Reach South Academy Trust

Our central mission is for Reach South pupils to aspire to achieve beyond the expectations that others place on them.

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Governors

Governance

Springfields Academy has its own Local Governing Body (LGB). All Governors are Volunteers.

Governors oversee both the North and South sites.

The context

The DfE’s governance handbook sets out the statutory functions of all boards, no matter what type of school or how many schools they govern.

There are three core functions:

ensuring clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction
holding executive leaders to account for the educational performance of the school and its pupils, and the performance management of staff
overseeing the financial performance of the school and making sure that its money is well spent, including the pupil premium.

Our Role

We govern on behalf of the Trust Board at a local level.
We are careful not to increase or to duplicate the roles and responsibilities of the Senior Leadership Team (SLT), the Trust Executive and Trust Board, but to perform our role effectively, we need to know our school, ask questions, hold Senior leaders to account…, review, monitor, scrutinise, support, challenge, champion, implement, approve, participate. These are the verbs best used to explain our role.
We monitor Key Performance Indicators, are a critical friend to SLT; holding them to account for their responsibilities on performance, curriculum and standards, finance, SEN, safeguarding and behaviour, admissions, staffing, health, safety and estates. We challenge them where appropriate.
We develop policies, if delegated to do so by Reach South, and monitor the implementation of all policies affecting Springfields.
We champion the Academy and engage with parents and the wider community.

The Reach South Trust Board and LGB work together in the interests of Springfields and the overall Trust. The Trust can overrule our decisions and ultimately remove delegated powers from an LGB.

We are appointed for 4 years at a time and may stand for re-election at the end of that time. The Chair is appointed for 2 years and can be reappointed at the end of that term.

The Chair has regular meetings or phone calls with the Head of Springfields. The Chair/Vice Chair report to the Trust Board on request and send minutes of their termly meetings. If an urgent matter arises between meetings, the Chair in consultation with the Trust Board takes appropriate action. LGB communications with the RS Executive and RS Trustee Board are minimal. The Chair has a call with a Trustee 3 to 4 times per annum and briefs the full LGB on the salient points.

We build on our individual strengths with Lead governors overseeing defined areas and working together as a team. Lead Governors make regular visits in their respective areas of expertise, which may involve meeting staff, listening to pupils, communicating with parents, as well as reviewing performance data. We all ask questions of the Head at our LGB meetings, six times a year.

Our Improvement plan 2020/2021

To “Know our School” – the vision, ethos and strategy. Its strengths, weaknesses, the issues it faces.
To regularly review the School Improvement Plan with the strategy set out by the Head to ensure its intent is relevant and progressive, its implementation feasible and well-managed and that its likely impact measurable and meaningful.
Via our lead governors to continue:
- assess the quality of education – the effectiveness of the curriculum– our lead Governors.
- assess the quality of safeguarding – know whether our children feel safe
- assess the school’s approach and its effectiveness in the personal development of pupils and improving behaviours and attitudes.
To be aware of best practice for the care and education of young people with autism and evaluate Springfields’ effectiveness in that context.
To evaluate our impact and general effectiveness over time in relation to the Schools’ objectives and its progress towards them.

Membership of the Local Governing Body

As at Sept 2023	Governor	Lead area
Principal	Mike Thomas
Trust Appointed	Sandra Chase - Chair
Trust Appointed	Peter Fox, Vice-Chair	Finance, Risk and Health & Safety
Trust Appointed	Paul Raby	Pupil performance, data & policies
Trust Appointed	Andrea Mutch	Quality of education; curriculum
Co-opted	Nikki Barnett	Personal development and transition from phase 3
Co-opted	Ollie Mead
Newly appointed	Lindsay Conroy	Safeguarding, behaviours and attitudes
Elected Parent	Alan Holmes	Parental and pupil voice
Elected Parent	Mark Scott
Elected Staff- Support	Vacancy
Elected Staff- Support	Vacancy
Clerk	Michelle Hyde
Observer	Simon Cooper-Hind	RS Deputy Director-education