School Governance
Windy Nook Governing Body Structure
Full Governing Body – We meet as a full governing body twice a term.
Committees
Pupils and Curriculum Committee – meets at least once a term, but often more.
Resources Committee – meets at least once a term, but often more.
Personnel Committee, Appeals
Committee & Pupil Discipline Committee – meets if required.
Head Teacher Performance
Management – meets at the start of the year to set targets for the Head teacher and at the end of the year to review targets.
Appeals Committee – meets if required.
Other Governor roles
GAP – Governor attendance Panel meets at least once a term with parents to discuss particular attendance concerns
GLAM – Governor Leadership and Management meets once a term to keep the Chair and Vice Chair informed of any school developments
2024/2025
- Membership and vacancies As stated in the DfE’s “Maintained schools governance guide”, the core functions of the governing body are as set out in (regulation 6) and include, but are not limited to ensuring:
- that the vision, ethos and strategic direction of the school are clearly defined
- that the headteacher performs their responsibilities for the educational performance of the school
- the sound, proper and effective use of the school’s financial resources
Governors are appointed/elected as follows:
- Co-opted – appointed by the governing body
- Foundation – appointed by the Diocese (or the PCC if appropriate – there may also be provision in the Instrument of Government for the parish priest to be ex-officio)
- Headteacher – ex-officio
- Local Authority – appointed by the governing body, following approval of the ‘nomination’ by the LA
- Parent/Staff – elected by parents/staff respectively
Governing bodies must have at least seven governors, including the Headteacher; one and only one Local Authority governor; one and only one Staff governor; at least two Parent governors; and for Voluntary Aided schools, there must be exactly two more Foundation governors than all other categories c
The total number of Co-opted governors who are also eligible to be elected as Staff governors, when counted with the Staff governor and the Headteacher, must not exceed one third of the total membership of the governing body.
The term of office for any governor shall be four years (unless otherwise stated in the Instrument of Government), save that this time limit shall not apply to any post which is held ex officio. Associate Members can be appointed for between one and four years. Parent governors may serve out their term of office when their child leaves the school, but Staff governors must resign when they leave the school.
Associate Members and governors who are members of staff cannot be Chair or Vice-Chair. Associate Members also do not count towards a quorum and do not have voting rights for governing body meetings (but can be appointed with voting rights on committees).
The governing body must hold at least three meetings in every school year, and the quorum for a meeting of the governing body and for any vote on any matter at such a meeting, is one half (rounded up to a whole number) of the membership of the governing body, i.e. the number of governors in post at the date of the meeting.
Every question to be decided at a meeting of the governing body is to be determined by a majority of the votes of the governors present and voting on the question, and where there is an equal division of votes the Chair, or as the case may be, the person who is acting as Chair for the purposes of the meeting (provided that such person is a governor), will have a second or casting vote (the governing body may approve alternative arrangements for governors to participate or vote at meetings of the governing body including but not limited to by telephone or video conference).
24/25 Register of Interests
24/25 Terms of Reference for committees
2023/2024
- Membership and vacancies As stated in the DfE’s “Maintained schools governance guide”, the core functions of the governing body are as set out in (regulation 6) and include, but are not limited to ensuring:
- that the vision, ethos and strategic direction of the school are clearly defined
- that the headteacher performs their responsibilities for the educational performance of the school
- the sound, proper and effective use of the school’s financial resources
Governors are appointed/elected as follows:
- Co-opted – appointed by the governing body
- Foundation – appointed by the Diocese (or the PCC if appropriate – there may also be provision in the Instrument of Government for the parish priest to be ex-officio)
- Headteacher – ex-officio
- Local Authority – appointed by the governing body, following approval of the ‘nomination’ by the LA
- Parent/Staff – elected by parents/staff respectively
Governing bodies must have at least seven governors, including the Headteacher; one and only one Local Authority governor; one and only one Staff governor; at least two Parent governors; and for Voluntary Aided schools, there must be exactly two more Foundation governors than all other categories c
The total number of Co-opted governors who are also eligible to be elected as Staff governors, when counted with the Staff governor and the Headteacher, must not exceed one third of the total membership of the governing body.
