The Governing Body at Pirton Hill Primary School plays an important role in shaping the future of the school. Governors are volunteers from a range of professional and community backgrounds who work together to support, challenge and guide the school’s leadership. 

Governors work closely with the Headteacher and senior leaders to provide strategic oversight of the school. They celebrate the school’s successes, ask constructive questions and ensure the school continues to improve for the benefit of all pupils.

The Role of the Governing Body

The Governing Body provides strategic leadership and oversight of the school. Governors monitor key areas such as finance, staffing, premises (including health and safety), and the curriculum to ensure the school is well managed and continues to improve.

Governors ensure that all statutory policies and key documents required by the Department for Education are in place and kept up to date. These policies are available to staff, pupils, parents, carers and visitors where appropriate.

The Governing Body monitors Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to evaluate the effectiveness of the school and ensure continuous improvement in outcomes for pupils.  Each term, the Governing Body receives a Headteacher’s report which provides updates on pupils’ progress and achievement, staffing, attendance, and key developments within the school. Governors use this information to support and challenge school leaders and to make strategic decisions in the best interests of pupils.

Governors also undertake regular training and development to ensure they remain informed about changes in education and governance. This includes training from the Local Authority and professional resources such as the National Governance Association.

What Do Governors Do?

School governors focus on the strategic leadership of the school, not the day-to-day management. Their work centres around three key responsibilities:

🔹 Setting the vision and strategic direction
Ensuring the school’s values, priorities and long-term plans reflect the needs of pupils and the wider community.

🔹 Holding school leaders to account
Working with the Headteacher to review educational performance, pupil progress and the overall effectiveness of the school.

🔹 Overseeing financial stewardship
Making sure the school’s funding and resources are used responsibly, efficiently and in ways that maximise opportunities for pupils.

Through regular meetings, visits and monitoring activities, governors support and challenge leaders to ensure Pirton Hill continues to thrive.

Becoming a School Governor

School governance is a rewarding and impactful way to contribute to your community.

Governors bring a wide range of experiences and skills, including backgrounds in education, finance, business, law, health, public service and community leadership. What matters most is a commitment to improving outcomes for children and supporting the school’s values.

Serving as a governor provides opportunities to:

✔ Make a meaningful difference to children’s education
✔ Develop strategic leadership and governance skills
✔ Contribute to the life of your local community
✔ Work collaboratively with school leaders and other governors

If you are passionate about education and want to play a role in shaping the future of Pirton Hill Primary School, we would be delighted to hear from you.

For more information, the National Governance Association have shared this insightful video. Please click on the link below:

Governing Body and Committee Structure

The Governing Body meets at least six times each year. Governors work with the Headteacher and senior leaders to make sure the school is well led and that pupils receive the best possible education.

To help manage their work effectively, governors operate through several smaller committees. These committees focus on specific areas of the school and review information in detail before reporting back to the full Governing Body.

Terms of Reference

The Governing Body must agree to the Terms of Reference for the Governing Body and its Committees annually. The Terms of Reference outline the tasks and decision-making powers assigned to a Committee. The Full Governing Body ratified the documents annually, in the autumn term.

Membership & Constitution

Our focus is on the future success of the school and achieving the best outcomes for all pupils.

The Governing Body currently has some vacancies, and we are working towards a full complement of 12 governors to ensure strong and effective governance.

Yemisi Olusanya is the elected Chair of the Governing Body and brings a wealth of governance knowledge and experience to the board.

Register of Interests

Governors must not take part in decisions about the purchase of goods or services where there may be a conflict of interest, including situations involving themselves, their relatives, or organisations in which they or those close to them have a significant interest.

The Governance Clerk maintains a Register of Pecuniary Interests to record any such interests.

All governors complete a Declaration of Interests Form each year. If a governor’s circumstances change, an updated declaration must be submitted.

At the start of every governing body meeting, governors are asked to declare whether they have any pecuniary or personal interests relating to the items on the meeting agenda.

The Register of Pecuniary Interests is formally approved by the Governing Body and reviewed regularly to ensure transparency and good governance.

Attendance Register

The Governing Body keeps track of all governors who attend or are absent from governance meetings. It is important for the development of the Governing Body that the governors' absence from meetings is kept to a minimum.

Governance Diversity Data

The Governing Body has agreed to opt out of collecting and publishing diversity data for the Governing Body. A further review will be carried out in the Autumn Term.

Schools Financial Benchmarking

You can view Pirton Hill Primary School's financial data and see how it compares with other schools. 

Executive Pay

The Governing Body can confirm that there are no school employees that receive a gross income of £100,000 or more.

Contact Details

If you would like to contact a member of our Governing Body, please do so by sending your written correspondence to: Yemisi Olusanya, Chair of Governing Body, Pirton Hill Primary School, Butely Road, Luton, LU4 9EX.

Alternatively, you can contact the Governance Clerk by email, who supports the work of the Chair and the Governing Body.

Michelle Francis-Joseph, Governance Professional 

Laura Forgham, Governance Clerk