As Chair of Governors at Woking High School, I would like to extend a warm welcome to those of you visiting our website.
Our students are our priority and we want to ensure that we continue to provide the best possible education and opportunities for them to acquire the life skills needed to thrive as valued members of our community.
As governors, our role is to set the strategic direction for the school and to see that the school achieves the highest possible standards in all areas. Our focus is always about improving outcomes for students, whether this is around academic results, excellence in teaching and learning, behaviour and attendance or the safety and health of everyone in the school community. We are also responsible for overseeing the financial management of the school, making sure its money is well spent.
I am very fortunate to be supported by a dedicated governing body. There are 15 governors in total, all of whom give their time voluntarily. Between us we have a wide range of skills and are appointed to represent parents, staff and the local community.
We work closely with the Headteacher and senior leaders to ensure objectives are met, standards upheld and that future planning is both visionary and realistic.
Most importantly we are a team, united by our commitment to the school and the responsibility we share for its long-term success.
Regards
The Chair of Governors and the Clerk can be contacted via the school’s address:
Morton Road,
Horsell
Woking
Surrey GU21 4TJ
or directly to the Clerk (Mrs Sue Barker).
Woking High School became an Academy on the 1st August 2013. An Academy is a state-funded independent school and is a Charitable Company Limited by Guarantee. The Academy is subject to a Funding Agreement which is a formal contract between Woking High School and the Department of Education. This document and other documents relating to the Academy structure can be viewed by selecting the documents tab.
The Members of the Academy Trust are as follows:
Mr Brett Freeman (Member)
Dr Michael Hipkins (Member)
Mr Nigel Riley (Vice Chair of Governing Board)
Mr Zamir Tehal (Co-opted Governor)
Mrs Christine Wavish (Chair of Governing Board)
The Governors have responsibility for setting and monitoring the overall strategic direction of the Academy Trust, approving decisions reserved to Governors and appointing key members of staff.
The Governors meet as a board three or four times each year. All decisions reserved to the Governors are taken by the board as a whole. Board committees also meet between three and six times each year to consider detailed matters and recommend decisions to the full board.
The committees are:
♦ Finance and Resources (Sub Committee: Health and Safety)
♦ Curriculum and School Performance
♦ Admissions and Partnerships
♦ Personnel (Sub Committee: Pay)
♦ Governance and Assurance
Name |
Category |
Appointing Body |
Areas of Responsibility |
Date current term of office commenced |
---|---|---|---|---|
Mrs Maiken Walter |
Headteacher |
Ex-Officio |
|
Sept 2019 |
Ms Julia Allen | Staff Governor | Staff | December 2022 | |
Mr Paul Blagbrough |
Co-opted Governor |
Governing Body |
Chair of Finance & Resources |
Aug 2021 |
Mr Luke Dixon |
Staff Governor | Staff | March 2024 | |
Ms Kerstin Fenton |
Associate Governor (Health & Safety) |
Governing Body |
|
March 2024 |
Ms Eleanor Griffiths |
Co-opted Governor |
Governing Body |
|
Sept 2022 |
Mr Kris Hamson |
Parent Governor |
Parents |
|
Sept 2022 |
Mrs Elizabeth Kyriacou |
Co-opted Governor |
Governing Body |
Chair of Admissions and Partnerships Chair of Governance & Assurance SEND Link Governor |
Oct 2021 |
Mr James Magowan |
Parent Governor |
Parents |
Chair of Curriculum & School Performance |
Sept 2021 |
Miss Ellen McElhatton |
Co-opted Governor |
Governing Body |
CiC & Safeguarding Link Governor |
Sept 2021 |
Mr Nigel Riley |
Co-opted Governor |
Governing Body |
Vice Chair of Governors |
Mar 2024 |
Mr Alun Soper |
Parent Governor |
Parents |
Careers Link Governor |
Sept 2021 |
Mr Zamir Tehal |
Co-opted Governor |
Governing Body |
Chair of Personnel CiC & Safeguarding Link Governor |
Oct 2022 |
Mrs Christine Wavish |
Co-opted Governor |
Governing Body | Chair of Governors |
Sept 2023 |
Mr Jian Xie |
Parent Governor |
Parents |
|
Sept 2023 |
Mrs Sue Barker |
Clerk to the Governing Body |
|
Dec 2020 | |
During the past 12 months, the following individuals have held the position of Governor: |
||||
Name |
Category |
Appointing Body |
Areas of responsibility |
Date stepped down / resigned |
Mr Robin Beeson | Staff Governor | Staff | Dec 2023 | |
Mr David Ellis | Co-opted Governor | Governing Body | Chair of Curriculum & School Performance | Oct 2023 |
Dr Roy Wernham | LA Governor | Local Authority | CiC & Safeguarding Link Governor | Aug 2023 |
Governors are volunteers and are responsible for overseeing the management side of a school: strategy, policy, budgeting and staffing. They enable the school to run as effectively as possible, working alongside senior leaders and supporting teachers to provide excellent education to children
The governor role is strategic rather than operational. Governors don’t get involved with the day to day running of a school, instead supporting and challenging the school’s leadership team to drive school improvement.
Being a school governor is a commitment to attending governing body meetings which consider issues such as setting the school vision, mitigating financial risk and scrutinising educational, wellbeing, behaviour and attendance outcomes.
All governors are subject to a DBS check before starting and will be required to attend a short Induction to Governance course and annual Safeguarding training ( 1 hour). They are expected to undertake ongoing training to support themselves in their role. The school has a budget which allows for this.
The main task is to attend meetings and contribute to the work of the governing body. Meetings of the full governing body take place once a term and each sub-committee normally also meets once a term but some may meet more frequently. We have 5 sub committees: Finance & Resources, Personnel, Curriculum & Performance, Admissions and Governance & Assurance. Governors at Woking High typically sit on 2 sub committees. Meetings are usually held at either 8am or 6pm and generally last 1 ½ - 2 hours with additional time needed beforehand to read all the relevant documents.
Other involvement such as ad hoc panels , departmental visits , attendance at school events are not compulsory, but are recommended to maximise your impact as a school governor.
The Governors are a diverse group of volunteers, each bring different skills, experience and knowledge from a range of organisations and business areas but all having a common interest in and commitment to the school, its staff, pupils, buildings and the community of which it forms a part. Between them they represent the staff, local community, parents and senior leadership of the school
If you would like to read more about the role please click on the following link to the Department for Education Governance Handbook
DfE Governance Handbook Or if you would like to talk to one of the current governors please contact us.
A parent governor role is no different from any other category of governor. Although parent governors are elected by parents they are not delegates and parents cannot mandate them on how they should vote or what they should say in governing body meetings. They do not carry an obligation to express any views apart from their own and hold the unique position of having a parental viewpoint. They are not expected to gather the views of other parents and take them to the governing body (unless the governing body has specifically asked them to).
Staff governors are representative staff members rather than representatives of staff, bringing a staff viewpoint and perspective to discussion and debate. They act according to their own conscience and should follow the appropriate rules of governor protocol and confidentiality
They do not have a mandate to express any views other than their own. However, they should report in good faith any widely held staff views. They are not expected to gather the views of other staff and take them to the governing body or to vote as instructed by other members of staff or professional bodies.
Co-opted governors are individuals from the community who have the skills and experience which the governing body requires. Governors do not need to be experts in the field of education but will have: an interest in all the children’s futures, a desire to make a difference, a willingness to accept responsibility, and an ability to work in a team, ask questions, listen and learn.
A co-opted governor should always act in the best interests of the school and wider community and cannot be mandated to take a particular stance on issues.