Meet the Governors

Sharmans Cross is fortunate to have a team of committed governors that work with the headteacher on the strategic development of the school. The Governing Body is a group of individuals who are elected, nominated or co-opted from key stakeholder groups; parents, staff, the Local Authority, and the local community. The responsibilities of the Governing Body and its various committees are outlined below on this page.

Our Chair of Governors is Lisa Fryer

Our Vice-Chair of Governors is Kate Goode

Our School Governance Professional is Angela Craig.

Contact with the governors is through our Governance Professional in the first instance:  g45acraig@sharmans-cross.solihull.sch.uk

If you are interested in becoming a governor, please contact the headteacher or look out for vacancies displayed in the newsletter. Click on the star-links at the bottom of this page to find out more about our Governing Body and its work.

The Full Governing Body (FGB) usually meets throughout the school year, and we currently work in a whole board model with all members attending every meeting.

The Governing Body as a whole has three core functions: 

• Ensuring clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction;
• Holding the headteacher 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

We also recognise the National Governance Association (NGA) recommended forth core function of governance

Ensuring that key players with a stake in the organisation get their voices heard by:

• Gathering the views of pupils, parents and staff and reporting on the results;
• Reaching out to the school’s wider community and inviting them to play their part;
• Using the views of stakeholders to shape the school’s culture and the underpinning strategy, policies and procedures.

The Governing Body

The membership of the Governing Body is stipulated in a legal document, the Instrument of Government. 

This states that the Board of Governors of Sharmans Cross Junior School shall consist of:

3 Parent Governors (elected by a ballot of parents)

The Headteacher (ex officio)

1 Staff Governor (elected by a ballot of school staff)

1 Local Authority Governor (nominated by the Local Authority)

9 Co-opted Governors (nominated and elected by the Board)

Governors are normally elected for a four year term initially, this can be renewed but we seek to actively manage our succession planning and ensure representation from our diverse and skilled community. Our official appointments of Chair and Vice Chair have a two year term and can only be reappointed once to each role.

Governors are assigned as links for key areas of responsibility, some of which are statutory, others reflect current school development priorities.

Current key roles assigned are:

Safeguarding: Lisa Fryer            g45lfryer@sharmans-cross.solihull.sch.uk

SEND: Kate Goode                     g45kgoode@sharmans-cross.solihull.sch.uk

There are also a number of Associates to the Board who are members of staff with particular and relevant responsibilities who contribute to meetings.  Associate Members do not have voting rights on the Board or any Committees.

Associate members are:

Mrs J. Ferguson (Deputy Head)

Mrs C. Edwards (Bursar)

Miss T. Boon (Assistant Head and Literacy Lead)

Mrs Z. Swain (Maths Lead)

Mr N. Reich (Site Manager)

The Committees

The governors have currently elected to follow a whole board model, otherwise referred to a ‘circular’ for meetings until the end of the academic year 2023/24. This model requires all members being invited to every meeting, and the agenda being set to cover the range of functions in line with the school business priorities and annual schedules for compliance and returns.

Prior to this the governing body had four committees in place, there were:

Curriculum Committee: Chaired by Lisa Fryer

Finance Committee: Chaired by Steve Kelly

Sites & Building Committee: Chaired by David Lewis

Personnel & Pay committee: Chaired by Peter Heywood

The governing board will make arrangements before the end of the current academic year for 2024/25.