Chair of Governors Welcome

On behalf of the Governing Body, I would like to warmly welcome you and your child(ren) to our school.

The Governors at Turnfurlong Junior School (TJS) are responsible for ensuring high standards of achievement for all children by setting the school's vision, ethos and strategic direction in partnership with the Senior Leadership Team (SLT).   

In essence as the accountable body for the school, the Governing Body has three main roles:

• provide a strategic view of where the school is heading. This is done by reviewing and agreeing policies, targets and priorities and monitoring and reviewing aims and objectives.
• act as a critical friend to the school. The Governing Body works with the Head Teacher and SLT to create a clear understanding of the challenges faced in managing the school. The Governing Body should feel able to question and challenge and this is achieved through trust and mutual respect.
• hold the school to account for the educational standards it achieves and the quality of education it provides. The Governing Body uses its collective skills to benefit the children, by gathering views and asking questions to determine what is best for the school

The current Governors have a variety of skills and backgrounds that provide the school with a wide range of expertise and support. What unifies us is our strong commitment to the school's vision, values and ethos of “dream, believe, grow and achieve”.   The Governors are a mixture of parent Governors, school staff, co-opted Governors and local council representatives.  Parent Governors have a child in school and serve, as do other Governors, for up to four years.  We meet twice every term.

Governors visit the school throughout the year and most have a link to subjects areas such as Maths, Art etc or more specific areas such as Special Educational Needs, Finance, Equality, Pupil Premium and Safeguarding. This is an important opportunity to see the school in action and Governors enjoy the chance to meet staff and children and learn about what makes our school special. These visits also help to monitor and evaluate progress by collecting evidence of impact and outcomes of the various school daily routines and actions put in place by the school to aid school improvement.

The Governing Body is rightly proud of our school, in terms of their academic results which in some cases have again year on year continued to exceed most other local, county and national results. The Governing Body wants all the pupils at our school to have happy memories of their time with us and when they leave, to have become independent lifelong learners.

As Chair of Governors, I know that we are achieving the highest standards for all our children. It is also clearly evident that all the Governors, staff and children feel proud to be part of our school and this is represented in everything that they do. 

Joining the Governing Body of Turnfurlong Junior School

From time to time a vacancy arises for a Governor and as a new parent/carer we would be grateful if you would take the time to read this letter.

To be a Governor you do not need any specific skills or qualifications, the Governing Body will review its membership, identify if there is a skills gap and will endeavour to encourage people with those skills to consider becoming a Governor. Existing skills may be used but many new skills can also be gained. There is a full training program that you can be involved in if you so wish.

What makes a good school governor?

• You care about improving children’s educational attainment
• You want to contribute to the local community
• You have the skills and attributes in order to serve on the governing board effectively or have the enthusiasm and commitment to make a positive difference to the work of the school
• You want to work as part of a team and can value the contribution made by different people
• You accept you might need training
• You are willing to ask questions
• You are open to ideas and willing to learn

You may ask yourself what you will gain by being a governor?

There is the satisfaction of knowing that you have played a part in improving children’s education and supporting the school’s staff.  A chance to develop new skills and to practise existing ones, such as working as a team member, chairing meetings, speaking in groups, asking questions, making suggestions and appointing staff. This is a voluntary role.

If you are interested in becoming a Governor, then please contact either the Head, a member of staff or any of us (the Governors via office email) and leave your details so that they can be held on file until a vacancy arises. A chat can be arranged with you if you require further information about any aspect of a Governor’s role in the school.

I hope that you find this section informative and I very much look forward to meeting you in and around school.