St John's CE Primary school is a member of the Oxford Diocese Bucks Schools Trust (ODBST) - a Multi Academy Trust (MAT). It is governed by a Board of Trustees ('the Trustees') who are responsible for, and oversee, the management and administration of ODBST and all of the academies run by it; including St John's:

The Trustees are accountable to external government agencies, including the Charity Commission and the Department for Education, for the quality of education provided by its schools. They are required to have systems in place through which they can assure themselves of quality, safety and good practice. As St John's is a Church of England school, the Trustees are also accountable to the Oxford Diocesan Board of Education (the 'ODBE') under the provisions of the Diocesan Boards of Education Measure 1991 and to the trustees of the school site to ensure that the Academy is conducted as a Church of England school.   In order to discharge these responsibilities, the Trustees appoint people who are more locally based to serve on a board (the "Local Governing Body") which has been established to ensure the good governance of St John's.  The local Governing Body is legally a committee of the Trust Board and operates on the basis of delegated powers given to it by the Trustees. Below is our scheme of delegation.  This also includes our Constitution and Terms of Reference.  Paper copies can be obtained through the school office or by using the 'contact us' option on this website.  You can also find details of the Trust Board and details of our Trust Governance at Bucks Schools Trust (ODBST) Home.

The Local Governing Body at St John's is formed of seven Foundation Governors, two Parent Governors, one Staff Governor and the Headteacher. With the exception of the Headteacher, all governors are elected for a four year term of office.  Governors play a very valuable and important role in the support of our school. They meet regularly together and work closely with the Headteacher and the school staff. The responsibility for the actions and decisions of the local governing body lies with the whole governing body not with individual members. 

Foundation governors are appointed by the ODBE, which takes guidance on appointments from ODBST, which in turn takes guidance from the Parochial Church Council of St John's Church, to ensure that the religious character of the school is preserved and developed. Parent governors are elected by other parents at the school. They don't have to stand down if their child leaves the school before the end of their term of office, though they may choose to do so. Parents, including carers, of pupils at the school are eligible to stand for election as parent governors whenever such a vacancy arises. Both teaching and support staff paid to work at the school are eligible to stand for election as a staff governor. The Headteacher is a staff governor by virtue of the office. The Headteacher may choose not to be a governor but will retain the right to attend all governor meetings.

Governors who left during the last 12 months:

Register of Governors Relevant Business and Pecuniary Interests

The clerk to the Local Governing Body is Mrs Sarah Penkethman of Bucks Minuting Limited and can be contacted by e-mail: sarah@bucksminuting.co.uk

Governor meetings and responsibilities

The Local Governing Body meets formally seven times per year.  In addition the Local Governing Body has established a separate Resources Committee which meets once per term.  The members of The Resources Committee are Carline Gulliver, Rebecca London, Jeanette Allen and Martin Scoble, although all governors are invited to attend. Its purpose is to provide guidance and support to the Headteacher in all matters relating to resources specifically: pay and personnel including reviewing and updating policies and procedures related to staff and the practical application of policies. Staffing matters such as staff mix, recruitment, performance management, staff training and other ad hoc staff issues are also discussed and challenged where appropriate. 

One of the statutory responsibilities of Governors is to approve and review, on an ongoing basis, the school’s annual budget.  Every resources committee meeting therefore includes a review and challenge of the actual spend to date compared to the budget to ensure that the school is being financially responsible.  Any non-routine expenditure items are also discussed and prioritised in accordance with the school budget constraint. On an annual basis, the committee also reviews and updates, where necessary, any of the school policies which are of a finance nature. 

The resources committee aims to proactively manage the ongoing provision of a safe, healthy and supportive environment for the education of the children and the welfare of staff and visitors.  As well as assisting the Headteacher with risk assessments the Governors are also trained in safeguarding issues so as to be able to provide additional support and perspective thus ensuring the security of both children and data. 

The knowledge and skills that the Governors bring from involvement with facilities in commercial life, and at other schools, ensures that the school benefits from appreciation of the latest technologies and the ability to critically assess proposals by ODBST's approved suppliers.

All governors are required to under take regular training to enable them to exercise their duties effectively.  This is a vital part of being a school governor and by doing this we keep up to date with the continuing developments that are happening across all areas of education provision.

Governors each have curriculum links. The purpose of which to provide a link between the Governing Body and the Curriculum Committee and staff and is to fulfil the governing body obligation to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of the school and its’ curriculum. Curriculum link governors do not, however, make judgements about the quality of teaching or the progress of individual children. Governors carry out a curriculum visit once per term and prepare a written report on each visit and then provide feedback to the rest of the governing body. The curriculum links are as follows:

Governor Meeting Attendance

Agendas and minutes of all governor meetings are available for inspection in the school office.  The table attached sets out the number of Full Governing Body and committee meetings attended by each Governor during the academic year 2022/23 with the number of such meetings they were eligible to attend in brackets.

• indicates that the governor is not a member of that committee.