Governors

The Local Governing Body of Unicorn Primary School

The Local Governing Body (LGB) of Unicorn Primary School is a committee of the main board of the Compass Academy Trust (www.compassacademytrust.co.uk). Compass Academy Trust came into existence as a multi-academy trust on 1 September 2015.

The four schools in the Trust are:

Marian Vian Primary School
Oak Lodge Primary School
Unicorn Primary School
Wickham Common Primary School

Each Academy has its own Local Governing Body which has been established by the Board in accordance with the Trust’s Articles. Each Local Governing body can have not less than 7 and not more than 11 Local Governors, as follows:

The Head Teacher
A minimum of 2 and maximum of 3 Parent Local Governors
1 staff Local Governors
Local Governors appointed by Trust (nominated by the LGB)

The description that follows relates to the Local Governing Body of Unicorn Primary School.

The role of the Local Governing Body is a strategic one: its key functions are to:

set the aims and objectives for the school
set the policies and 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 Head Teacher and Senior Leadership Team (a critical friend)

The Head Teacher is responsible for the internal organisation, management and control of the school and the implementation of the strategic framework established by the Local Governing Body.

The Local Governing Body as a whole meets on average once a term. Local Governors have legal duties, powers and responsibilities: they can only act corporately – NOT individually. They are made up from parents, teachers and those appointed by Compass Academy Trust, some of whom were formerly LA or community representatives.

Local Governors are appointed to help:

decide what is being taught
set standards of behaviour
agree staffing
decide how the school budget should be spent

Parent Local Governors:

are parents, or an individual exercising parental responsibility, of a pupil registered at the school at the time of their election
are elected by parents and carers of children at the School
serve, as do all Governors, for a period of four years

Parent Local Governors bring the views of parents and carers to the Local Governing Body but they speak and act as individuals. They are not delegates or mouthpieces of parents and they do not vote for all parents in general. They have equal status in the work of the Local Governing Body and have normal voting rights.

There are also Governors who take the lead on the following areas that concern the Local Governing Body: