ensure a broad and balanced curriculum in keeping with the ethos of the school and the requirements of the National Curriculum is being delivered
• Achievement and progress - data at year, class and group level is interrogated
• Teaching and learning monitoring
• School Improvement Plan (SIP) - Monitoring the progress of the curriculum aspects
• Subject specific reports from subject leaders and/or governor visits
• Curriculum policies i.e. subject policies, homework etc.
• Impact of Government or Local Authority policy i.e. School assessment procedures
  
   

Health and Safety Link Governor

Our Health and Safety Link Governor meets regularly with the School Business Manager, Assistant Head and the Headteacher.

Our main focus is to consider all of the potential risks that pupils and teachers face while at or away from the school. We review all of the policies held by the school and make sure that we amend these based on the guidance received from the DfE, Local Authority, and any judgements made from feedback to the LGC. We ensure that all of the fire and in-vac drills are practiced and if any lessons can be learnt. In addition, we complete yearly audits of all parts of the school premises. 

Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and Disadvantaged Pupils - Link Governors and Committee

The chair of the SEND committee is also the SEND governor which means that he or she will be responsible for monitoring the provision for the children who are identified as being part of this group. In this role, they attend regular meetings set up by the Education Department of the Local Authority to provide information and policy related to SEND. This information is then cascaded to the members of the committee. As part of monitoring, they have regular meetings (at least once per term) with the school’s Inclusion Leader.

The SEND and Disadvantaged Pupils committee also scrutinises the school’s data on the progress and attainment of the pupils identified within these groups. The Inclusion Leader and Pupil Premium Leader attend meetings of this committee and provide us with up-to-date information on the provision and the progress towards achieving the priorities set by the School’s Improvement Plan.

Safeguarding Link Governor and Online Safety Link Governor

The nominated Safeguarding Governor has an important role, working alongside the DSL to evaluate the effectiveness of the school’s safeguarding arrangements and to report back on these to the full Governing Body. A recommended termly reporting template from the Local Authority is used to ensure school policy and practice is implemented effectively. The Safeguarding Governor undertakes appropriate training to provide them with the skills and knowledge required to carry out their role. 

The nominated Online Safety Governor works with the school to implement effective measures to keep children safe online. They make sure that online safety is a running and interrelated theme, ensuring that the school meets the KCSiE statutory online safeguarding requirements.
This includes:

- considering how online safety is reflected as required in all relevant policies
- monitoring and filtering protocols
- considering online safety whilst planning the curriculum
- teacher training
- the role and responsibilities of the designated safeguarding lead (and deputies)
- parental engagement

Other Committees and Meetings

Individual governors also carry out specific roles, for example we have a governor linked to most areas of the curriculum, as well as a governor for each of the year groups. These governors will carry out visits to the school to meet with subject leader/class teachers to see the work taking place and write reports which are shared with the rest of the governing body. 

The work of the governing body is ably supported by a Clerk, who works hard to ensure that we produce and regularly review statutory polices as well as putting together the agenda for full Governing Body Meetings and taking and writing the minutes for these meetings. From January 2022, our clerk has been supported by Jodie from the school office who has taken over the preparation of the agenda and minute taking of the various committees.