Welcome from the Chair of Governors
September 2023
Dear Parents and Carers,
I would like to take this opportunity to introduce you to the Governing Board at Lander Road Primary School and tell you a little about what we do.
Our mission and aims are central to what we do. The vision is articulated through the document ‘Mission, Aims and Curriculum Statement of Intent’ (see link). https://primarysite-prod-sorted.s3.amazonaws.com/landerroad/UploadedDocument/df30367f-1662-48be-b283-3aa9a9bdedaa/mission-statement-aims-and-curriculum.pdf
The vision has been developed principally through consultation with our children, as well as with parents and staff. The governors consulted with our children about what sort of school they want Lander Road to be. This vision informs our curriculum which provides both breadth and balance and enriches the learning experiences of all our children. We believe it is an excellent preparation for when our children move to their secondary school and beyond as young adults. The high aspiration and ambition underpinning the curriculum was recognised in our recent Ofsted Report (June 2023). The Report (see link) https://files.ofsted.gov.uk/v1/file/50228564 is a testament to our talented, hardworking and dedicated staff. Moreover, the report celebrates our wonderful children.
The main role of the Governing Board is to ensure the future of the school through a continuous journey of improvement, based upon all our children achieving their potential in a safe and happy environment, and ensuring the school makes the best use of its budget.
We meet as governors through our three committees – the Governing Board, ‘Inclusion and Safeguarding’ and ‘Staff Development’ committees.
When visiting school, governors undertake a variety of activities to gather evidence of how well the school is doing. Our visits often focus on the progress being made in relation to the school’s priorities. These priorities are captured and outlined in the School Improvement Plan – which is agreed with senior staff and governors at the beginning of each school year. The governors report to the Board about progress being made following Governor Impact Visits (or GIVs). Each GIV will gather evidence about a particular aspect of the work of the school. Evidence is based upon a variety of activities such as talking to senior staff, subject leaders and teaching and learning staff, presentations by staff, meetings with groups of children from across all classes and scrutinising the children’s work (mainly through their books) with senior leaders. Following each visit, the governors will produce a report for the board and senior leaders to consider findings from the feedback and any actions to be taken.
In addition to monitoring progress against the school’s priorities, we will continue to monitor and review other aspects of the school. This is undertaken by ‘lead governors’ responsible for such areas as finance, safeguarding, health and safety and the provision for vulnerable groups of children.
This year (2023/24) will see the school moving towards joining the Great Schools Trust and becoming an academy school. We are all very excited about this opportunity. We held informal meetings with our parents and carers last year to alert them to this potential change. This year we will formally consult with our parents and carers before moving forward and agreeing this change.
Finally, working in partnership with our parents and carers is very important. We will continue to consult with our parents and carers as well as our children and staff to help us make Lander Road Primary School the best school it can be for all our children.
Yours sincerely
Paul Davies
(Chair of Governors, Lander Road Primary School)