Dean Valley Governing Body 

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The Governors have overall and legal responsibility for the school including the school performance and for setting its policies. The Governors power and authority is given to them by the Local Authority in an "Instrument of Government" a copy of which can be seen here. The Governors are the ultimate school authority and a formal complaint or grievance will be escalated to the Governors in the event that the Headteacher is unable to resolve the situation.

The many aspects of the day-to-day management of the school are delegated to the Headteacher, although Governors involve themselves as much as possible.

Under the regulations of the Education Act 2005, the Governors are required to publish an annual School Profile which documents their Governorship of the school over the previous twelve months. This document is published on line in the GovDirect web site at http://schoolsfinder.direct.gov.uk/8952332/school-profile/. Anyone without access to the internet can see a copy at school.

The Governors work through the committees covering Curriculum, Personnel, Finance, Premises, Health and Safety, and Marketing. The Governing Body as a whole meets at least once each term, they are currently meeting twice per term. Dates of meetings and links to the archive of minutes of part 1 of our formal full Governing Body meetings are near the end of this page.

Governors are welcome to visit the school regularly.  At our Autumn 2008 meeting we adopted a Governors' Visits to School Agreement, see it here, which provides guidelines on Governor visits.  At the same meeting we also agreed a Governors' Charter, see it here, which outlines the relationship between the Governors and the Headteacher.

The formal Roles and Responsibilities of the Governing Body can be seen here.

Governors can be contacted via the School Office. The Chair of Governors has a dedicated email address and can be contacted via  chair@deanvalley.cheshire.sch.uk

The Dean Valley Governing body consists of 12 governors, there are 5 types of governor:

• The Headteacher
• 2 x Staff Governors - Elected by the staff
• 4 x Parent Governors - Elected by the parents
• 2 x Local Authority Governors - Appointed by the Local Authority
• 3 x Community Governors - Elected by the other governors

The normal term of office for a school governor is 4 years.

The Governors

	Mr David Picken Community Governor, Chair Period of Office ends: 31/08/2010			Mrs K Mapson Community Governor, Vice Chair Period of Office ends: 05/07/2011
	Mr T Watson Parent Governor Period of Office ends:  20/09/2011			Mr B Loveday Community Governor Period of Office ends: 19/10/2013
	Mrs M Wakefield Local Education Authority Governor Period of Office ends: 19/06/2011			Vacancy Parent Governer Period of Office ends:
	Vacancy Local Education Authority Governor Period of Office ends:			Mrs A Gurney Parent Governor Period of Office ends: 20/09/2011
	Mrs Jane Scott Parent Governor Period of Office ends: 29/03/2013			Mrs J Thorpe Headteacher Period of Office:  Permanent
	Miss C Bracegirdle Staff Governor Period of Office ends: 19/11/2012			Mrs D Greaves Staff Governor Period of Office ends: 19/11/2012

Governor Committees

We undertake most of our work through 5 committees, terms of reference for each committee can be seen by following the link for each committee. The terms of reference for all committees, except Marketing, were reaffimed at the 2009 Autumn Full Governing Body Meeting. The committees and members for 2009/10 are:

FINANCE   (Terms of Reference)
Debbie Greaves
Jenny Thorpe (Chair)
Bernard Loveday
Vacancy
Myra Wakefield
Sally Garnett (non voting)

CURRICULUM    (Terms of Reference)
Jane Scott (Chair)
Jenny Thorpe
Claire Bracegirdle
Vacancy
Tim Watson
Myra Wakefield

PERSONNEL   (Terms of Reference)
Kath Mapson (Chair)
Jane Scott
Aileen Gurney
Jenny Thorpe
Vacancy
Debbie Greaves 

HEALTH & SAFETY/BUILDINGS & LETTINGS   (Terms of Reference)
Bernard Loveday (Chair)
Jenny Thorpe 
Myra Wakefield 
Richard Kilbride (non voting)

MARKETING  (Terms of Reference)
Vacancy 
Jenny Thorpe
Claire Bracegirdle
Debbie Greaves 
Vacancy

Governors with nominated special responsibilities

Special Educational Needs (SEN)    -   Tim Watson
Child Protection            - Kath Mapson
Looked after children    - Kath Mapson
Literacy              -           Aileen Gurney
Numeracy           -           Vacancy
Foundation Stage     -      Kath Mapson
NQT Coordinator    -      Jenny Thorpe
Headteacher's Performance Management       -     David Picken, Kath Mapson & Jane Scott 
Governor Training Liason              -           Aileen Gurney
Education Improvement Partnership (EIP) Liason       -      Myra Wakefield 

Thinking about becoming a school governor, here at Dean Valley or elsewhere? See our Information for Prospective Governors.

Full Governing Body Meetings

The governors normally meet as a full governing body twice each term.
- One meeting is the formal meeting which is formally minutes by an official clerk. We discharge our official and legal responsibilities at this meeting. It is conducted in two parts. Part 1 is a public meeting, any member of the public or press can attend. Part 2 is closed; the public and press are not allowed to attend. The majority of our business is conducted in Part 1.
- The other meeting is informal. The agenda is determined solely by the governors. The meeting is closed; the public and press are not allowed to attend. These meetings are normally concerned with detailed aspects of running the school that require formal governor approval that they do not wish to delegate to a committee.

Calendar of future meetings of the Full Governing Body

                              Formal            Informal
2010 Autumn         18/10/10         25/11/10
2011 Spring           03/02/11         21/03/11
2011 Summer        15/06/11         03/05/11
2011 Autumn         TBA                 TBA
2012 Spring           TBA                 TBA
2012 Summer        TBA                 TBA
Meetings are normally held at school, starting at 5:30 pm.

Archive of Minutes for Part 1 Minutes of the formal Full Governing Body

We are required by law to publish the minutes of Part 1 of Formal Full Governing Body Meetings.  Signed paper copies of the minutes are held in the school office and are available for scrutiny.   The linked documents below are the same as the signed copies except for their watermark and the lack of signature.

2006 Autumn Meeting Part 1 Minutes
2007 Spring Meeting Part 1 Minutes
2007 Summer Meeting Part 1 Minutes
2007 Autumn Meeting Part 1 Minutes
2008 Spring Meeting Part 1 Minutes
2008 Summer Meeting Part 1 Minutes
2008 Autumn Meeting Part 1 Minutes
2009 Spring Meeting Part 1 Minutes

Past Governors

Since January 2000 the following people have served our school as governors.   The current governors thank them for their expertise, experience and service which has helped make the school what it is today.

                                 Type of Governor
Ros Brown                       Parent
Heather Cann                  Local Authority
Cheryl Garner                  Staff
Sally Garnett                    Parent
Richard Gay                     Local Authority
Leslie Gibson                   Staff
Alex Greenwood             Staff
Paul Lowe                       Parent
Alison Massey                 Staff
Pauline McClusky             Parent
George Penny                  Local Authority
Jean Ransley                   Community
Helen Simpson                Staff
Shirley Sockett                Local Authority
Anne de Sousa                Parent
Mark Stanley                   Parent
Christine Stutchbury        Parent
Jane Vessey                    Parent

Page updated - 13/08/10

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