Governors

Welcome to the Governors’ section of the Ridgeway Academy website which I hope you will find interesting and informative.

This section gives a broad outline of the role of the Governors, how we go about fulfilling our responsibilities and who we are.

Liz Tillett – Chair of Governors  

School governors have a varied and important role, helping the school run effectively.

They have 3 core functions:

• Planning the strategic direction of the school
• Overseeing financial performance of the school and ensuring money is well spent
• Holding the headteacher or school leadership to account

The governor role is strategic rather than operational. Governors don’t get involved with the day to day running of a school, instead supporting and challenging the school’s leadership team to drive school improvement.

Governors usually attend around 6-10 meetings a year and will also come into school regularly during the school day. On average governors say they spend about 7 hours per month on governor work and their term of office is for 4 years.

 
Local Governing Board Organisation

Our Local Governing Board meets twice a term.  At each meeting we receive reports from the head, senior leadership team and other leaders. Some items are discussed at most meetings e.g. Safeguarding, Attendance and SEND. Other items are discussed at specific points in the year e.g. exam results, plan for school improvement and budget.

In addition each governor is linked to a specific area of the school e.g. child protection, behaviour, wellbeing and SEND. In this role governors come into school regularly to meet with staff and students.

Queries about the management of Ridgeway Academy and any individual child should be directed in the first instance to the school through the prescribed channels as set out in the Communications policy.

If you would like to know more about our Local Governing Body or have any queries for the governors please email: governors@ridgeway.aetrust.uk.