Our school community is inspired by the Parable of the Sower (Matthew 13) where we are encouraged to think about and understand that the smallest things have the greatest potential when they are provided with the best environment for growth. This is exactly what we all strive for at St James’; a learning environment where all our children can flourish and grow in their own unique way.

As a Federation (The Cedar Federation) which consists of Freezywater St. George's and St. James' schools, we have one overarching governing body, with governors taking on the responsibilities for both schools. Their role, supports and helps with the smooth running of both schools, ensuring that they are doing everything they can to provide a safe and nurturing environment for all students. Please click on the links under the 'Governors' tab to learn more about our current Governors and how you can become more involved with the Governing body.

Our Governing body is made up of members with different skills, knowledge and experience. The structure of our Governing body is that we have at least 3 full Governing body meetings per year alongside committee meetings, where we discuss all areas of governance such as finance, curriculum, child protection/safeguarding, training and development etc. Below is a full list of Governors' Responsibilities.   

The functions of the governing body include the following core strategic functions:

• ensuring clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction;
• holding the Headteacher to account for the educational performance of the school and its pupils, and the performance management of staff; and
• overseeing the financial performance of the school and making sure its money is well spent.

In exercising their functions the Governing Body will:

• act with integrity, objectivity and honesty and in the best interests of the school; and
• be open about the decisions they make and the actions they take and be prepared to explain their decisions and actions to interested parties.

The Headteacher’s responsibilities include:

• the internal organisation, management and control of the school; and
• the educational performance of the School.

The Headteacher is accountable to the governing body for the performance of all his or her responsibilities and must comply with any reasonable direction of the governing body.

Governing body procedures must comply with the School Governance (Roles, Procedures and Allowances)(England) Regulations 2013 (published January 2014). While these regulations provide a basic framework the Governing Body also needs to agree more detailed ways of working to ensure our business is conducted efficiently and our rules are applied consistently and fairly.

Please click here to download a copy of our Public Sector Equalities Duty