Governors

At BESA, our governance is entrusted to a dedicated board of volunteers known as the Board of Governors. This group plays a crucial role in overseeing the school's operations, ensuring that we maintain high standards in key areas such as finance, staffing, student discipline, admissions and exclusions, the development and maintenance of our facilities, and the overall curriculum.

Governors work with the headteacher and senior leadership team to drive the strategic development of the school and raise standards of achievement. Each individual governor is a member of a governing board and all decisions are the joint responsibility of that board.

As a governor, you will attend meetings, review the associated paperwork to prepare questions and visit the school. You will also be expected to attend training and may be assigned a special responsibility, such as Development and Training, Safeguarding or Health and Safety.

Duties also include setting the school’s vision, aims and objectives, approving the school budget and appointing the headteacher.

Governors are there to provide oversight and accountability - they don’t get involved in the day-to-day management of the school.  They also don’t get involved in what and how children learn and leave school leaders to decide on how to spend the schools’ budget. Governors are not involved in deciding which pupils will attend the school.

The powers and legal rights of governing bodies are collective. Governors do not have power as individuals. 

At all times governors should maintain absolute confidentiality about all sensitive/confidential information received in the course of governors’ responsibilities to the school, and to accord with the conflicts of interest policy and act in the best interest of the school, beneficiaries and future beneficiaries.

The Board of Governors functions primarily as a policy-making and strategic planning entity, with each member assuming supervisory responsibilities in specific areas of the school. Currently, our governors oversee vital aspects including finance, Health and Safety, and Environment (HSE), Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND), pupil progress, and safeguarding. Their diverse expertise ensures that we provide a well-rounded educational experience while adhering to best practices.

The full Board convenes every half term throughout the academic year to discuss ongoing initiatives, review policies, and address any emerging challenges. In addition to the full Board meetings, sub-committees focusing on staffing, academics, premises and finance also meet regularly to delve deeper into specific issues and provide detailed reports to the Board.

You can find out more about the role and responsibilities of governors by clicking on this LINK, which will direct you to the AGBIS website.

Meet our Governors here