Chair of Governors
Aldro’s head of Design and Technology is the Chair of Governors at Farncombe Infants, She joined in October 2011 as a parent Governor, and after a 4 year term of office transferred to being a co-opted governor. She has been a member of the resources committee for 5 years, overlapping with 6 years as a member of learning and curriculum which she chaired 2016-17. She took on the role of Chair in January 2018.
Aims
Coming from a secondary school teaching background, Emma's initial aim of becoming a governor was to improve her personal understanding of the early years and Key Stage 1 elements of education, as well as all the other aspects of school management that academic staff often have little hands on knowledge of. However, since joining the Aldro teaching staff the purpose of governing has taken on a new purpose. Now she is established into her new role teaching at preparatory level, it is hoped that her connection with both schools will enable the sharing of ideas, best practice, facilities and resources in order to benefit both establishments.
Background
Emma originally became a governor to maintain a connection with the education system whilst she took a 6 year career break from teaching to bring up her three small children. She was elected by the parent body to join the governing body as her eldest child transitioned from the school’s nursery into the reception class. Her youngest child is currently in his last year at the school.
Resources
Being a part-time teacher most of the governors and committee meetings, school visits and training courses are able to be scheduled into Emma’s non teaching days, or evenings. On the occasions that this cannot be achieved the Headmaster at Aldro is very supportive in allowing time away from Aldro to attend governor events.
Impact
The governors at Farncome review the impact they have made on the school on an annual basis and their impact statement can be found on the school website. The school is also inspected by OFSTED (graded “good’ July 2017, and SIAMS (graded “outstanding” July 2015). All governor actions are recorded in the minutes of all meetings.
Pupil Involvement
Farncombe Infants has recently increased its PAN (pupil admissions number) from 120 to 150 over a three year rolling programme. It is a popular and over subscribed school with 50 boys and girls in each of its three year groups (reception, Year 1 and Year 2). In the past six years three boys from Farncombe have gone on to attend Aldro. With this new link in place it is hoped that the partnership between the two schools can increase and some joint projects can be undertaken. This in turn will help to raise the profile of Aldro with more local families.
Frequency
Emma attends FGB or committee meetings at Farncombe on a monthly basis, as well as fortnightly meetings with the Headteacher in her capacity as Chair. There is also a school visit at least once a year to focus on a specific area, often relating to the schools development plan. In addition to this there is a more regular and informal daily contact with the school as a parent! Emma’s term of office will run until October 2019.