Governance
Meet the governors
The governors have a common interest in early years education and want to make a positive contribution to education of the children at Batford Nursery School.
The Governing Body of Batford Nursery School comprises a member from the Local Authority, the Headteacher and one staff governor, two parent governors, and six co-opted governors. Governors have equal rights to participate in the work of the Governing Body and to state their own views, but always work together and are bound by the collective decisions of the team. Governors other than the Headteacher are appointed or elected to serve a four-year term of office.
You can find out a little bit about each of our current governors by clicking on their names below:
Laura lives locally in Harpenden and is mum to three children, the eldest of whom has just started at Batford nursery. She have worked as a primary school teacher for over ten years, and is passionate about education which inspires children not only to love learning, but also to grow as individuals; exploring their interests and developing their talents. As a parent, Laura has seen what a wonderful place Batford Nursery is and Laura is excited about joining the governance team.
Sarah is a governor ex officio but has been on the governing body for approximately 12 years, previously as a staff governor.
Sarah has been teaching in the primary phase for 30 years with extensive experience of the early years. She has been at Batford Nursery School for 15 years as a teacher, deputy and currently headteacher. She is also a Senior Leader of Education which involves schools to schools support.
Sarah is passionate about early years and feels privileged to be head of this outstanding school. Beyond her working life Sarah has a family with three children to keep her busy and also loves running and has entered many events from muddy runs to marathons.
Nick is a parent governor.
After a decade working in the music industry he left to take shared parental leave and to study a Masters in Digital Management, focusing his research on team dynamics and individual wellbeing. He is now a consultant working with SMEs in the creative industries, helping them with commercial strategy and operational planning.
Hazel is a co-opted governor and joined the governing body in October 2019.
Hazel trained as an Early Years teacher in Lincoln and after a long and rewarding career in primary education took early retirement recently to spend more time with her family in Harpenden. Hazel first became a Headteacher in 1998 and over the subsequent twenty plus years was the Headteacher of four very successful primary schools. During her career Hazel has also been an Early Years Advisor and qualified as a School Improvement Partner. Having seen the Governor vacancy advertised locally, Hazel applied as she felt it was a wonderful opportunity to utilise her experience to support the Headteacher and her staff for the benefit of the children and families at Batford Nursery School.
Iain lives in Harpenden with his family. He is a co-opted Governor who joined the governing body in January 2023.
Iain has a background in the public sector having worked for both local and cental Government. As part of these roles, he has developed a good understanding of the education sector.
He is excited to have joined Batford Nursery and use his experience both as a parent and professionally to support this role.
Gail is a co-opted governor.
As a former Batford parent, with fifteen years experience as an early years teacher, Gail is thrilled to serve as a co-opted Governor at Batford Nursery. Gail is deeply passionate about play and believes that every child's nursery experience should be filled with wonder, curiosity, and joy. Gail is looking forward to contributing to the school's continued improvement and development, ensuring that all children have the same enriching nursery journey that her daughter enjoyed.
David is a co-opted governor.
David says, "As a parent of two girls I have always, as you would expect played a key role in their upbringing including their health and safety. This is where my primary expertise comes in from my role in industry and in my engineering background. The health and safety of the school, its pupils and the buildings where they come to learn is paramount in my role as a governor. I am proud to work as a governor at Batford Nursery School helping the Headteacher to look after all who use the excellent facilities."
Laura is the staff governor.
Margaret Stocks is the local authority governor.
Fiona is a co-opted governor.
Governors do not manage the school – that is the role of the Headteacher. The Governors aim to support her in doing this but do not shy away from being a ‘critical friend’ and asking searching questions.
Governors are responsible for the ensuring the clarity of vision, ethos & strategic direction of the school and for supporting the Headteacher and her staff in achieving that vision. The governing body holds the leadership of the school to account for the educational performance of the school and its children. Governors also have responsibility for appointing the Headteacher, managing the school’s budget and making sure that money is well spent. In addition to these statutory responsibilities, governors monitor the impact of policies and do a wide variety of other things, either through formal committee activity or through personal involvement with the day-to-day life of the school.
The governing body may also be called upon to consider complaints from parents.
Whilst the role is a voluntary one, the Governing Body expects all governors and prospective governors to be aware of the time commitment required to be an effective governor. Primarily, that commitment arises from:
- Attending meetings of the Governing Body (minimum of one per term)
- Membership of either the CCC (Children, Curriculum and Communications) or Resources Committees (minimum one meeting per term)
- Undertaking training courses relevant to the role of a governor
- Having a particular area of responsibility such as finance, personnel, safeguarding
- Having a link to a particular area of teaching and learning or to a school development plan priority
The Governors also attend the Annual General Meeting of Batford Day Care Ltd, representing the school which is the member of the company.
Please note minutes of governing body meetings are available from the school office on request.
The committees
The Resources Committee deals with everything to do with the human, physical and financial resources of the school and:
- is responsible for proposing the annual budget for approval by the governing body and for the ongoing monitoring of management accounts.
- prepares the responses to the Schools Financial Value Standard questionnaire that must be submitted to Herts County Council each year.
- considers all aspects of Health and Safety and site management.
- approves the staffing structure and assists with some areas of recruitment.
The current members of the committee are:
Nick Woollard (Chair)
Sarah Hedges
David Pickford
Laura Williams
Iain Leech
Vacancy
Abbreviated to CCC, this committee focuses on Children, Curriculum and Communications.
This is the forum for detailed discussion of children's progress and attainment and delivery of the Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage but also deals with pupil behaviour and wellbeing and stakeholder engagement.
The current members of the committee are:
Hazel Jones (Chair)
Sarah Hedges
Laura Roma
Laura Williams
2022/23 Governance Statement
| Name | |
|---|---|
| Governance Statement 2022-23.pdf | Download |
Contact us
To contact the governors, please use the Chair of Governors confidential email address: cog@batfordnursery.herts.sch.uk
Statutory information about governors
Information about governors, their terms of office, any pecuniary interests declared and a record of their attendance at meetings is published annually at the end of the academic year.
The details for the academic year 2022/23 are as follows: