We are committed to finding skilled and diverse governors through an independent organisation, Governors For Schools. The quality mark below should be seen as an assurance  that the board values diverse governance and is doing all it can to make governance as robust as possible. 

School governors are people who want to make a positive contribution to children’s education.

Governors are one of the largest volunteer forces in the country and have an important part to play in raising school standards.

The role of the governing board is absolutely key to the effectiveness of a school. 

What do governors do?

School governors provide strategic leadership and accountability in schools. Governors appoint the head teacher and deputy headteacher. It is governors who hold the main responsibility for finance in schools, and it is governors who work with the headteacher to make the tough decisions about balancing resources. 

Each individual governor is a member of a governing board, which is established in law as a corporate body. Individual governors may not act independently of the rest of the governing board; decisions are the joint responsibility of the governing board.  

The role of the governing board is a strategic one. Its key functions are to:

• set the aims and objectives for the school
• set the policies for achieving those aims and objectives
• set the targets for achieving those aims and objectives
• monitor and evaluate the progress the school is making towards achievement of its aims and objectives
• be a source of challenge and support to the headteacher (a critical friend)

The Full Governing Body meets at least ten times a year and meetings include all aspects of school governance.

All governors are members of the full governing body. There is also a finance committee. 

Meet The Governors of Cheriton Primary School:

Name	Governor Type	Term From	Term To	Roles/Responsibilities
Mrs Elizabeth Brett	Co-opted governor	26th January 2023	25th January 2027	Chair of Governors (Shared) Safer Recruitment Finance Committee
Mrs Nicola Cecil	Co-opted governor	10th October 2024	9th October 2028
Revd. Christopher Durrant	Co-opted governor	15th September 2021	14th September 2025	Wellbeing and Mental Health Governor
Ms Julie Ferguson	Co-opted governor	7th March 2024	6th March 2027	SEND and Inclusion Governor Pupil Premium Governor
Mrs Ruth Gent	Staff governor	2nd September 2024	1st September 2028
Mr Tom Legge	LA governor	7th September 2023	6th September 2027	Finance Committee
Mrs Caro O'Brien	Parent governor	13th July 2023	13th July 2027	Wellbeing and Mental Health Governor Class 2 Link Governor
Mr Nicholas Parmley	Co-opted governor	30th September 2020	30th September 2025	Vice Chair Chair of Finance Committee Forum Representative
Mrs Nicola Pitts	Co-opted governor	15th May 2023	14th May 2027	Class 1 Link Governor Wellbeing and Mental Health Governor
Mrs Jennifer Reeves	Parent governor	24th November 2022	23rd November 2026	Chair of Governors (Shared) Attendance Governor Health and Safety Governor Safeguarding Governor Safer Recruitment Class 3 Link Governor Finance Committee
Mrs Tamsin Sillars	Interim Headteacher	15th April 2024
Mrs Julia Wright	Parent governor	7th March 2024	6th March 2028	Development and Training Governor Class 4 Link Governor
Mrs Rhona Hatchley	Clerk to Governors	21st June 2022