During the 2020/2021 academic year, Royd Nursery Infant School federated Deepcar St John’s.  This means that the two schools have a shared Executive Head Teacher and Governing Body, which operate in the interest of both schools, both jointly and individually.  This brings many benefits to each school on a management level and allows the Governors to work as a larger team.

Our Federation Governing Body has members varying from teachers, support staff, parents and members of the local community.  They work as a team with the Executive Head Teacher, Miss Jones, for the benefit of the pupils at both Royd Nursery Infant School and Deepcar St John’s. 

We are very lucky to have an exceptionally strong team at Deepcar Federation, with everyone playing their part, no matter how small.  This, coupled with a clear vision from the Executive Head Teacher and senior leadership teams, ensures the smooth and effective running of both schools.  This continues to create an environment which grows resourceful, creative, reflective, curious, collaborative and resilient learners.

All Governors are volunteers.  Representatives include: The Parish of St John’s Deepcar in the Diocese of Sheffield, the Local Authority, parents of pupils and teaching staff at the schools.  Governors are there to give the school a strategic direction and to act as a critical friend – helping to guide the Executive Head Teacher in the running of both schools.

Meetings take place at least once every term, but can be called as and when necessary.  Governors also have regular meetings with staff.  This is to find out how the school is progressing towards its targets and follow up on inspection reports.  As well as meetings, the Governors also attend school functions, undertake visits to classrooms and talk to the children – gaining pupil’s views, observing lessons and helping out with school visits.

The working of the governing body is managed through a series of committee meetings across the year.  These meetings consider aspects of: Finance, Personnel and Premises, Standards of Teaching and Learning, Well-Being and Safeguarding.  There are also named governors with a responsibility for Safeguarding, Head Teacher Appraisal and Health and Safety.  Many governors have a link role looking at specific areas of the schools or curriculum.  Governors also report to the full governing body.  Full details of the roles and responsibilities of the governors of Deepcar Primary Partnership can be found at the bottom of this page.

Governors regularly attend training sessions to help keep them up to date with changes in schools and education, whilst helping them to do their job effectively.

If you would like any further information, or you are interested in becoming a governor, then please contact our Chair of Governors via the following email address – chair@deepcarprimarypartnership.sheffield.sch.uk 

Roles & Governor Types

Chair of Governors

A chair of governors works with the headteacher to promote and maintain high standards of educational achievement, ensures that the governing body sets a clear vision, ethos and strategic direction for the school, with the governing body holds the headteacher to account for the educational performance of the school and its pupils, and for the performance management of staff and ensures oversight of the financial performance of the school and effective use of the schools’ resources

Vice Chair

The chair, with support from the vice chair, is responsible for ensuring the effective functioning of the board. Where the chair is absent from any meeting or there is at the time a vacancy in the office of the chair, the vice-chair is to act as chair for all purposes.

Co-opted Governors

Co-opted Governors are people invited to join a governing body by the other governors. They usually live or work in the community served by the school or they are people committed to good governance and the success of the school.

Staff Governors

Staff Governors are in a unique position on a governing body. By definition staff governors are involved in the day to day running of the school and yet are asked, as governors, to put this to one side and participate in the governing body’s work as ‘strategic managers. This is not always easy to do! However, the role of the staff governor offers an opportunity to make a real contribution to the strategic management of the school, providing an interesting and rewarding dimension to work.

Parent Governors

A Parent Governor is a representative and not a delegate of parents. Parent governors do not have to vote in a particular way because of pressure to do so by parents. Objectivity, however, is essential. Parent governors are elected by other parents and it is important to establish a rapport with the parental body that elected them, whilst continuing to maintain a strategic approach to school governance. Parent Governors are not there to promote the interests of their own children but all children in the setting.

Local Authority Governors

The local authority has a stake in the success of our schools and appoints governors who are able and willing to work as members of the full governing body to secure the best possible education for children at the school. LA governors to feed the local authority perspective into governing body discussions. Although the LA appoints governors as their representatives on the governing body, they must act in the best interests of the school and wider community and they cannot be mandated to take a particular stance on issues.

Foundation Governors

The role of a Foundation Governors is to ensure the guiding principles of the founding church are embedded within all aspects of school life and to understand the importance of the school’s foundation and ethos. It is also important for them to understand the purpose of the Statutory Inspection of Anglican and Methodist Schools (SIAMS) inspection and what it is looking at and for.

Copies of minutes of meetings can be obtained via our school office. If you feel that you need to contact one of our Governors, please do so via our school office or email chair@deepcarprimarypartnership.sheffield.sch.uk