Welcome, especially to parents

I became a Governor at Falconhurst in October 2013, and I became the Chair of the Governing Body in September 2014. I retired from a senior post at The Open University at the end of 2012, but I felt that I could still make a contribution to education by being a school governor.

I lead a Governing Body made up of eleven governors who all give their time freely to help make Falconhurst the very best school that it can be. We are a mix of parents, teachers and others who live in the area around the school, and beyond. We are all proud to be working together with the Headteacher and staff to give all our children the opportunities they need to learn and succeed.

Our job is not the day-to-day running of the school – that’s for the Headteacher and the staff. We have three main tasks:

The vision and direction of the school. Our role is to make sure that the school knows what kind of school it wants to be, how it wants to develop in future, and how it is going to reach its long term goals.
Holding the Headteacher to account. Our job is to challenge and support the Headteacher to ensure that our children’s education and achievement is the best that it can be, and that our staff perform at the highest level possible.
Making sure the money is well spent. Each year, Falconhurst spends about £1.8 million, the great majority of which goes on staff. Our role is to make sure that every pound is well spent, and that we get value for money.

Everything we do is guided by the law: for example, we have employment responsibilities for the staff at Falconhurst, and we have special responsibilities to make sure that all the children are safe at school. These are big tasks for volunteers, but we are very committed to our role, and we make good use of the training programme provided for governors by Milton Keynes Council.

The Governing Body meets at least three times a year, but we do most of our work between meetings: visiting the school, planning and attending meetings of the two committees we have set up to do the detailed work, working day to day with the Headteacher and Senior Leadership Team, developing policies, and so on.

If you think that there is an issue that we should be thinking about – or you would like to know more about how the governors work, you can contact me via the School Office by leaving a written note, or emailing me via office@falconhurstschool.co.uk. I attend parents’ evening when I can, so perhaps we will meet there.

Of course, what we can do as governors is tiny by comparison with what you do for your children as parents and carers. Reading every day with your child, talking to them about what happened at school, encouraging them to work hard as well as enjoy school – these are the things that really make a difference.

Will Swann
Chair of Governors