The term of office for any governor shall be four years (unless otherwise stated in the Instrument of Government), save that this time limit shall not apply to any post which is held ex officio. Associate Members can be appointed for between one and four years. Parent governors may serve out their term of office when their child leaves the school, but Staff governors must resign when they leave the school.
Associate Members and governors who are members of staff cannot be Chair or Vice-Chair. Associate Members also do not count towards a quorum and do not have voting rights for governing body meetings (but can be appointed with voting rights on committees).
The governing body must hold at least three meetings in every school year, and the quorum for a meeting of the governing body and for any vote on any matter at such a meeting, is one half (rounded up to a whole number) of the membership of the governing body, i.e. the number of governors in post at the date of the meeting.
Every question to be decided at a meeting of the governing body is to be determined by a majority of the votes of the governors present and voting on the question, and where there is an equal division of votes the Chair, or as the case may be, the person who is acting as Chair for the purposes of the meeting (provided that such person is a governor), will have a second or casting vote (the governing body may approve alternative arrangements for governors to participate or vote at meetings of the governing body including but not limited to by telephone or video conference).
Governing body meeting attendance –
- Committee membership
- Committee meeting attendance
- Register of Interests
- Terms of Reference for committees
Financial Information
Currently at Windy Nook Primary School there are no employees who have a gross annual salary of £100,000 or more in increments of £10,000.
School Governor Blog
Windy Nook Elects School Council
Children across Key Stage 2 have been preparing speeches in their bid to represent their classmates on the School Council. Some fantastic and confident pitches were made and all children should be proud of the courage and clarity they showed. In the end, each class...
Vacancy for a Parent Governor
Wednesday 13th September 2023 Dear Parent/Carer, We have a vacancy for a parent governor on the Governing Body of Windy Nook Primary School. The successful candidate will be expected to attend governors meetings each term (usually 2). These are held in the evening,...
Closing date for parent governors is 31st January 2022
It is not too late if you are wanting to be a part of our school governing body. Please click on the links below for further information or should you require a paper version then just ask at reception: Parent Governor Application Form 2022doc WINDY PARENT...
Parent Governor Vacancy
Tuesday 11th January 2022 Dear Parent/Carer, We have a vacancy for a parent governor on the Governing Body of Windy Nook Primary School. The successful candidate will be expected to attend governors’ meetings each term (usually 2). These are held in the evening,...
Governor update
On behalf of the governing body I would like to say a huge thank you to all of our wonderful staff, parents and carers at the end of what has been both a challenging and unsettling week for all. The staff have worked relentlessly to ensure parents and carers have...
Monitoring of History and Geography
One of the best bits of being a school governor is having the opportunity to speak to the children about their experiences of learning at Windy Nook. I recently visited school to monitor how History and Geography are delivered and this began with a discussion with...
More Information
Julie Wiper
Hi, I am Julie Wiper, current chair of governors at Windy Nook. I was elected as a parent governor in October 2013 and in September 2016 took on the role of chair following election by the governing body. I have two children at Windy Nook and live locally so have a personal interest in the school. I am committed to supporting the school and work of the head teacher and management team to ensure that together we are providing the best possible education for the children at Windy Nook.
I chair the pupils and curriculum committee and I am also part of the resources committee and the designated governor for health and safety. I am regularly in school for governor monitoring. I particularly enjoy this part of the governance role as it involves talking to the children and teachers about a whole host of areas that collectively form objectives on our Windy Nook School Development Plan. As governors we are required to scrutinise, challenge and really understand the desired outcomes and thinking behind the Schools development Plan. The children at Windy Nook are always a joy to chat to and are very eloquent. They are a true representation of what this school is really all about.
My professional background is in the NHS, I qualified in 1996 as a podiatrist, in 2008 I moved into a more specialised role within Diabetes, managing complications of the lower limb and foot. The skills I bring to the governing body include leadership and management experience, organisational skills, risk assessment, project management and knowledge of safeguarding.
Being a governor is a very rewarding job, seeing and understanding what goes on behind the scenes to enable our school to run effectively and be accountable is quite remarkable. Our current team of governors are extremely dedicated and provide a vast skill mix to facilitate effective challenge, drive change and continually improve Windy Nook School.
