The Governing Body is a corporate body which is collectively responsible and

has a collective view. Working in partnership with the Headteacher, who is

the Governing Body's principal professional adviser, the Governing Body has

a legal duty to "conduct the school with a view to promoting high standards of

educational achievement at the school." St Rose’s is a voluntary-aided school

and therefore the Governing Body is the employer of the staff at St Rose's

School; we share the responsibility for sustaining and developing the school

as a Catholic educating community. We undertake our roles on a voluntary,

unpaid basis.

The role of the School Governor is to:

? Support the school, but not uncritically

? Explain its policies to parents and the community, but not

blindly

? Watch its standards, but with care, humility and an open

mind

? Help settle its disputes fairly and conscientiously

? Oversee its policies and its use of the resources, but not in

tiresome detail

But you should do these things as a Governing Body, not as an

individual governor, and in all such matters you should act with

knowledge and understanding of the school.

[From A Working Partnership by Joan Sallis, Governor and a

regular contributor to the TES.]

The Governing Body has three statutory roles which require us to be

Strategic, a Critical Friend and Accountable.

Strategic includes 'Vision' - setting the short and long-term aims of the

school - and ensuring the standards of teaching and

learning are as high as possible. We also appoint the Head,

Deputy Head and other staff to achieve the agreed targets

and priorities.

Critical Friend means being prepared to ask challenging questions in a

supportive way to secure improvement. It also involves

checking that actions are being, or have been, taken and

measuring the effect of the actions on the school's

performance.

Accountable requires us to ensure that all statutory obligations are met,

report to parents and others on the work of the school and

pupils' achievements, and provide information to Ofsted, the

LEA and the Diocese.

We meet formally as a Governing Body at least once a term and serve on

committees which focus on our various responsibilities. We also carry

individual roles as Link Governors (focused on specific areas of the

curriculum) and nominated Governors for other areas needing

monitoring/development.

Finally, we are a catholic community. The school was founded by, and is part

of, the Catholic Church and the Foundation Governors, appointed in the name

of the Archbishop, form the majority of the Governing Body and have an

additional legal duty to preserve and develop the Catholic character of the

school. The school is to be conducted as a Catholic School in accordance

with Canon Law and the teachings of the Catholic Church, and in accordance

with the Trust Deed of the Archdiocese of Westminster.

At all times, the school is to serve as a witness to the Catholic faith in Our

Lord Jesus Christ