APPOINTMENT OF LEA REPRESENTATIVES TO GOVERNING BODIES OF SCHOOLS IN THE ROYAL BOROUGH

CABINET 28 MARCH 2002

MEMBER REPORTING: COUNCILLOR MRS BATESON

1. PURPOSE OF REPORT

To consider vacancies that have arisen or will shortly arise on school governing bodies within the Royal Borough and nominations which have been received so that appointments from amongst these may be made.

2. MEMBER’S RECOMMENDATION: That the following appointments be made in accordance with the Borough’s Code of Practice from the names of those persons listed in the attached schedule to vacancies on school governing bodies in the Royal Borough.

Courthouse Junior School Mrs Mary Stock Holy Trinity CE Aided Primary, (decision deferred) Clewer Green CE Aided First Mr David Eglise St Mary’s CE Aided Primary Mr Mark Sauer Holy Trinity CE Aided Primary, Mr David Biggs (2 appts) Mrs Catherine Webb St Edmund Campion Catholic Primary Mr Graham Pratley CE Primary Mrs Jenny Daley Green First Mrs Colleen Garrett Furze Platt Infant Cllr Mrs Gillian Moore Kings Court First Cllr Eric Wiles Lowbrook Primary Mr Barnes Wallis Newlands Girls’ Mrs Kathleen Cutting Oldfield Primary Ms Valerie Mason St Edward’s Royal Free Middle Mrs Margery Mahoney St. Francis Catholic Primary Mrs Pauline Cameron St Mary’s Catholic Primary Mr Anthony Randall St Michael’s CE Primary (2 appts) Mrs Kish Guha-Thakurta Mr John Hodkisson The Windsor Boys’ Mr David Simpson

3. SUPPORTING INFORMATION

3.1 Wards Affected

Bisham & Cookham, Boyn Hill, Bray, Castle, Clewer North, Clewer South, Cox Green, Datchet, Furze Platt, Oldfield, , , St Mary’s, Sunningdale & South Ascot, Sunninghill, Trinity,

172 3.2 Relevant Matters Upon Which Decision is Based

Details of vacancies which have arisen or will shortly arise within the Borough are given below and details of candidates seeking appointment are given in the attached Appendix A. Candidates are listed in alphabetical order for ease of reference. All appointments should be made in accordance with the Authority’s Code of Practice on the Appointment of Education Authority Governors, and this is given as Appendix B.

3.2.1 Existing vacancies

There are currently 8 vacancies for Education Authority representatives within the Royal Borough’s schools, representing a vacancy rate of 4.2%.

School Ward No. vacancies All Saints CE Junior (Boyn Hill) 2 Boyne Hill CE Infant & Nursery (Boyn Hill) 1 Courthouse Junior (Pinkneys Green) 1 Furze Platt Infant (Furze Platt) 1 Hilltop First (Clewer South) 1 Holy Trinity CE Aided Primary, Cookham (Bisham & Cookham) 1 The Lawns Nursery (Trinity) 1

Nominations have been received for two of these vacancies, and members are invited to consider making appointments as follows

Courthouse Junior School Mrs Mary Stock Holy Trinity CE Aided Primary, Cookham Mr Christopher Brown (see below)

Although no further nominations have been received, other enquiries have been made from members of the public regarding the vacancy at Holy Trinity, Cookham. A letter has also been received from the school regarding governor appointments. In view of the interest being generated, members may wish to defer an appointment to Holy Trinity until they have had the opportunity to select from a wider field of candidates. Mrs Stock’s nomination for Courthouse Junior was held over from the previous report and is supported by a member of the governing body.

Further details of these and all other candidates are given in the attached schedule.

All eight vacancies are for schools in the primary sector, where recruitment continues to be more difficult. The vacancy at Boyne Hill CE Infant school is now in its 20th month, and all the above positions have been vacant for 3 months or more. Efforts continue to attract suitable candidates, and publicity materials have been widely distributed.

3.2.2 Vacancies Arising Shortly

Education Authority representative governors in the following schools are approaching the end of their current terms of office and have notified either the school or the authority that they will not be seeking re-appointment :

173 School Ward Date new appointment required Braywood CE First (Bray) 21st April 2002 Clewer Green CE Aided First (Trinity) 1st April 2002 Datchet St Mary’s CE Aided Primary (Datchet) 1st April 2002 Holy Trinity CE Aided Primary, Sunn’dale (Sunn & South Ascot) 1st April 2002 St Edmund Campion Catholic Primary (Boyn Hill) 1st April 2002 St Luke’s CE Primary (St Mary’s) 15th June 2002

Members are invited to consider making appointments from the following nominations received.

Clewer Green CE Aided First Mr David Eglise Datchet St Mary’s CE Aided Primary Mr Mark Sauer ( Mr David Biggs Holy Trinity CE Aided Primary, Sunn’dale ( Mr Martin Porter ( Mrs Christine Spencer St Edmund Campion Catholic Primary Mr Graham Pratley

Details of these candidates are given in the attached schedule.

