St John’s School Governors
The nineteen Governors of St John’s come from a variety of backgrounds – some are appointed by the Church, some by the Council, and some are elected by the staff and parents - all are equal. Our duty is to the School and to ensure that the School is doing its job properly; we are also responsible to the Local Authority for the public money allocated to run the School.
We meet at least twice a term, when the Headteacher presents a detailed report of all the significant events that have taken place since the last meeting. This gives us a chance to have informed discussions and ask questions about how the School is running, and whether any changes are needed or resources allocated. We also have to take into account the initiatives required by the Department for Education, Reading Borough Council and the Diocese of Oxford. It is important to note that we do not decide what is taught, or how it is to be taught: teaching is a professional responsibility which must left to the Headteacher and her staff, aided and advised by educational experts. Our role is to decide on priorities within the School, and to allocate resources to ensure that the staff can do their jobs effectively.
We are responsible for the way in which the School’s budget is allocated – obviously, the majority is spent on teachers and other staff, who are all our employees, but we have to budget for educational supplies, buildings maintenance, ICT equipment, fuel, etc.
As well as our full Governor’s meetings, we also have special sub-committees to deal in more detail with specific aspects of the School’s activities – such as Finance, Buildings, Policies and Admissions.
Whenever possible we ask one of the teachers to come and talk to us at our meetings, so that we can learn more about their particular areas of expertise. We also try to visit the School whenever we can – it’s a much more interesting place in the daytime, when it is full of children working, playing and learning, than it is on the nights when it is empty and we have a heavy agenda to deal with. If you would like to know more about our work, please get in touch.
