I am delighted to welcome you to the Governor’s section of our website.
The West Tyne Church Schools is a federation of two schools – Henshaw Church of England Primary School and Greenhead Church of England Primary School - with a single governing body and Executive Headteacher.
We have recently appointed a new Executive Headteacher in Mr Mike Glenton and see this as the first step in a new and exciting path for the schools in the Federation.
At Greenhead and Henshaw Primary Schools, we are at the heart of our communities, and in this post-covid time, we again welcome parents and the wider community back into our wonderful schools. As governors of Church of England schools the principles of Christian values and community are at the heart of everything we do.
Most importantly, in our role as governors, we ensure that the children in our schools love coming to school, that the staff inspire a love of learning in them; support them to the best of their ability through their learning journey and teach them to believe in themselves and others, so that ultimately they have the resources to achieve great things.
As a governing body our role is to work closely with the Executive Headteacher, the staff and parents within the Federation to achieve this by carrying out the key Roles of:
- Ensuring clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction for the Federation;
- Holding executive leaders to account (and also support) for the educational performance of the schools in the Federation and its pupils, and the effective and efficient performance management of staff; and
- Overseeing the financial performance of the Federation, making sure its money is well spent.
We are not involved in the day-to-day operational running of the schools but are strategic custodians.
The governing body has a maximum of 12 governors appointed as follows:-
- 2 parent governors, 1 for each school, elected by the parents;
- 2 staff governors, 1 the Headteacher and 1 elected by the staff;
- 1 governor nominated by the Local Authority;
- 1 ex-officio governor, being the vicar of the local Churches;
- 2 foundation governors appointed from the local community by the Newcastle Diocesan Education Board; and
- 4 foundation governors, nominated from the local community by each of the two Parochial Church Councils.
There are sometimes vacancies on the Governing Body and so we always welcome enquiries from anyone who would be interested in becoming a governor. We need people with a broad range of skills and knowledge to form an effective governing body. All we ask is that governors share a passion to do the best for the children in our schools and a desire to be involved in the provision of that education. You do not need to have any previous experience in education or be a parent of a child in school.
Katy Rushworth,
Chair of Governors