Governors Rationale

The purpose of governance is to provide confident, strategic leadership and to create robust accountability, oversight and assurance for educational and financial performance. The Governing Body has three core functions:

• Ensuring clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction;
• Holding leaders to account for the educational performance of the organisation and its pupils, and the performance management of staff;
• Overseeing the financial performance of the organisation and making sure its money is well spent.

Crucially, Governors need to use and be familiar with objective data on the performance of pupils, teachers and finances so that they can ask the right questions and ensure resources are allocated to school priorities.

Our Governing Body has agreed that Part 1 of its meetings will be open to observers.
Observers are invited to be present at meetings of the Local Governing Body, provided that:

• They have made a request, in writing, to Tessa Jones, the Clerk to the Governing Body, to attend the “open” part of any meeting.
• The request to attend is sent no less than 14 days before the date of the meeting to tjones@stmartinsepsom.school.
• There is sufficient capacity/space to attend the meeting. Should space be available, the Clerk to the Governing Body will email an invitation to attend the meeting, and the agenda, 7 days before the meeting.
• Persons attending the meeting understand that they will be recorded in the minutes as “In attendance”.
• Persons attending meetings understand that they are doing so at the invitation of the Governing Body and, as observers only, they must agree to:
  • Not speak or in any other way interrupt the meeting.
  • Leave the meeting at the request of the Chair of Governors if any part is deemed, by the Governing Body, to be confidential.
  • Not record any part of the meeting electronically or in writing.

Failure to abide by these expectations may result in an individual being asked to withdraw from the meeting and potentially be refused an invitation to future meetings.

St Martin's is a member of Enlighten Learning Trust, Multi-Academy Trust. The Trust provides strategic direction and oversees the governance of all the schools within the trust. The Governing Body of St Martin's Schools exercises delegated influence and responsibilities over the performance of the school  as Local Governing Body and Committee of the Trustees. 

From 2023-2024, the Local Governing Body delivers additional oversight through Committees for Education and Wellbeing and Finance and Resources. 

Agreed Minutes from Part 1 of Previous Governing Body Meetings

Part 1 minutes of Local Governing Body meetings are posted to the website when approved by the Governing Body.