Governance

The main task for governing bodies is to promote high standards of educational achievement. The three key roles that governors fulfil in order to achieve that goal are defined by the Department for Education as:
•  to contribute to strategic planning
•  to be a critical friend to the school (i.e to support and challenge the school)
•  to ensure accountability.

Please click here for the latest Governors Handbook published by the DfE.

To read our code of conduct for governors please click here.

Meetings
Governors are required to attend meetings. There must be at least three full governing body meetings per year and failure to attend for any six-month period could result in disqualification.

Working with the governing body
As a governor, you must work as members of the governing body for the best interests of the school. This involves asking questions on a range of matters, perhaps when you are visiting the school or during a meeting. It also means contributing your opinions to the discussions of the governing body and accepting the majority view, which may not always reflect your own opinion.

School activities
You must show an interest in school activities. This means the everyday work of the school as well as special events. Find out as much as you can about Grove school. There really is no better way of finding out about your school than by visiting during working hours; as a new governor you will be invited to spend a day in school. Governors are expected to make an advance arrangement with the headteacher if they are intending to visit.

If you are interested in becoming a School Governor at Grove or in another Birmingham school please click here for more information.

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Governors statement 

The vision of Grove School is Enjoy, Learn and Achieve. The Governing Body of Grove School support the school in achieving this vision.

The core functions of our school’s Governing Body are:
• Ensuring clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction;
• Holding the headteacher to account for the educational performance of the school and its pupils;
• Overseeing the financial performance of the school and making sure its money is well spent.

We are also committed to working with senior leaders to ensure the voices of the stakeholders (i.e. parents, pupils, staff and the local community) are heard.
The day-to-day management of the school remains the responsibility of the Headteacher and Senior Leadership team.

The Structure of our Governing Body.
Our governing body consists of 12 members, including the Head Teacher, 1 Staff Governor, 2 parent Governors, 1 Local authority Governor and 7 Co-opted Governors.

The parent and staff Governors are elected by parents and the staff community whereas the other Governors are appointed by the Governing Body.

All Governors voluntarily give their time and receive regular training to fulfil their role appropriately. Governors are appointed to reflect the relevant skills and expertise needed to support the school in its development within its statutory and legal expectations.

Our Governing Board has two permanent committees which are:
• Performance, Standards and Safeguarding
• Finance, Staffing and Premises 

Governors can also be asked to join temporary committees/panels as required, such as recruiting senior positions, dealing with complaints and pupil exclusions.
The names of the Governors, their meeting attendance record, their declaration of interests and the committees they are appointed to can be found on the school website.

The work we do as Governors.
Our work as Governors of Grove School fulfils our core functions and enables our school to achieve our vision and implement our values.
Both the full governing body and the two committees meet each term.

As Governors, we are responsible for: the school premises; admissions; staffing and performance management; health and safety; curriculum; children with SEND; safeguarding and pupil welfare; equality; data protection; policies; complaints; exclusions; and finance.

We have strategic oversight of these areas, but the day-to-day running of the school is carried out by the Headteacher. To fulfil our strategic duties, we hold leaders to account through our scrutiny and questioning of the reports provided at full Governing Body and committee meetings.

All our Governors are linked to a specific area of the school curriculum or school life, and visits to the school give us a deeper understanding of the work of the school. This year we have provided written reports of our visits to the school. These can be found by clicking the links below.

In our meetings we approve and review policies and major expenditure. We are involved in the recruitment of senior staff. We manage the performance of the Headteacher. We also hold the Headteacher and all leaders to account to ensure all pupils achieve their absolute best in all subjects.

We do this by our scrutiny and questioning of all reports from senior leaders, curriculum leaders, the site management team and the finance team.

The Governing Body reviewed the views of the stakeholders through the questionnaires completed by pupils, parents and staff, all of which have been extremely positive. 99% of parents surveyed said: ‘My child is happy at Grove School’ and 100% of parents surveyed said: ‘My child feels safe at Grove School’.

Some key achievements September 2022- July 2023 
• The successful recruitment of a new Head Teacher and Senior Leadership Team following the retirement of Ms Matty, the previous headteacher, who had been at Grove School for 25 years.
• The quality of the curriculum for our pupils and the enhancements that enrich the curriculum.
• The increased range of the after-school clubs.
• Successful completion of the upgrading to the central heating system in the lower school building.
• Completion of the amphitheatre area in the upper school playground.
• Refurbishment of the nursery playground.
•  Breakfast Club for all our pupils.
• The increased range of the after-school clubs.
• Celebrating 120 years of Grove School with the staff, parents and pupils.

Future Plans
• To support leaders to improve pupil attendance.
• To support leaders to raise attainment in writing at the end of Key Stage 1 and mathematics at the end of Key Stage One and Two.
• The further development of the curriculum.
• Refurbishment of the nursery toilets.
• The continuation and further development of the after-school clubs.

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Attendance Record and Recruitment of Governors
Governing Body meetings are well attended which enables the business of the Governing body to run smoothly and effectively.

How you can contact us
We are always happy to hear from our parents and staff members and if you wish to get in touch with us then please contact the Chair of Governors, Mr Kamran Arshad, via the school office.
If any parent or local community person is interested in joining the Governing Body or would like more information about the Governing Body, please do not hesitate to contact us via the school office.

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For the 2022/23 Pecuniary Register and governor attendance at meetings,  please click here.

 

Click the following links to read the link governor reports:

Link governor report - reading and phonics

Link governor report - personal development plan

Link governor report - safeguarding

Link governor report - health and safety

 

Our Governing Body

 

Co-Opted Governors

Mr Kamran Arshad- Chair of Governors

(Finance, Staffing, Pay & Premises)

Mrs Ingrid Hines - Vice Chair of Governors

(Finance, Staffing, Pay & Premises Committee)

Ms Ruth Tonkinson

(Finance, Staffing, Pay & Premises Committee)

(Performance, Standards and Safeguarding Committee)

Miss Nikita Sowan

(Finance, Staffing, Pay & Premises Committee)

(Performance, Standards, and Safeguarding Committee)

Mr Matthew Morrison

(Finance, Staffing, Pay & Premises)

 

LA Representative

Mr Raj Kumar

(Performance, Standards and Safeguarding Committee)

Mr Adrian Axinte

(Performance, Standards and Safeguarding Committee)

 

Staff Governor

Mr Daniel Parton

(Performance, Standards and Safeguarding Committee)

 

Parent Governor

Mrs Paramjit Kaur Badhan

(Performance, Standards and Safeguarding Committee)

Mrs Noreen Akhtar

(Performance, Standards and Safeguarding Committee)

 

Head Teacher

Ms J Baker