Governors
The role of the governors is to give direction and support to the educational and pastoral life of the school. This is a very exciting time for Queen's, as we develop our Vision Plan to make the school an even more inspirational place for our children. The information below tells you how our governing body works, and what our key roles and priorities are. We will publish our minutes and newsletters here, to keep you thoroughly informed about the governance of Queen's.
Bonney Venning is the Chairman of the Governors - here is the full list of all the governors and those entitled to attend the meetings of the governors;
Foundation Governors
Fr. Nigel Worn - Vicar of St. Anne's
Phyllis Cunningham - Southwark Diocesan Board
Sir David Durie - Southwark Diocesan Board
Kristen Anderson - St. Anne's
Will Cavendish - St. Anne's
Sabina Purewal - St. Anne's
Bonney Venning - St. Anne's - Chairman
Caroline Butler - St. Luke's
Eleanor Garland - St. Philip & All Saints
Non Foundation Governors
Katie Bentham - Headteacher
Leanne Lisney - Teacher (elected)
Vicky O'Neill - Support Staff (elected)
Bernadette Bird - Parent (elected)
Susie Connor - Parent (elected)
Jan Deykin - Parent (elected)
Telfer Saywell - LA
Clerk to the Governors - Joanna Brackenbury
Associate Members
Nick Macmillan - attached to Premises with Health and Safety Committee
Voulla Demetriou - attached to Pastoral Committee
Membership of the governing body
Apart from the Vicar of St. Anne’s, who is ex officio, the Foundation appoints six governors through St. Anne’s Church PCC to represent the local churches and the local community. Two further governors are appointed by the Diocese of Southwark. In this way the Foundation ensures that the school maintains its distinctive Christian ethos and tradition, adding a further dimension to its central aim of providing high quality education. At least three of the Foundation governors must also be parents of children at the school at the time of their appointment.
The exact composition of individual governing bodies varies according to the type of school and the needs of the governing body. The Queen’s School has 16 governors made up of the 9 governors representing the Foundation and 7 non-foundation governors. The non-Foundation governors represent the parents, teachers, staff and local authority. By these means, although they are not delegates, the governing body reflects the community it serves.
We have places for three elected parent governors. Our three parent governors were all elected on 9 October 2009.
As well as our parent governors, five of our foundation governors were parents of children at the school at the time of their appointment. We currently have eight governors with children in the school, including the three parent governors.
Associate members may be appointed by the Governors to concentrate on certain projects or to provide specific skills or knowledge to assist the Governors in their work. Associate members have the right to attend governors' meetings but may be asked to withdraw if business involves individual pupils or members of staff. Associate members may be given limited voting rights.
If you are interested in becoming a governor of The Queen's School, you can find out more about the role by reading the Governors' Information Pack which can be found under Key Documents in the General section of this web site (Governors' Minutes section). If you are unable to download the document, it is available on application to the Clerk via the school.
Role of the governing body
Our purpose is to help our school provide the best possible education for all of our pupils. This is achieved in the following ways:
by providing a strategic view
We help to set, and keep under review, the broad framework within which the headteacher and her staff run the school. In all our work, we focus on the key issues of raising standards of achievement, establishing high expectations and promoting effective teaching and learning.
By acting as a critical friend
The governing body also provides the headteacher and her staff with support and advice, so as to form a good working partnership. In these ways the governing body acts as a critical friend. Critical in the sense of its responsibility for monitoring and evaluating the school’s effectiveness, asking challenging questions and pressing for improvement. A friend because it exists to promote the interests of the school and its pupils.
By ensuring accountability
The governing body is responsible for setting down the aims and overall conduct of the school, whilst approving the policies and plans which will support them. The headteacher and her staff report to the governors on the school’s performance. We will then discuss, question and refine proposals, while always respecting the professional roles of the headteacher and her staff, and their responsibilities for the day-to-day management of the school. The governors are then answerable for their actions to parents, the LA, the Southwark Diocesan Board and the wider local community.
For the Minutes of Governors' meetings and newsletters please follow the link on the left.
A vacancy for a parent governor will arise in January 2013. All parents should receive a letter from the Clerk inviting nominations. See the Information for Prospective Governors and the Application form below.