Welcome to our Governors’ section. 

Please find below details of how our Governing body is structured, including the names, categories, responsibilities and terms of appointment for each Governor.

The role of the Governing Body

School governors are people who want to make a positive contribution to children’s education. Governors are one of the largest volunteer forces in the country and have an important part to play in raising school standards. Every state school in England has a Governing Body. Time and again Ofsted (the national inspection body for schools) has noted that the most effective schools demonstrate effective leadership and management – including by the governing body.

Governors provide strategic leadership and accountability in schools. The key functions of the Governing Body are to:

• set the aims and objectives for the school;
• set the policies for achieving those aims and objectives;
• set the targets for achieving those aims and objectives;
• monitor and evaluate the progress the school is making towards achievement of its aims and objectives; and
• be a source of challenge and support to the Headteacher (a ‘critical friend’).

Governors appoint the Headteacher and are involved in the appointment of other senior staff. Governors also set the school’s budget, working closely with the Headteacher to make the tough decisions about balancing resources. The Headteacher is responsible for the internal organisation, management and control of the school and the implementation of the strategic framework established by the Governing Body.

For more information about the role of school governors, see the DFE website related to the roles and competencies of a school governors.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/governance-handbook

https://get-information-schools.service.gov.uk/

Introduction to our Governing Body

The Robinsfield George Eliot Federation governors include volunteers from the local community with useful skills and experience to offer, elected parent governors, the Executive Headteacher and a member of school staff, elected by their colleagues. Our shared commitment is to ensuring that our school makes best possible use of all the resources available to us (both human and financial) for the benefit of the children whose education is entrusted to us, enabling every child to learn and make progress, to the fullest extent possible, each academic year.

We carry out our responsibilities by examining data about children’s progress and achievement, always seeking to ensure that the progress made by children in our school compares favourably with the progress being made by children of the same age at primary schools in London and across the country. In doing so, we also look at particular groups of children, to ensure that both boys and girls, children of all ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds, and children with special educational needs are making good progress. We also work to ensure that the school provides a safe, welcoming, supportive and happy environment in which children enjoy learning.

The Governing Body is responsible, with the Executive Headteacher, for the School Development Plan in which the school sets out its targets for continuous improvement and development, and how those targets will be met. We are also responsible for the school’s various policies.

It is also part of our role to ensure that the school actively seeks, and takes account of, the views of pupils, parents and the local community.

The Governing Body is responsible for holding the Executive Headteacher to account, and also for ensuring that the school as a whole is accountable to parents and the local community.

To that end, we seek to be transparent in everything we do (subject, of course, to respecting confidentiality).

You can contact any member of the Governing Body via the school office or by emailing the Clerk to the Governing Body: chughes@rfgefed.co.uk

We very much welcome parents’ comments and suggestions (though please bear in mind that the Governing Body’s role is a strategic one, and we cannot deal with issues regarding individual children except in certain very specific circumstances).

Governing Body 2024/25

Cory Mclauchlan – Acting Executive Head

Nicola Bustin - Chair of Governors

Efe Acaroglu - Co-opted Governor

Danielle Fobel - Co-opted Governor

Helen Jeffries - Co-opted Governor - Safeguarding Link Governor

John Flood - Co-opted Governor

Lucia Marriott - Staff Governor

Laura Hayes - Interim Head of School - Associate Governor
Pinal Sheth - Interim Head of School - Associate Governor

Emily Downes - Parent Governor, George Eliot

Muntasir Sattar- Parent Governor, Robinsfield

Catherine Hughes – Clerk to the Governing Body

Cathi is responsible for advising on legal aspects of the governing body’s role, arranging and preparing documents for meetings, maintaining records and attending and writing minutes of meetings.

Email: chughes@rfgefed.co.uk

Robinsfield George Eliot Federation - Governing Body 2023/24

Declaration of business/pecuniary interest 2023/24 and Governor attendance 2023/24