3.2.3 Governors Seeking Re-Appointment The following Education Authority representatives all reach the end of their current term of office between 31st March and 14th June 2002, and have submitted nomination forms seeking re-appointment for a further four year term. Representative seeking School Ward Reappointment Bisham CE Primary (Bisham & Cookham) Mrs Jenny Daley Dedworth Green First (Clewer North) Mrs Colleen Garrett Furze Platt Infant (Furze Platt) Cllr Mrs Gillian Moore Holy Trinity CE Primary Sunn’dale (Sunn and South Ascot) Mrs Catherine Webb Kings Court First (Old Windsor) Cllr Eric Wiles Lowbrook Primary (Cox Green) Mr Barnes Wallis Newlands Girls’ (Pinkneys Green) Mrs Kathleen Cutting Oldfield Primary (Oldfield) Ms Valerie Mason St Edward’s Royal Free Middle (Castle) Mrs Margery Mahoney St. Francis Catholic Primary (Sunn & South Ascot) Mrs Pauline Cameron St Mary’s Catholic Primary (Furze Platt) Mr Anthony Randall St Michael’s CE Primary (Sunninghill) Mrs Kish Guha-Thakurta Mr John Hodkisson The Windsor Boys’ (Castle) Cllr Chris Bushill

Members are invited to consider whether they wish to re-appoint these candidates, or to select new appointees from the following individuals, who have also submitted nomination forms and who wish to serve as education authority representatives within the authority.

Secondary school in the area Mr Frederick Ashmore Mr David Thomas

174 Middle or secondary school in the Windsor area Mr Dominic Cook

Holy Trinity CE Aided Primary, Sunningdale (See candidates listed in 3.2.2 above)

The Windsor Boys’ Mr Euan Greenshields Mr David Simpson

Details of all these candidates, including information from schools about the attendance and contribution of current representatives, are given in the attached schedule.

3.2.4 Possible future vacancies

Education Authority representatives at the following schools will reach the end of their current term of office on 14 June 2002. These representatives have not yet confirmed whether they intend to seek re-appointment. An alternative nomination has already been received for the position at Cookham Nursery.

School Ward No. representatives Cookham Nursery (Bisham & Cookham) 1 Furze Platt Junior (Furze Platt) 2 Larchfield Primary (Oldfield) 1

The current serving representatives will be approached again, and members informed of the outcome and asked for a decision in the next report.

3.3 Relevant National/Regional Guidance

The DfEE Code of Practice on Local Education Authority-School Relations states that authorities . should publish the process and criteria by which they identify candidates for appointment. . can support schools by appointing as Local Education Authority governors those who are best qualified to help schools improve. In making appointments to particular schools, authorities should have regard to the skills and experience of which those schools have the greatest need, and to candidates’ support for the schools’ ethos and mission.

3.4 Relevant Council Policies/Strategies

The Royal Borough has agreed and published a Code of Practice for the Appointment of Education Authority Governors. All appointments are made under the terms of this Code which is given at Appendix B.

3.5 Options Available

Under the Authority’s Code nominations will only be considered if submitted on the appropriate application form prior to a published closing date. Appointments can be made from the nominations listed in the schedule at Appendix A to fill any of the vacancies in

175 this report. No additional appointments are available for education authority representatives at the present time.

Members may also choose to defer one or more appointments to a future meeting, although the DfES recommends that appointments should normally be made to fill vacancies within three months.

3.6 Reasons Supporting Recommendation

Under the Authority’s own Code of Practice, schools have the right to advise the Authority of their governing body’s needs in terms of balance of skills, gender or any other consideration for the good of the school, and to submit names for consideration. If the person appointed does not match the specified needs of the governing body and/or the governing body’s nominee is rejected, the governing body may request the Authority to give its reasons.

Candidates have the right to decline an appointment if it does not meet their preferences.

4. CONSULTATION CARRIED OUT

Governing bodies are invited to comment on candidates’ suitability for re-appointment and to submit nominations to fill these and any casual vacancies which arise. Where a school has expressed a view, this is noted in the candidate’s details, as listed in Appendix A.

5. IMPLICATIONS

5.1 Financial

There are no additional financial implications in this report.

5.2 Legal

The composition of governing bodies is set out in the School Standards and Framework Act 1998 and the Education (School Government) Regulations 1999. There is a clear responsibility on the Authority to appoint governors within the framework outlined above.

5.3 Human Rights Act

There are no Convention Rights under the HRA relevant to this report.

5.4 Planning

There are no planning implications in this report.

5.5 Sustainable Development

Education Authority representative governors could seek to promote the Council’s sustainable development policies within their governing bodies.

176 5.6 Contribution to Council Strategies

Effective governing bodies help to create effective schools in line with the Council’s strategies to create first class schools for pupils in the Royal Borough.

5.7 Crime and Disorder Reduction

There are no crime and disorder reduction implications in this report.

Background Papers:Code of Practice on Local Education Authority-School Relations DfEE 0027/2001

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