Team & Governance

Our Team

At Arbour House School we are committed to working as a multi-disciplinary team and a wider circle of support around each student. This involves all professions working together with families to deliver good outcomes for our pupils.

Our school consists of:

• Qualified Teachers
• Behavioural Support Practitioner
• We also work closely with our Allied Health Professionals, e.g. Occupational Therapist and Speech and Language Therapists
• Local Authority e.g. SEND Team

Our Governing Body

The Governing Body will receive termly reports and make decisions on:

• Health & Safety
• Safeguarding
• Achievement & Attainment
• Behaviour & Attendance
• Teaching & Learning
• Achievement
• Working with parents/carers
• Personnel

The Governing Body will receive annual reports on:
• Budget
• Pupil Progress
• Performance Management
• SEF and school development plan

Role of a Arbour House School Governor

It is not the intention for Governors to be shadow the role of professionals. No amount of training could equip governors with the skills and knowledge of the many professional disciplines – finance, personnel, curriculum, management etc, which the role of the governor could encompass.  Governors have themselves identified the skills and qualities necessary to enable them to work as an effective team.

In law the governing body is a corporate body, which means:

• No governor can act on her/his own without proper authority from the full governing body;
• All governors carry equal responsibility for decisions made, and
• Although appointed through different routes (i.e. parents, staff etc), the overriding concern of all governors has to be the welfare of the school as a whole. The principles and personal attributes that individual governors bring to the board are as important as their skills and knowledge. These qualities enable governors to use their skills and knowledge to function well as part of a team and make an active contribution to effective governance.

All of our governors fulfil their duties in line with the seven principles of public life (the Nolan principles). These are:

• Selflessness
• Integrity
• Objectivity
• Accountability
• Openness
• Honesty
• Leadership

We accept that we have no legal authority to act individually, except when the governing body has given us delegated authority to do so, and therefore we will only speak on behalf of the governing body when we have been specifically authorised to do so.

We have a duty to act fairly and without prejudice, and in so far as we have responsibility for staff, we will fulfil all that is expected of a good employer.

We will encourage open government and will act appropriately.

We accept collective responsibility for all decisions made by the governing body or its delegated agents. This means that we will not speak against majority decisions outside the governing body meeting.

We will consider carefully how our decisions may affect the community and other schools.

We will always be mindful of our responsibility to maintain and develop the ethos and reputation of our school. Our actions within the school and the local community will reflect this.

In making or responding to criticism or complaints affecting the school we will follow the procedures established by the governing body.