We have a very active team of governors who play a hugely important part in the success of our school. Our governors are drawn from different parts of the community including parents and staff and currently there are no vacancies. Coming from a wide range of employment backgrounds, our governors offer a valuable range of skills that help support the strategic direction of the school.

Our Chair of Governors is Mrs Sarah Asher and she can be contacted through her email address which is chair@walton-on-the-hill.surrey.sch.uk.  

The Full Governing Body meets at least twice a term to review the performance of the school. During the 2023/2024 academic year, governors have met/will meet on 6 occasions, in line with Department for Education guidance.

The Department for Education describes the three core strategic functions of the governing body as

• ensuring clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction, holding the headteacher to account for the educational performance of the school and its pupils
• the performance management of staff
• and overseeing the financial performance of the school and making sure its money is well spent.

When focusing on the welfare and quality of educational provision at our school, our governors consider quantifiable data alongside reports on any social or emotional aspects of children's development. A key priority is to ensure that the school delivers the highest standards of teaching and learning for all of our children. A small team of governors meet at least once a term to guide, monitor and evaluate the delivery of the curriculum and standards of teaching and learning. They check that teaching quality is monitored and that staff development is implemented, and they evaluate the strategies being used to improve attainment. Governors are also responsible for making sure that the spiritual, moral, social and cultural (SMSC) aspects of the curriculum and wider school life are being well delivered.

The governing body operates as a flat structure of 1 main committee which has three other important responsibilities:

The financial management of the school

The financial management role is an important part of the governors’ overall brief to ensure that children in the school receive the best education possible. In seeking to improve the experience of children within the school, the governors’ need to consider how to get the best value out of the resources they purchase.

Maintenance of the school premises

All at Walton on the Hill Primary School work hard to ensure the school site promotes learning in a safe and effective learning environment and governors work with the Senior Leadership Team to carry out safety audits and learning environment inspections to ensure maintenance is carried out and that we are developing the use of our physical resources.

Looking after issues concerning the school’s staff, both teaching and non-teaching

It is up to the governing body to ensure that we have excellent and well-motivated teaching and non-teaching staff looking after our children. To do that, governors take an active role in the appointment of the Headteacher and Deputy and ensure that all staff develop their skills through training and that their performance is regularly reviewed.

Please click here for the DfE Governance Handbook and Competency Framework