Governance at Herne Bay Junior School
Welcome from the Chair of Governors
Because of the extraordinary challenges of this year, Herne Bay Junior School’s achievements could well be overlooked. Ofsted, at the beginning of the year again confirmed that we are a good and continuously improving school and the Carnegie Centre for Excellence for Mental Health in Schools recognised the school’s achievements. Both national organisations highlight the fact that the school aims its priorities at ensuring that your children are encouraged and expected to reach their full educational and physical potential and have the resilience to progress into secondary education and beyond; and that this is achieved in a happy and safe environment.
As this year’s Chair of Governors, I am proud to lead a group of dedicated and incredibly talented people. This year we will focus on supporting the school mitigate the effects of the pandemic. We will work with staff and the Senior Leadership Team to ensure that your children benefit from a balanced and challenging curriculum in a happy and supportive environment. We do not underestimate the nature of the task, as we recover from the influence of Covid-19 but we are confident that the school has an effective recovery plan. In this respect the needs of your children will always be at the centre of our work.
The school, without doubt, plays an important role in the local community, as this year has highlighted, as we have kept the school community engaged during lockdown and remained open to ensure that essential services continued. We aspire to be a beacon of excellence and we are keen to engage with you and learn your views. If you too would like to volunteer to become a Governor, please let us know.
With kind regards
Chair of Governors
The Governors and their roles
Tell the Governors what your think
The Governors would love to know what you think of Herne Bay Junior School. Please take 2 minutes to complete this short survey. All responses are anonymous and will be used to make our school even better.
The Role of the Governing Body
While the day-to-day management of the school is the responsibility of the Head Teacher and the Leadership team, we work closely with them on a variety of strategic matters relating to policy, direction and performance.
Every school in the country has a Governing Body. This is a group of people representing the interests of parents, staff, the local authority and the wider community who volunteer their time to work with the school to:
- provide strategic direction for the school
- set policies and procedures
- set and manage the school budget
- recruit and appoint new staff
- share ideas for development and evaluate the school’s work
- set development targets and monitor progress
- deal with serious complaints
The Governing body’s role is to provide support and act as a ‘critical friend’ to the school and to the Headteacher in moving the school forward, ensuring its success. The Governing Body of a school is accountable for its performance, its finances and the safety and well-being of pupils and staff. All of this is done by governors on a voluntary basis. Governors bring a wide range of experience to the school, including business and finance, parenting experience, further and higher education and administrative expertise.
Above all that they bring energy, commitment, enthusiasm and ideas to share with senior staff in shaping the future of the school.
The roles and responsibilities of governing bodies are clear in law and there is a defined distinction between the responsibilities and powers of the Headteacher and those of the governors.
The Governing Body should take an overview of school development, supporting and challenging the Headteacher and senior staff. The Headteacher is also responsible for forward planning but has a paid responsibility for this and for running the school.
Copies of governing body minutes are available upon request. Please contact the school on Tel: (01227) 374608 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.