What do we do?

The Governing Body acts as a group. We have a range of duties and powers and a general responsibility for the conduct of the school.

We decide:

• The aims and policies of the school;
• How the standards of education can be improved;
• How the school should be run in general terms;
• How to spend the school budget.

We:

• Work with the Headteacher and staff to draw up the School Development Plan;
• Make sure that the National Curriculum and Religious Education are being taught and report on the National Curriculum assessments and examination results;
• Select the Headteacher and Deputy Headteacher;
• Make sure proper procedures are in place for appointing, promoting, supporting and disciplining staff;
• Oversee the way the school is managed, including matters relating to buildings.

We are a Voluntary Aided School, which means we have more autonomy in some areas of policy than a board of governors of other types of schools. We differ in that we are responsible for:

• The Admission Policy of the school;
• The buildings and their upkeep;
• Setting the Religious Education and Collective Worship Policy

and

• We are the employers of the staff in the school.

We are a corporate body, so individual governors are generally protected from personal liability, provided that we act honestly, reasonably and in good faith.  We have a Constitution which is written up in a legal document called the Instrument of Government. This sets out the number of members in each category of governor and confirms that the school has a Christian foundation.

On 18 March 2016 the School Governance Constitution Regulations 2012 was amended so that all serving governors in maintained schools will be required to have an enhanced criminal records certificate (ECRC). This means that, by 1 September 2016, all serving governors must have an enhanced CRC and, from April 1 2016, governing bodies must have applied for an ECRC within 21 days of the election or appointment of a new governor.

We can confirm that all governors at Blackburn The Redeemer with St Stephen's C.E. Schools have had this completed.

Types of Governors

We have twenty (20) members on our Governing Body.

They have a special responsibility for ensuring that the character of the school as a Church of England Voluntary Aided School is preserved and developed.

• The Vicars are Ex Officio Foundation Governors (2), by virtue of being an incumbent of the Parish.
• DBE Foundation Governors (9): Elected by the Diocesan Board of Education.
• LA Governor (1): Appointed by the Local Authority.
• Parent Governors (2): Elected by the Parents.
• Headteacher Governor (1): Automatically an Ex Officio governor.
• Staff Teaching Governor (1): Elected by the staff.
• Co-opted Governors (4): Elected by the Board of Governors