Lynn Coulson
I have been a community governor since February 2016. As a member of St Alban’s church for most of my life I am keen to continue the links between church and school. Windy Nook’s Christmas Carol service is one of the best attended events in the church year and we also enjoy welcoming pupils and parents to the Easter service. This year has seen the development of a wildflower garden around the perimeter of the churchyard and the school has been actively involved in the planting. We can’t wait for the first daffodils and then wild flowers this Spring.
I retired in Summer 2015 after teaching for over 20 years. I started my career in primary education (including two terms at Windy Nook) before moving into Special Educational Needs which saw me spend most of my career in an 11 – 16 secondary school in Consett. I specialised in assessing and teaching students with dyslexia which also involved training other staff.
Later in my career I became a Head of Year, responsible for pastoral care of a year group as well as monitoring their learning.
I am keen to continue my involvement in education and see the early years of a child’s learning journey as vital to their future achievement.
Windy Nook is a vibrant, successful school with a committed and caring staff and I am privileged to be a governor.
Stuart Davidson
I’m a recently appointed co-opted Governor who lives local to the school with my wife and two young sons. I am passionate about the life chances of the young people in our area and very much look forward to playing an active part in the life of such a vibrant and happy school. I work with computers and software in education and hope to be able to use that experience to help our school make best use of new technologies and software and also to assist in getting the very best value from suppliers and systems through my membership of the resources committee.
John McGagh
I became a co – opted governor in September 2016. I am married with two primary aged daughters. Professionally, I worked for many years in arts development: with New Writing North, Live Theatre, Durham Literature Festival and then developing creative projects in schools across the North East with the Creative Partnerships programme (Arts Council England).
Recently I have been involved in developing website content and I am treasurer for the PTA at Rowlands Gill Primary School. In my role as school governor, I would like to make a difference to the learning experiences and ultimately life chances of children in Gateshead.
Rachel Mullen
My name is Rachel Mullen, I am a local authority governor and have sat on the governing body since December 2015, I contribute to the Pupils and Curriculum committee. I have a background of being a union representative within my place of work, and also sit on the executive council of that union which I believe has given me the confidence to ask questions and raise queries when necessary. Since I have sat on the governing body I have also been elected as a Councillor for Windy Nook and Whitehills, the ward in which the school is placed.
Kevin Hawdon
I became a school governor back in April 2013. As a full time classroom teacher I thought that this would give me a different perspective of how the school works. Both of my daughters attended this school; therefore I have some understanding of what it is like being a parent at Windy Nook as well. Currently I am working in year 6 and leading maths throughout the school, as well as being UKS2 Phase Leader and Assistant Headteacher. In addition to this, I also oversee the administration aspect of the school website.
Janeisha Sadler
I have been a Parent Governor since November 2018 and recently been re-appointed as Co-opted Governor in November 2022. I am a member of the Resources Committee, and I am link Governor for Health and Wellbeing.
My two sons attend this school and I decided to become a Governor to really throw myself into school life and drive forward building an environment that allows every child to grow and have the school journey they deserve. I have lived experience of having a child with additional needs and a EHCP plan at this school and I also take an active role in the schools PTFA raising funds for additional equipment and experiences for the children
Andrea Preece
I have been teaching for nearly 30 years and have taught at Windy Nook for over 21 years. I am now the school’s SENCo and KS1 Phase Leader. I am also a safeguarding lead and teacher for Looked After Children. Becoming a school governor has given me a fresh perspective on how our school runs and I feel strongly that all children should be excited about learning so that they can achieve their full potential.
Julie Graham
I became a school governor in February 2022 and I have one child presently at the school and one who has just left last year, so I have a personal interest in the quality of the education at Windy Nook. I also have two older children who are now adults so I feel that I can appreciate some of the issues that parents come across and as a parent governor I can be a voice for you in school, supporting the teachers to provide an excellent education for your children. I am currently a member of the Curriculum committee and a link governor for this area. I have lived and worked locally for the last 30 years in the Civil Service and bring that wide experience with me to this role.
